Planning Manager, NA

DLF North America is currently recruiting for a Planning Manager, NA for our operations located in Albany, Oregon.

DLF Group is the world leader in the development and sale of high-quality grass seeds for the agricultural forage and (professional) lawn markets. By continuously developing new innovative varieties and products, and with a strong focus on quality and reliability, DLF Group offers demonstrable value to the business of their customers and other relationships.

DLF North America SBU, is one of our four Strategic Business Units. DLF employees are characterized by a high level of competency, passion, and commitment. In everything we do we act with respect, trust and integrity.

Come grow with DLF!

Check us out www.dlf.com (Global) & www.us.dlf.com (USA) & www.ca.dlf.com (CA) & visit our careers page at https://careers.dlf.com.

About the job

The North America Planning Manager is responsible for leading and integrating all planning functions across the United States and Canada, including Demand Planning, Supply Planning, and Inventory Planning. The role establishes and leads the North America Planning Team, ensuring demand, production capacity, and inventory plans are aligned to meet customer service commitments while optimizing network resources and working capital performance.

This position provides end-to-end ownership of planning governance across North America, ensuring structured, data-driven decision-making through the S&OP and S&OE cycles. The role drives standardization of planning processes across sites, strengthens cross-functional collaboration, and prepares the organization for scalable digital planning transformation.

The North America Planning Manager drives regional planning excellence by overseeing demand and supply integration, improving forecast accuracy, and ensuring production and inventory plans are executable and aligned with business priorities. The role develops and manages a high-performing planning team, establishes clear governance frameworks, and delivers actionable insights to support executive decision-making.

This position plays a key leadership role in strengthening North America’s end-to-end supply chain maturity, ensuring planning processes are standardized, scalable, and ready for future system and digital planning enhancements.

Job Responsibilities:

Regional Planning Leadership

• Establish and lead the North America Planning Team across US and Canada.
• Provide leadership, coaching, and development to Supply Planners, Demand Planners, and Inventory Planning functions.
• Define clear roles, responsibilities, and governance structures across planning disciplines.
• Build a high-performing, data-driven planning culture aligned with North America and global supply chain strategy.
• Ensure alignment of planning practices across regions and sites.

Demand Planning Oversight

• Oversee the development and maintenance of accurate demand forecasts across North America.
• Ensure demand planning processes are standardized, collaborative, and data-informed.
• Monitor forecast accuracy and bias; drive root cause analysis and corrective actions.
• Facilitate the Demand Review process within S&OP and S&OE cycles.
• Partner with Sales, Marketing, and Commercial teams to align demand assumptions with market realities.

Supply & Production Planning Oversight

• Oversee development of integrated production and supply plans that balance demand forecasts with plant capacity, labor, materials, and logistics constraints.
• Ensure supply plans support service-level targets and financial objectives.
• Lead the Supply Review within the S&OP and S&OE cycles.
• Manage cross-site and cross-regional optimization of capacity and inventory.
• Provide escalation and decision support for supply risks and constraint management.

Inventory Strategy & Governance

• Define and monitor North America inventory strategy, including safety stock policies, coverage targets, and segmentation approaches.
• Drive improvements in inventory turns, ageing, and working capital performance.
• Oversee inventory health reporting and corrective action planning.
• Ensure alignment between planning assumptions and inventory governance standards.

S&OP and S&OE Leadership

• Own and lead the North America S&OP and S&OE planning processes, ensuring structured governance and executive visibility.
• Ensure demand, supply, and financial views are integrated into decision-making cycles.
• Prepare executive-level summaries, risk assessments, and scenario recommendations.
• Drive accountability for action follow-ups and performance outcomes.

Systems, Data & Planning Transformation

• Ensure planning master data governance (lead times, lot sizes, parameters, segmentation, etc.) is accurate and standardized.
• Partner with IT and global teams to support ERP and planning system integration.
• Lead readiness activities for digital planning tools and future planning system implementations.
• Champion the use of analytics and visualisation tools (ERP, planning systems, Power BI, etc.) to support decision-making.

Analysis, Risk Management & Continuous Improvement

• Monitor and analyze KPIs including OTIF, forecast accuracy, inventory turns, capacity utilization, service level, and working capital.
• Provide root cause analysis for service misses and supply disruptions.
• Lead scenario planning and risk mitigation planning across the North American network.
• Identify and implement process improvements to enhance planning accuracy and operational efficiency.

Other Duties

• Participate in team meetings and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the manager.

Qualifications:

• 7–10+ years of experience in demand, supply, or integrated planning within a manufacturing or supply chain environment.
• Demonstrated leadership experience managing planning teams.
• Strong understanding of S&OP / S&OE / IBP processes and demand-supply balancing principles.
• Experience with ERP systems (Navision, SAP, Oracle, or equivalent).
• Experience with advanced planning systems (Anaplan or similar preferred).
• Strong analytical skills with advanced Excel proficiency; Power BI or similar tools preferred.
• Proven ability to operate at both strategic and operational levels.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills across cross-functional teams.

Preferred:

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Operations Management, Business, or related field.
• Experience leading regional or multi-site planning teams.
• Experience supporting planning system implementation or digital transformation initiatives.
• Industry experience in agriculture, seed, or manufacturing.

Compensation and Benefits: 

DLF USA Inc. offers a compensation plan that includes a base salary, benefits that include medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance, retirement savings plan with company contribution, paid holidays, vacation, and personal days. Compensation will be based on experience.

Why work for DLF? 

We do good things! Turf grass is more than just a pretty sight – it helps fight climate change by trapping carbon and preventing soil erosion, making it a vital ally in preserving the environment. Grass acts as a natural filter, purifying water and improving air quality.  Perennial forage grass and legume crops also provide essential habitats for diverse wildlife, showcasing the crucial role of supporting biodiversity and sustaining ecosystems. Grass, alfalfa and clover feed animals and produce oxygen. Just a few reasons.... and many more! Check us out!

Ready to make an impact? We invite you to come and grow with us!

If you meet the above qualifications and are interested in joining our DLF team, please apply to the role on our careers page. https://careers.dlf.com. Please upload your resume and a cover letter highlighting your talent and why you fit this role.

We thank all applicants who apply for this position but advise only those applicants selected for an interview will be contacted.

DLF USA Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Accommodations for job applicants with disabilities will be provided upon request during the recruitment, assessment, selection, and placement process. Alternate format available upon request.