Merchandising and Operations Planning Specialist

Work Setup: Hybrid

Location: Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines

Summary:

The Trade Promotions Management and Planning Specialist will support the US Trade Promotions Management with day-to-day operational requirements and engagements with US Sales. The Trade Promotions Management and Planning Specialist will also co-lead projects and optimization initiatives of both Hershey Business Platforms and Trade Promotions Management.

Major Duties/Responsibilities:

Trade Promotions Management/Customer Planning Support

• Executes TPM/Customer Planning Support, to include customer planning requests, sales team requests related to customer forms management, PlanEx, execution to delivery, including evaluation and regular checkpoints with the team and customers.
• Manage issues that will be sent by the Sales Team by identifying which issues/requests can be resolved/completed by the team and which issues/requests needs escalation/endorsement.
• Achieve Service Level Agreement and lead Metrics Reporting for Sales Planning Support.
• Help prepare Monthly and Quarterly Updates for key customers.

Project Management/Continuous Improvement

• Identify and lead Continuous Improvement opportunities for both US TPM and HBP Manila’s operations.

• Seek and lead new opportunities to expand the Sales Services’ TPM/Sales Planning Capabilities.

• Prepare Business Case for new intake and utilize Project Management Tools.

Competencies:

Leadership. Understands and promotes a shared vision; promotes understanding and a positive attitude toward the changing environment; ensures that others have the tools and resources to excel; seeks and creates opportunities to build and expand the business; stays on task and is not discouraged when dealing with changing priorities; attacks multiple issues and tasks at one time.

Team Approach. Initiates and fosters open dialogue across the organization; integrates individual, group, and organizational goals; collaborates with others to increase opportunities for success; focuses the team on ensuring, enhancing, and exceeding customer expectations; forms alliances and coalitions across functional areas; recognizes the interdependence of team members throughout the organization.

Customer Focused and Results Oriented. Understands issues from the customers’ perspective; considers the impact of decisions, processes, services on the customer; demonstrates passion for providing excellent customer service; treats customers with respect and care and uses a variety of approaches to identify customer needs; conveys a sense of urgency to get things done; ensures that there are necessary resources available for resolution of escalated customer issues; monitors the quality resolution of customer issues.

Problem Solving. Detailed oriented; uses rigorous logic and methods to solve difficult problems with effective solutions; effectively researches and probes all sources for answers; can see/recognize hidden problems and look beyond the obvious.

Learning. Learns from personal successes and failures and those of others and applies learning to new situations; learns quickly when facing new problems; versatile and experiments to try to find solutions; open to change; enjoys the challenge of an unfamiliar task.

Listening and Interpersonal Skills. Practices attentive and active listening and has the patience to hear people out; can accurately restate the views of others even when he/she personally disagrees; relates well to all kinds of people, up, down, and across the internal organization and externally; builds rapport quickly; develops constructive and effective relationships; uses diplomacy and tact; can diffuse high-tension situations comfortably.

Minimum Education and Experience Requirements:

Education: Bachelor’s Degree required, Marketing or Business Administration

Experience:

• At least 2 to 3 years of CPG/merchandise experience
• Must have Trade Cycle Planning OR specific to sales and forecasting planning experience
• Someone with Merchandising and Trade Marketing & Operations background is highly preferred
• Knowledgeable in Trade Promotions, Retailing, Billings and SKU Maintenance
• Knowledge and experience in market research is a plus
• Proficient in Excel/Access and ability to quickly learn and assess viability of other analytic tools
• Technical Ability: SAP and JDA (or any merchandising system)
• Prioritization: must be able to manage multiple and sometimes conflicting or ambiguous priorities, extended work schedules, and short time constraints
• Detail-oriented and analytical thinker
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Prior experience in positions requiring strong analytical acumen preferred
• Prior experience working in multiple functions (Sales, Marketing, Finance, Operations, Strategy, etc.) highly desirable
• Prior experience working with external customers (retailers) desirable
• Amenable to a shifting schedule of morning shift (6:00 am to 3:00 pm) and mid shift (3:00 pm to 12 midnight)

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