BUSINESS PLANNER – Fixed Term Contract for 12 months. Jan 2025 - December 2025
The world leader in beauty, L’Oréal is present in 130 countries on five continents. Our 32 international brands have allowed us to devote ourselves solely to one business: beauty, with a mission to provide the best in cosmetics innovation to all women and men around the world. We want to bring beauty to all people. Our ambition by 2020 is to win over another one billion consumers around the world by creating the cosmetic products that meet the infinite diversity of their beauty needs and desires through continued digital innovation. L’Oréal encourages diversity and sustainable, ethical sourcing for all our products, and we have reduced our emissions by approx. 50% since 2005. Our brands are leaders in beauty, and we are looking for you to lead the change you want to see in L’Oréal.
The Consumer Products Division’s mission is universal: to offer the best in cosmetics innovation to the greatest number of people on every continent. Its brands are available in all mass-market channels (hypermarkets, supermarkets, pharmacies and retail stores). The division is the spearhead of the group’s quest to win over a further billion consumers. The Consumer Products Division includes popular brand such as L’Oréal Paris, NYX PMU, Garnier, Maybelline & Essie.
The Business Planner role is a Hybrid role which sits between commercial and supply chain with the aim of developing an accurate customer forecast and driving customer conversations. The role focuses on accelerating collaboration internally & externally to ultimately challenge & strategize our business plans, whilst always representing our customer's voice. A Business Planner works across several functions; all adding to a varied portfolio of stakeholders to engage and influence. You will lead the Asda account, making strategic decisions from a Business Planning perspective to drive accuracy and business growth. You will own the sell out and in forecast through strong commercial and customer collaboration, working with Customer Supply Chain to drive initiatives as well as provide key performance insights.
You will
Lead the Customer Forecasting process
• Construction of the entire customer forecast (sell in and out – base, promo and launch) in collaboration with the NAMs and Customer Supply Chain team working on the account.
• Capture Stock in Trade (SIT) impact to sales forecast, ensure buy in profile accuracy, reflect cannibalization & seasonality trends.
• Understand the key drivers and building blocks of the forecast, including sell out and sell in ambition. Document, assess and communicate key risks and ops at customer level that impact both short term turnover management (M -> M+2) and longer-term business plan execution.
• Take ownership of the volume forecast and be able to understand, discuss and challenge the intricacies of the value sales forecast whilst also achieving your Customer Forecast Accuracy target.
Manage the Monthly Business Planning Cycle
• Carry out monthly KPI & M-1 Review, as well as quarterly diagnosis of turnover evolution and key driver and drainers.
• Lead the account Business Planning Cycle, including monthly validation of the forecast with the Customer Business Manager/Customer Business Director.
• Ensure alignment of the account team to monthly forecasting goals, tasks & deadlines.
• Share key information with supply chain and marketing through the BFG process to provide the latest commercial news for the forecast validation meeting.
Coordinate the Annual Business Planning Process
• Ensure all stakeholders are aligned to key deadlines and tasks.
Track Weekly Sales Turnover
• In month tracking of net sales versus forecast and weekly reporting of any key changes in the short-term (3 month) horizon.
Collaborate with our Customers
• By using segmentation principles where applicable, ensure alignment with customer on promotional forecasts.
• Work closely with Customer supply chain to ensure all SIT assumptions and buy-in profiles are as accurate as possible.
You have
Stakeholder Management Skills
• Ability to engage and positively influence internal & external stakeholders.
• Ability to manage upwards.
• Experience interacting with FMCG customers is an advantage.
Continuous improvement mindset
• Review and improve processes and share best practice with the wider team.
Supply Chain Experience
• 2 years of experience in product planning or another supply chain role is an advantage.
• Strong understanding of the building blocks and trends that influence the construction of a sales forecast.
• Previous knowledge of local retail dynamics and the retail environment is an advantage.
Excellent Communication Skills
• Be able to effectively communicate with stakeholders at all levels and simplify complex messages.
• Be able to co-ordinate planning topics with your Mancom and brand team.
Systems Knowledge
• Good working knowledge of Excel.
• Knowledge of BPM or other forecasting systems is an advantage.
Strong numeracy and organizational skills
• Strong numeracy skills to aid sales and forecast analysis.
• Highly organized, and capable of prioritizing and managing deadlines within a fast-paced environment.
You show
Ambition: You anticipate, think and dream big, demonstrating a high level of aspiration. You are self-driven and show proactivity, especially when seeing problems as challenges. You thrive for exceptional performance.
Judgement: You can balance operational and strategic thinking, challenging the status quo and managing confrontation effectively. You cut quickly through complexity and ambiguity whilst also thinking sustainably and are future-oriented. You reduce complexity to get things done.
Resilience: You always demonstrate purpose and ownership mindset but manage your own energy well. You uphold positivity for others and persist, bouncing back when faced with obstacles. You step back at times and accept limits.
Empathy: You cooperate and network effectively, creating genuine and trustful relationships with diverse people. You are sensitive to beauty and related emotions, always supporting others and showing benevolence. You understand and respect others’ feelings and motives.
Learning Agility: You are a self-motivated learner, showing self-awareness and demonstrating openness and curiosity. You experiment and learn from mistakes and past experiences, always showing courage and stepping out of your comfort zone. You support the development of a learning culture.
You get
We put people development and learning at the heart of our business; we’ll help you master your role, develop your technical expertise and you’ll benefit from exceptional management and leadership programmes. From face-to-face workshops to our global online learning resources, you’re actively encouraged to embed learning into your daily life and are rewarded for continuous improvement. Don’t forget that every employee gets 3 Coursera credits; that means you can get qualifications from over 1000 universities from around the world, with thousands of courses to choose from.
Looking for a good work/life balance? With our new hybrid working scheme, you can take a flexible approach to work as well as benefit from early finishes on Fridays during the summer...so you can enjoy more time with your friends and family.
As any great employer should do, we make sure we look after your financial wellbeing. That’s why we have a great pension plan, profit share scheme and many more incentives to give you the security you deserve. We also put employee health and wellbeing at the front of everything we do; fully training employees as mental health ambassadors to support and educate ourselves further. There’s also the chance to enrol in medical and dental insurance, gym discounts, health check-ups and even yoga and Pilates classes to employees in all of our locations.
Oh, did we mention that as an employee you also get discount sales of up to 70% off throughout the year on our 36 brands? Plus, you also get the option to share that in our Friends and Family sales as well!
How we recruit
At L’Oréal, we take pride in creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment where everyone is welcome and their contributions are valued. When we recruit, hire, train, promote or engage in any other employment practice, we are committed to being an inclusive employer regardless of race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, socioeconomic status, medical condition or disability, or any other protected status. When we look for talent, we welcome difference - different backgrounds, experiences, personalities and perspectives. The beauty we find in our differences gives us the freedom to go beyond. That’s the beauty of L’Oréal.