Ice Cream Global ERP Demand Planning

Job Title: Ice Cream Global ERP Demand Planning

Location: Kingston

The Ice Cream division at Unilever is preparing to stand on its own, aiming to become an independent, EUR 8.3 billion publicly listed company by the end of 2025. We’re on a mission to create the ultimate snacking company.​ A place where growth, innovation, founder and ownership mentality, and performance are cultivated and rewarded. And where we craft extraordinary ice cream experiences - transforming ordinary moments into lasting memories.​ Because we know, life tastes better with ice cream.​

The Magnum Ice Cream Company is all about growth. Growing our business. Growing our customers’ businesses. Growing our people’s careers.​ Growth begins with empowerment. So we free our people to be innovative, responsible entrepreneurs, driven and equipped to give our consumers more amazing products and unforgettable moments – and having fun doing it.​

With 19.000 expert ice cream colleagues and iconic brands like Wall’s, Cornetto and Ben & Jerry’s, loved in 76 countries, we are the world’s largest Ice Cream company leading the industry.  We have been taking pleasure seriously for more than 100 years, serving happiness with every lick or scoop of ice cream for generations.

We are investing to unlock the full growth potential of The Magnum Ice Cream Company as a standalone entity, once we separate from Unilever, which is planned to happen before the end of 2025.

We dream big but keep things simple to act fast.​

If you want to grow with us, make an impact, and shape the future of Ice Cream, this is the place for you!

JOB PURPOSE

As part of our growth strategy, we are seeking a dynamic highly skilled Ice Cream ERP Demand Planning Lead to join our team and lead the creation of a world class Planning Process focusing on Demand planning in our upcoming new ERP implementation.  In this pivotal role you will be the primary driver of the Demand Planning workstream, ensuring its alignment with business objectives, industry best practise and ERP system capability.  You will lead the global design, build, deployment and ensure the transition to smooth operations for Demand Planning capabilities across the new Ice Cream organisation. 

The Demand Planning Lead will be a core member of the ERP Establishment programme that will lead the global design, build, and deployment of ERP capabilities globally for the Ice Cream business. This role will focus heavily on transformation, process design, and change management, ensuring consistency across the business and facilitating a smooth transition to new systems and ways of working. This is a vital leadership role and part of the leadership team in driving the digital transformation strategy and ensuring that our tech foundations meet the evolving needs of the business, support operational efficiency, and enable strategic growth while meeting expected performance standards.  

The candidate will need a strong ability to understand complex business process needs and play a challenger role for the organisation on a “fit to standard approach”. Therefore, excellent understanding and experience of complex processes, data and governance are key to succeed. 

The successful candidate will be one that has significant process and change management expertise with a proven record of leading large scale process transformation and has a passion for building world class capabilities and a desire to make a meaningful impact.  

This role will exist in its current form for 2.5- 3 years. 

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Process Leadership: Define, design, and drive the global Demand Planning capabilities and associated technology choices ensuring standardization and scalability across regions. 
• ERP Implementation: Serve as the key decision-maker for process-related configurations within the ERP and supporting systems, collaborating closely with implementation partners and technical teams. 
• Stakeholder Engagement: Act as the bridge between functional teams, IT, and key stakeholders to gather requirements, address pain points, and deliver a streamlined Demand Planning solution. 
• Change Management: Drive change initiatives, ensuring smooth adoption of new processes and tools, including training and communication strategies. 
• Integration Leadership: Collaborate with the other Global Process Owners (Make, Logistics, O2C, Commercials), Finance and other teams as necessary to ensure seamless integration and data flow between systems. 
• Continuous Improvement: Monitor process performance post-implementation, identify opportunities for improvement including AI/advanced analytics, and define roadmap to adapt processes to evolving business needs. 
• Governance: Establish performance metrics and governance frameworks for Demand Planning process ensuring compliance, risk management, and effective control measures globally. 
• Data Management: Oversee data readiness for the Demand Planning process, ensuring accurate and consistent data migration and validation. 
• Change Impact Assessment: Conduct change impact assessments to identify and mitigate potential challenges in adopting new systems and processes, ensuring readiness across the business. 
• Training & User Adoption: Develop and implement training programs and communication plans to support user adoption of the ERP, ensuring that employees have the skills and knowledge required to operate within the new system. 

ALL ABOUT YOU

• Proven Expertise: Relevant years of extensive experience in Demand Planning & Forecasting process ownership, with a strong understanding of planning and S&OP. Ideally some of your experience has been gained from Ice Cream. 
• ERP Knowledge: Hands-on experience with ERP implementations, preferably in systems like SAP, O9, Kinaxis and similar equivalent systems
• Leadership Skills: Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams in a global environment, delivering results under tight timelines. 
• Change Management: Extensive experience in developing and implementing change management strategies for complex global programs, ensuring stakeholder alignment and user adoption. 
• Communication & Collaboration: Exceptional communication skills with the ability to influence and engage senior leadership and business units globally. Proven track record of building strong relationships and managing expectations at all levels of the organization. 
• Global Perspective: Experience working in diverse international markets, with a strong understanding of the cultural, regulatory, and operational complexities that impact global ERP deployments. 
• Analytical Mindset: Strong problem-solving and analytical skills, with the ability to translate business needs into process improvements. 
• Willingness to Travel: Ability to travel globally to support market-specific needs during the design, build, and deployment phases. 
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Technology, Information Systems, Supply Chain, Business, Finance or a related field  

ARE YOU EXCITED TO CRAFT THE ICE CREAM FUTURE?

To apply, you must do so online. Please do not forget to upload your CV, latest EoY and a motivation letter.  If you have been informed that you are at risk of redundancy, please make sure to tick this box during your application. Please also attach your letter of redundancy to the application.

Your application will be reviewed against our requirements, and we will be in touch shortly after the closing date to provide you with an update on the status of your application.

By applying for this vacancy, you are confirming that you have made your Line Manager aware of your application and that you are at a point in your career with Unilever where it is appropriate for you to apply for other positions.

NOTES

About Unilever

Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Food, Home and Personal Care products with sales in over 190 countries and reaching 2 billion consumers a day. Unilever has more than 400 brands found in homes around the world, including Dove, Tresemme, Lynx, Lifebuoy, Shea Moisture, Persil, Domestos, Ben & Jerry’s, Magnum, Marmite, The Vegetarian Butcher, Graze and Pot Noodle.

Faced with the challenge of climate change and the need for human development, we want to move towards a world where everyone can live well and within the natural limits of the planet. That’s why our purpose is ‘to make sustainable living commonplace’ 

Location

In June 2020 we announced our plan to consolidate a number of Unilever’s offices across the South East of England into a new Unilever campus in Kingston-upon-Thames in or around early 2025. However, on the 08 August 2024 we announced to our existing staff our proposal to retain our central Head Office in London, 100 Victoria Embankment (“100VE”) until our lease expires in 2027. As a result of this new proposal, we will be consulting with our existing staff, and new joiners who join during this period of consultation at 100VE, on the proposal made in August 2024. During consultation we will clarify the future location of each team and function. This means your role will either be based in 100VE until 2027 or in Kingston-Upon-Thames from early 2025. As we are yet to commence consultation on the proposal you agree, until such a time when consultation has concluded, your normal place of work as set out in the enclosed Statement of Terms & Conditions will be 100VE. You agree that on the conclusion of the consultation your place of work will be 100VE or 100VE until early 2025 and then Kingston-upon-Thames ("the locations") and you will be notified of which of the locations will be your place of work after that consultation ends.

What We Offer

Not only do we offer a competitive salary and pension scheme, we also offer an annual bonus, subsidised gym membership, a discounted staff shop and shares. You’ll have the opportunity to work directly with our renowned and exciting brands in a flexible and hybrid working environment.

Whilst the role is advertised on a full-time basis, we would be happy to discuss possible flexible working options and what this may look like for you. We are a key advocate of wellbeing and offer a variety of support for our people including hubs, programmes and development opportunities. We strive to achieve a family-friendly and inclusive workplace and to, above all, create possibilities for all.

Diversity at Unilever is about inclusion, embracing differences, creating possibilities and growing together for better business performance. We embrace diversity in our workforce. This means giving full and fair consideration to all applicants and continuing development of all employees regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity. We are also more than happy to provide reasonable adjustments during our application and interview process to enable you to be present your best self. To find out more, including about our Employee Resource Groups, please click here Equity, Diversity & Inclusion at Unilever | Unilever.

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