Location: Farnborough Job Type: Contract Industry: Business Transformation Job reference: BBBH435769_1774518779 Posted: about 4 hours ago
Job Title: Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) Manager
Location: Hybrid - 3 days per week in Farnborough
Contract Length: 6 months
Rate: £900 per day (Umbrella Company)
Role Purpose
The Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) Manager will lead the S&OP function across the Group, ensuring the operational plan effectively delivers the organisation's strategy and financial performance across people and facilities. This role is accountable for driving a coherent, integrated operational and financial plan through robust demand and supply management, cross‑functional collaboration, and continuous improvement.
Key Accountabilities
1. Overall accountability for Sales and Operations Planning across the Group, leading the end‑to‑end S&OP cycle in close collaboration with Finance, Strategy, Growth, and Sector leadership teams.
2. Ensure alignment between the operational plan and the financial plan, with consistent assumptions and an agreed, credible baseline.
3. Foster collaboration, trust, and a "one‑team" mindset across the organisation, creating an environment of open and effective communication between demand and supply functions.
4. Drive delivery and financial performance of the operational plan through effective demand and supply management to achieve strategic and performance targets. Lead the business in achieving high standards of forecasting and demand articulation.Lead effective supply and capacity planning to ensure projects have the right people, in the right place, at the right time.
5. Ensure business risks, constraints, and key decisions within the operational plan are visible, understood, and actively managed.
6. Monitor, report, and communicate performance against the operational plan, working closely with Sectors to understand variances and support the delivery of improvement actions.
7. Own and manage the operational plan baseline, controlling changes and ensuring continued alignment with strategic and financial objectives.
8. Provide clear, timely, and high‑quality information that enables effective decision‑making and proactive performance management.
9. Own the S&OP process, systems, and tools, driving continuous improvement through lessons learned and best practice.
10. Ensure coherence and consistency of data and Resource Breakdown Structures across short‑term work forecast planning, medium‑term capacity planning, and long‑term strategic workforce planning.
Key Capabilities/Knowledge
11. Strong leadership capability with a proven ability to build, inspire, and lead high‑performing teams focused on collaboration and continuous improvement.
12. Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the ability to operate effectively across a complex, geographically dispersed matrix organisation.
13. Strong delivery focus with the confidence to challenge established behaviours and ways of working at all levels.
14. Highly developed influencing, negotiating, and relationship‑building skills, with credibility at senior and executive level.
15. Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to tailor messaging for diverse audiences.
16. Resilient, adaptable, and comfortable performing at pace in a dynamic and ambiguous environment.
17. Ability to quickly assimilate complex scenarios, identify key drivers and issues, and make sound decisions under pressure and uncertainty.
18. High level of IT literacy and the ability to rapidly learn new systems and planning tools.
19. Advanced analytical, problem‑solving, and scenario‑modelling capabilities, with an innovative and creative mindset
Experience & Qualifications
20. Extensive experience leading Sales and Operations Planning within a large, complex matrix organisation.
21. Proven experience working with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders, including engagement up to Director level.
22. Degree‑level qualification in a subject requiring strong analytical, conceptual, and organisational skills.
23. Background in project‑ and resource‑based environments, ideally within Defence, Aerospace, or Nuclear industries.