Head of Demand Planning & S&OP

Forecasting at Rohlik currently drives operations across 12 fulfilment centres and 25,000 SKUs in five countries. Up until now, it has operated across local spreadsheets, individual judgement calls, and manual edits. It works, but it relies heavily on personal memory, lacks formal governance, and relies on manual routines. As we continue to scale Europe’s leading online grocery delivery service, we are establishing Integrated Business Planning (IBP)/Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) as a brand-new Group department. The mission is to transform our current forecasting into an automated, governed, and scalable planning capability. As Head of Demand Planning & S&OP, you will build this function from the ground up. You will own the Group demand forecast, establish the global S&OP cadence, build and lead the team, and work hand-in-hand with BI, Product, and Engineering to replace manual routines with modern, automated tooling. Why this role is exciting • Build from the ground up: This is a build role, not a position where you inherit an established setup. You will define the operating model, set governance across five markets, and recruit your own team. • Direct C-level impact: You will stay close to the numbers daily, owning the daily forecast update delivered directly to the CEO, while framing strategic scenarios and trade-offs for executive decision-making. • Automation & product ownership: Rohlik is an AI-first company. You will partner directly with BI and Engineering to automate planning inputs, create override logs, and launch automated plan-change notifications. • Cross-functional authority: You won't just compile numbers. You will work at Director level to challenge Marketing uplifts, Commercial pricing, and Ops capacity, ensuring alignment across Commercial, Ops, and Finance. • Multi-country scale: You will shape planning standards across all our active markets: the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Romania. What you will own and deliver • Build the department: Hire and develop the IBP/S&OP team, transition from single-person routines to a documented, resilient team structure with no single point of failure. • Demand forecast & executive briefing: Own the Group demand forecast end-to-end and personally deliver the daily operational forecast brief to the CEO. • S&OP cadence & operating plan: Establish the Group S&OP cycle, consolidating commercial, operational, and financial commitments into a single constrained operating plan. • Governance & standards: Define planning responsibilities, KPI definitions, approval thresholds for manual adjustments, and escalation rules across CZ, HU, RO, DE, and AT. • Automation roadmap: Act as the business owner for custom planning products, driving the rollout of mass uploads, automated locks, override logging, and instant plan-change alerts to Ops and Supply. • Cross-functional alignment: Partner at Director level with Marketing, Commercial, Supply, Fulfilment, Last Mile, Finance, and BI, reconciling operational plans with financial outlooks. • Forecast accuracy & stability: Drive plan attainment and forecast value added over statistical baselines, maintaining high forecast accuracy (targeting ≥ 98% on orders and orderlines). What we are looking for • Proven leadership in planning: 5+ years of progressive experience in Demand Planning, S&OP, Integrated Business Planning, or Supply Chain operational planning. • Build track record: Demonstrated experience building or re-platforming a planning function from scratch — including team, processes, and tools. • Automation mindset: Direct experience driving the automation of manual planning routines alongside BI, Data, or Engineering teams. • Executive presence: Ability to distil complex, multi-market data into clear, concise updates for the CEO under tight deadlines. • Multi-market oversight: Proven track record running S&OP or demand reviews across multiple countries, sites, or business units. • Financial & commercial acumen: Strong understanding of service, cost, and cash trade-offs to reconcile operational plans with budget requirements. • Hands-on approach: Willingness to balance strategic function-building with daily operational detail and direct ownership of key briefings. • Languages: Fluent English is required. Knowledge of Czech, Slovak, German, or Hungarian is an advantage. Preferred qualifications • Background in online grocery, perishables, or fast-moving, high-SKU retail environments. • Experience acting as a product owner for internal or custom-built planning tools working alongside ML and Product teams. What’s in it for you • Fair reward - You’ll get a strong fixed salary — no bonus games, no politics. Great work is rewarded clearly and fairly. • Good food every day - You’ll enjoy a free lunch every day and fresh fruit & veggies in the office. Because good food fuels great work. • Life, not just work - You’ll have real flexibility – three days in the office, 2 days Home Office where it suits you. And unlimited paid vacation based on trust. • Personal growth - You’ll grow as fast as Rohlik does. Every challenge is a chance to learn and make an impact. • Real impact - What you do here matters. You’ll see your work changing how people eat and live — from day one. • Recognition among colleagues - Your effort won’t go unnoticed. You can recognise others (and be recognised) through peer credits to use in our internal cafeteria. • Xtra membership - You’ll get free Xtra membership and 10% cashback on everything you buy on Rohlik.cz http://Rohlik.cz. • Sport & wellbeing - You’ll stay active with company sports challenges or a subsidised Multisport card. • A team that sticks together - You’ll work with people who move fast, support each other and celebrate wins together. • If this sounds like you…You’re someone who takes ownership, acts fast and gets things done. Ready to bake something great with us? LI-FK1