Demand Lead - Europe

CHEP helps move more goods to more people, in more places than any other organization on earth via our 347 million pallets, crates and containers. We employ approximately 13,000 people and operate in 60 countries. Through our pioneering and sustainable share‑and‑reuse business model, the world’s biggest brands trust us to help them transport their goods more efficiently, safely and with less environmental impact. What does that mean for you? You’ll join an international organization big enough to take you anywhere, and small enough to get you there sooner. You’ll help change how goods get to market and contribute to global sustainability. You’ll be empowered to bring your authentic self to work and be surrounded by diverse and driven professionals. And you can maximize your work‑life balance and flexibility through our Hybrid Work Model.

Job Description

We’re looking for a strategic and data‑driven leader to drive Demand Planning across Europe, orchestrating a complex, multi‑country environment and shaping the future of demand‑led decision making at scale. This is a high‑impact role responsible for creating a single, forward‑looking and fact‑based demand view across Europe, enabling aligned commercial, supply chain, and financial decisions while accelerating transformation through data, analytics, and planning excellence. Reporting into senior leadership, you will act as a key business partner across Commercial, Supply Chain, and Finance, connecting stakeholders and driving standardisation, governance, and performance across the end‑to‑end planning cycle.

Key Responsibilities

• Review, design, and enhance business planning processes in partnership with Commercial, Finance, and Supply Chain teams to improve operational efficiency and decision‑making.
• Lead the development and deployment of the S&OP agenda, advancing the organization towards Integrated Business Planning (IBP) for a seamless and efficient planning process.
• Benchmark and implement new technologies and tools that enhance IBP processes, driving improvements in customer fulfilment, cost management, inventory control, and operational safety.
• Establish and govern IBP and demand planning policies, procedures, and guidelines to ensure consistency, accuracy, and standardisation across the business.
• Collaborate with senior leaders to align strategies and define key metrics such as on‑time delivery, capacity utilisation, and working capital to drive performance improvements.
• Act as the subject‑matter expert for IBP, working across departments to foster a culture of continuous improvement and planning process optimisation.
• Design integrated, data‑driven planning methodologies that address capacity modelling and the needs of multiple business functions.
• Provide thought leadership and guide change management efforts to continuously improve planning strategies and business outcomes.

What You’ll Lead & Deliver

• Define and execute the European Demand Planning strategy, aligned to business growth and performance objectives.
• Own and orchestrate the single source of truth for demand across Europe, proactively highlighting risks, opportunities, and trade‑offs.
• Drive end‑to‑end demand performance, improving forecast accuracy, reducing bias, and enabling better decision‑making.
• Lead scenario planning and demand‑led decision support, stress‑testing assumptions in a dynamic market environment.
• Establish and embed standardised S&OP / S&OE processes, governance, and ways of working across multiple countries.
• Accelerate data‑driven planning excellence, leveraging tools, analytics, and market insights.
• Facilitate and own the European Demand Review, ensuring alignment across issues, collections, and commercial outlook.
• Act as the E2E connector, influencing stakeholders across Commercial, Retail, Supply Chain, and Finance.
• Build and develop demand planning capability, strengthening skills, accountability, and mindset across teams.

Scope & Impact

• Pan‑European scope across multiple countries and markets.
• Leadership of a team of ~9 FTE.
• Direct impact on revenue, margin, service levels, and asset productivity.
• Ownership of forecast accuracy, bias reduction, and demand planning effectiveness.

What You’ll Bring

• Experience leading or embedding S&OP / S&OE governance, including demand review forums and decision‑making cadences.
• Proven ability to drive business performance through planning.
• Experience aligning Commercial, Supply Chain, and Finance around a single set of numbers.
• Background in FMCG, logistics or complex operational environments preferred.
• Track record in scenario planning, trade‑offs, and decision support.
• Experience influencing senior stakeholders in a matrix organisation.
• Business acumen: challenges assumptions and turns data into actionable insight.
• Analytical & storytelling: able to simplify complexity and create clear narratives.
• Performance mindset: focuses on outcomes, not process compliance.
• Stakeholder influence: drives alignment across functions without authority.
• Decision‑making under uncertainty: uses scenarios to guide actions in volatile environments.

Skills

• Coaching, Cross‑Functional Work, Demand Planning, Disruptive Thinking, Emotional Intelligence, Feedback, Inclusive Leadership, Influencing, Leading Change, Leading Customer‑Centric Teams, Mentorship, Prioritization, Process Improvements, Project Delivery, Strategic Planning, Strategic Thinking.

Remote Type: Hybrid Remote – you will work primarily from a location that best supports the role while maintaining regular collaboration with cross‑functional teams.

Equal Opportunity Employer

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, and we are committed to developing a diverse workforce in which everyone is treated fairly, with respect, and has the opportunity to contribute to business success while realizing their potential. This means harnessing the unique skills and experience that each individual brings and we do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran, or basis of disability or any other federal, state, or local protected class.