Job Summary

TopUp Mama is seeking a Demand Planner who will be responsible for forecasting demand of key products and business lines. Using statistical modelling techniques and qualitative data, the Demand Planner will work closely with the supply planners and logistics teams to track purchase order execution, distribution of orders from distribution centers to customers, and forecasts by SKU, customer and supplier. They will also provide visibility into product availability, inventory costs, and days of supply(DOS) for key suppliers. 

We are looking for someone who has a passion for innovation in supply chain and is able to run the day-to-day operations while improving them. We need a Demand Planner who can bring us from 0 to 1, so getting your hands dirty will be important.

Job Responsibilities

• Responsible for the development and management of forecasting for account categories, including the impact of company strategies, such as promotional sales and new products 
• Understands the dynamics of assigned supplier categories and items, including seasonality, competitive activity, trends, sales objectives, sales drivers and life cycles
• Collaborates closely with supply chain, warehouses and logistics team to execute supply chain processes
• Works closely with supply planner to ensure proper stock levels and allocation for promotional and seasonal items, collaborate with suppliers on demand plan to effectively increase fill rate
• Identifies and resolves out-of-stock issues, focusing on minimising shortage occurrences through analysis of data and review of safety stock levels
• Utilises system-generated reports to determine priorities and areas of opportunity and to confirm/communicate results. Creates ad hoc reporting when needed.
• Responsible for purchasing from the assigned major supplier and working with supply planners to track purchase order execution and distribution of inventory from distribution centers to customers
• Works with suppliers and account managers in determining clones for new item forecasts, providing clone options and historical sales patterns.
• Makes purchases from the assigned major supplier and works with supply chain managers to track purchase order execution and distribution of inventory from distribution centers to stores.
• Works with supplier base using supplier scorecards to resolve chronic issues such as Lead Time, Fill Rate, Data Quality, Cost Accuracy, Etc. to ensure a world-class customer experience. 
• Support the company’s long-term strategy and inventory reduction while maintaining high Customer Service Level metrics

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and at least two years of experience in retail/wholesale planning 
• Experience with inventory management and order purchasing practices 
• Experience in statistical modelling techniques and concepts of forecasting
• Comfortability with analysing and reporting data to inform decision-making
• At least one year of direct, indirect, and/or cross-functional team leadership
• Takes initiative to identify operational issues and implement solutions quickly
• Excellent time and project management skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in supply chain or MBA
• Supply chain/logistics certification (i.e., P.Log, CSCMP or APICS)
• Experience analysing data to perform root cause analysis, ROI, and cost-benefit analysis
• Experience in negotiating operational aspects of business and understanding company-wide impact (e.g., delivery lead time, purchasing minimums, costs). 
• Experience in a start-up, especially focused on supply chain and/or FMCG products

Why TopUp Mama 

We are venture-backed and growing fast! We launched last year and are already serving more than 3,000 restaurants, hotels and cafeterias in Nigeria and Kenya. You have the opportunity to grow alongside this company. We believe that: 

• Our team should grow as fast as the company. If you do well, you will have every opportunity to accelerate your career
• If we win, our team should win. Company shares are a key part of the compensation for all mid-senior hires
• Speed is a Virtue. We make decisions quickly and are not afraid of failing. We prioritise learning by doing
• Everyone is an owner of their work. We do not micromanage, only challenge. We let you own your domain and drive your work independently.

If that sounds exciting then TopUp Mama may be the perfect place for you. But, TopUp Mama is not for everyone:

• We are an early-stage start-up. It may be chaotic at times with shifting priorities. 
• This is not a 9-5 job. This is a whatever it takes to get it done job
• This is not where we will tell you exactly what to do. You will be expected to manage your work to achieve the outcomes
• We love being around our customers. If you enjoy sitting behind a desk all day, this may not be the best place for you

About the role 

Our customers rely on us to get all the products they need to cook & run their restaurant - convenience and reliability are core to our proposition. On top of that, we are the first player in the market to deliver both fresh & dry goods to small and medium-sized restaurants. Our Head of Supply Chain will be responsible for building a supply chain model that delivers the best customer experience while managing our resources well. This means that you will need to lead the day-to-day operations (and build that team) while strategically thinking about how to innovate on our current supply chain model. Key responsibilities are:

• Ensure availability of critical products by improving forecasting and purchasing accuracy
• Develop partnerships with key suppliers locally and internationally
• Lead the design of last-mile deliveries and storage of our fresh and dry products
• Tackle key bottlenecks in our current supply chain model to improve customer experience
• Continuously seek out opportunities for innovation to enhance our proposition and/or become more efficient

Who you are 

We are looking for someone with a passion for supply chain innovation who strives for excellence and can motivate their team to do the same. We are looking for someone who:

• Has deep knowledge and experience in building out supply chain from scratch and can lead that process
• Can develop & implement standard operating procedures and strives for continuous improvement in operations
• Has the ability to work on day-to-day operations and strategic projects in parallel
• Has a strategic mindset and comes up with innovative solutions to improve our proposition
• Is an excellent communicator (written & verbal) towards all levels of the organisation and partners
• Has the ability to build & lead an ever-growing supply chain team
• Is comfortable with a dash of chaos and can work in a start-up environment (we are a fast-growing company!)

We believe that an excellent Head of Supply Chain can come from many industries and organisational backgrounds, and no set years of experience are required for a talented person to fill this role. However, preference will be given to the following:

• Experience building out supply chain at an operations-heavy business with thousands of SKUs
• Been responsible for supply chain innovation at a large FMCG company, preferably managing hundreds of SKUs
• Experience building or innovating supply chain at a chain of restaurants or large catering business
• Experience working for a start-up, particularly with supply chain operations
• An MSc in Supply Chain Management, Engineering, Logistics or similar discipline

Why TopUp Mama 

We are venture-backed and growing fast! We launched last year and are already serving more than 3,000 restaurants, hotels and cafeterias in Nigeria and Kenya. You have the opportunity to grow alongside this company. We believe that: 

• Our team should grow as fast as the company. If you do well, you will have every opportunity to accelerate your career
• If we win, our team should win. Company shares are a key part of the compensation for senior hires
• Speed is a Virtue. We make decisions quickly and are not afraid of failing. We prioritise learning by doing
• Everyone is an owner of their work. We do not micromanage, only challenge. We let you own your domain and drive your work independently.

If that sounds exciting then TopUp Mama may be the perfect place for you. But, TopUp Mama is not for everyone:

• We are an early-stage start-up. It may be chaotic at times with shifting priorities. 
• This is not a 9-5 job. This is a whatever it takes to get it done job
• This is not where we will tell you exactly what to do. You will be expected to manage your work to achieve the outcomes
• We love being around our customers. If you enjoy sitting behind a desk all day, this may not be the best place for you