Head of Strategic Planning, Forecasting, Category

**Where your expertise is needed**:
Come build the future with us AUTODOC is transforming how customers buy auto parts, vehicle accessories and lifestyle products, bringing one of the last areas of retail into the online space. [in collaboration with Marketing]: track and model marketing/traffic initiatives: e.g. impact on top line, bottom line and downstream sourcing/replenishment and SCM-fulfillment channels. Driving a deeper understanding and additional profit levers in vendor/sourcing profitability and negotiations, which includes simulating the effects of vendor cost price increases and new contractual models (outside of the existing bonus schemes) that improve CX/top line and profitability. In this context, your team will ensure real-time alignment with AUTODOC Pricing reflecting changes in business model, sourcing channels, terms/bonuses to maximize growth and profitability. You and your team will work closely with Category Directors, Category Managers and the Director Assortment to evaluate new initiatives, help to prioritize them and track performance. At AUTODOC, we care about driving customer experience and business results. We celebrate general quirkiness and value a diversity of approaches and points of view. We believe this diversity drives innovation and reflects our culture, where differences are valued. We are looking for a “Head of Strategic Planning, Forecasting/Scenario Planning and Controlling” - supporting AUTODOC’s new Category Management Division. This senior role is reporting to the Vice President of Pricing & Strategic Planning (within the Category Management Organization). This team lead role (of 6-11 reports) is accountable for: Defining and driving the bi-annual strategic planning process for EU Category Management that feeds into the AUTODOC company-wide planning process. Your plans will cover the next 8 weeks, 6 months, the next 18 and next 36 months (i.e. baseline and initiative projections by category and by country for EU27) and weekly/monthly/quarterly unit/order/stock forecasting and performance tracking vs. target. Your planning takes into account marco-factors (e.g. inflation, competitive and general retail/eCommerce trends) in the industry for EU27. This includes a country-level assessment of growth opportunities and levers to materialize those. Your ownership of the strategic planning processes, includes reviews with senior leadership across Marketing, Category Management and Supply Chain - and ad hoc analyses. Defining and driving the EU Category Management Weekly Business Review (WBR) with specific focus on: Assortment growth and SKU productivity planning; vendor/assortment cohorts tracking (i.e. recently added selection and vendors), and assortment segmentation into Head/Torso/Tail assortment (B2C and B2B), and product bundling/AOV-opportunities. Vendor productivity planning and tracking, including recommendations of consolidation of suppliers to overhead costs in our supply chain Availability planning, OOS-tracking and instock-scenario simulation to guide category managers to most critical revenue and profit opportunities [in collaboration with Supply Chain]: track and model assortment speed initiatives by sourcing channel (C2D, click-to-delivery reduction), e.g. conversion-scenario-planning vs. holding/fulfillment cost increases vs. up-pricing opportunities once selection is placed closer to customers.

**What we’re looking for**:
**Responsibilities**
- Build and lead Category Management strategic planning, unit/order forecasting (including impact on sourcing/availability) and commercial category and vendor controlling
- Own the bi-annual strategic planning process for AUTODOC 15 categories, assortment growth and productivity, vendor productivity, and pricing. This includes updates to leadership and ad hoc analyses
- Lead the vendor controlling team, and implement plan/actual reporting: identify opportunities for bonus negotiations with wholesale or brand-suppliers, such as simulating cash-flow vs. margin tradeoffs that ultimately set supplier negotiation targets (that increase availability and drive growth/cost price reductions
- Partner closely with the pricing team on better controlling cost-plus pricing and margin effects
- Design and implement new processes and metrics for the team to review and track results - while proposing new levers to accelerate growth and profitability/cash-flow

**Qualifications**:

- Master degree in business/finance/math
- 12+ years experience in retail, e-commerce, or consumer goods - preferred directly (or in a consulting role)
- 8+ years of experience forecasting, and experience with managing teams and building forecasting models
- 8+ years working in a Finance or controlling role
- 5+ years working in a vendor management or P/L ownership role preferred
- Advanced SQL/data analytics capabilities
- 5+ yrs work with analytics or AI - Experience developing and implementing ML models
- 5+ yrs managing a tech/feature roadmap