Supply Planning Manager (BI)

Job Description

WHO WE ARE

Pure Harvest Smart Farms is a UAE-based, high-tech agriculture start-up. We develop and operate high-tech, climate-controlled farms to grow a variety of crops and sell our products directly into the markets in which we operate. In early-2018 we successfully deployed our first-ever farm in Nahel, Al Ain growing a wide variety of flavourful tomatoes that “Taste Like They Should ^TM”. Our products are selling-out at major retailers in the UAE and are consumed at an assortment of elite restaurants & hotels. Our brand is associated with incredibly tasty produce, and we are quickly building a loyal and vocal customer base. We are now expanding into new crops (strawberries and leafy greens) and into new geographies (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait). Technology, data, and innovation are core to our ethos, and we aim to redefine the Middle Eastern agricultural sector. We are passionate about what we do, and we are believers in the growth potential of the company. Our team is multi-cultural (American, European, African, Middle Eastern, South Asian), and our backgrounds diverse (horticulture, engineering, private equity, management consulting, retail, marketing, etc.). Never a boring day at Pure Harvest.

In recognition of regional vulnerabilities associated with food import dependence, water scarcity and sustainability, Pure Harvest is committed to resource efficiency and to overcoming climate challenges to affordably deliver premium quality fresh produce to the Middle East.

WHO YOU ARE

We are looking for a dynamic person to help build a great organisation that is driven, motivated, and passionate about the industry and the positive impact the company can deliver in the region and beyond. You will be responsible for the successful coordination of the businesses supply of goods to the customer. Managing the volatile nature of fresh produce supply, the successful candidate will ensure that all key departments are aware of what they need to do to achieve successful outcomes daily. Troubleshooting issues through interrogation of data within the ERP and other operational systems is a key part of this role.  Providing clarity and visibility of information to maintain the businesses Sales and Operational planning process.

You should be well versed and experienced in driving, building and steering people to deliver on company objectives.  Ideally you are a candidate that can be trusted, with a high standard in work ethics, that doesn’t shy away from challenging situations, and the ability to deliver high performance with minimal oversight. As a high trust organisation, we are looking for people that understand requirements fully, take ownership and deliver results at a high standard consistently, and as the person leading that culture, the ability to demonstrate that is essential.

FUNDAMENTAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Relying on a thorough knowledge of the Company’s objectives and goals:

• Help to define business problems via in-depth investigation and gathering of technical and non-technical information.
• Own KPI’s and performance management in the operations organisation
• Ensure timely reporting of all operational metrics
• Modelling business processes and identifying opportunities for process improvements
• Identifying issues, risks and benefits of existing and proposed solutions and outlining business impacts
• Creating functional specifications for solutions
• Estimating costs and identifying business savings
• Simplifying information and deciphering technical jargon so it is easily understood by the whole team
• Implementing and testing of solutions
• Supporting business transition and helping to establish change
• Drive operational excellence and process improvements within the Company
• Develop and implement business processes wherever applicable to make the organisation run more efficiently
• Ensure all processes and SOPs are well documented and stored in one location
• Drive a culture of continuous improvements in the organisation
• Identify and drive cost saving initiatives
• Execute on the customer promise
• Own the definition of quality and manage quality actively with a well‐defined customer complaint process
• Support in special projects, such as strategic procurement, cost saving projects and other projects
• Travel to the company’s operations internationally, as required
• Gather facts and data to provide insight and root cause investigation relating to product supply. This can be across the internal supply chain or by analysing external data and to all stakeholders.

Comprehensive data collection and drive regular reporting and PMO improvement plans

• Ensure the data collection is comprehensive across all the locations and across all topics (such as water, electricity etc.)
• Design and drive preparation of material for regular reporting of data (e.g., MOR, weekly performance report, daily bonus report etc.)
• Drive and PMO improvement plans across all our sites

Drive efficiency improvement related projects on ground

• Identify areas of efficiency improvement across packing and harvesting and drive them

Drive operations excellence and process improvement within Pure Harvest

• Ensure all processes and SOPs are well documented in one place
• Drive culture of continuous improvement through setting up process and meetings
• Focus on 5s projects, process improvement etc.

Support in special projects when required and travel to company’s operations if required

• Oversee the customer service executive to facilitate the smooth communication
• Oversee sales and operations planning

Drive continuous improvement across the supply Chain and PMO and own cost saving targets through procurement and supply chain areas

• Support the development and approval of Pure Harvest Strategy
• Conduct market, competitors’ and other relevant analysis to inform the strategy definition
• Support the preparation and monitoring / execution of the Strategy implementation initiatives
• Support the development and implementation of new Business / Corporate development projects and new partnership, and KPIs to measure success
• Supporting the assessment of operational and financial performances
• Monitoring continuously and analyzing the external business environment (e.g., industry analysis, macroeconomic trends etc.) to help developing new growth initiatives for the existing portfolio companies and identifying new ventures

YOUR COMPETENCIES – CRITERIA FOR SUCCESS

• Effective stakeholder engagement – ability to deal with stakeholders at all levels of an organisation
• Critical Thinker – The ability to understand and analyze problems and find solutions
• Decision making – The ability to make decisions around things such as requirement prioritisation, scope, assessing viability of solutions etc
• Confident presenter – The ability to present findings and recommendations to senior leaders and to manage stakeholder meetings
• Cultural Alignment – you are a culture leader and model the behaviours expected from everyone in the company
• Technical Competency – Strong background in creating systems, processes, and procedures to establish framework for scalability in the organization
• Resilience – resilient and authentic with the ability to help manage frequent and complex ups and downs, while being open and transparent with employees
• Problem Solver – pragmatic, curious and flexible, fostering trust. Willing to roll up your sleeves and get stuck in with the team but also able to think and plan strategically

REQUIREMENTS and SKILLS

• 10+ years working in a supply chain planning function within a FMCG or Fresh food business
• Proven track record building robust reporting methods in a known ERP environment and delivering high levels of service level to customer.
• Strong analytical and excel skills
• Deep ERP system knowledge
• Proven work experience as a Business Improvement/ Supply Chain role in a similar industry
• Degree in Business, IT or Finance. MBA desirable.
• Knowledge of organisational effectiveness and operations management
• Experience budgeting and forecasting
• Familiarity with business and financial principles
• Outstanding organisational skill

Please note before applying: our people define our success and we take hiring seriously. Interviewing with Pure Harvest may include video and phone interviews and/or off-site interviews. Though not required, we highly recommend that you submit a cover letter that outlines the key attributes of your candidacy & demonstrates that you understand and are qualified for this unique/ challenging role. Also, we complete both formal and informal reference checks for all hires. Please be prepared to submit references upon request.

Although we are unable to follow-up with each-and-every applicant, we do our absolute best to conduct a systematic hiring process for candidates with whom we identify a potential fit