A fantastic opportunity for a Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) Manager has arisen to join a leading defence and advanced technology organisation at a highly strategic UK site. You'll operate at group level, owning and driving the S&OP framework across a complex matrix business, working closely with finance, strategy and senior leadership to deliver strong operational and financial performance.
This is a highly visible role, ideal for a senior S&OP professional who thrives on influencing at director level, driving alignment, and embedding best‑in‑class planning processes across a large organisation.
Role - Sales & Operations Planning Manager (S&OP Manager)
Location - Farnborough (hybrid working, minimum 3 days onsite per week)
Type - Permanent position
Salary - Competitive + benefits
Type - Permanent position
Salary - Competitive + benefits
Key responsibilities of the Sales & Operations Planning Manager / S&OP Manager role include but are not limited to:
- Holds full accountability for the end‑to‑end S&OP process across the group, ensuring alignment between operational, financial and strategic plans.
- Leads effective demand and supply planning to ensure the business has the right capability and capacity in place to deliver projects successfully.
- Drives financial and delivery performance through robust operational planning, risk management and decision‑making processes.
- Ensures the operational plan is coherent, agreed and based on consistent assumptions across finance, strategy and delivery teams.
- Owns the baseline operational plan and manages changes to ensure continued alignment with strategy and financial targets.
- Monitors, reports and communicates performance of the operational plan, working with business sectors to identify issues and drive improvement actions.
- Ensures risks and key decisions within the operational plan are clearly understood and actively managed.
- Owns the S&OP systems, tools and governance framework, driving continuous improvement and lessons‑learnt activity.
- Builds strong, trusted relationships with senior stakeholders across the organisation, influencing at director level and above.
Key skills and experience required for the Sales & Operations Planning Manager / S&OP Manager role include but are not limited to:
- Extensive experience leading Sales & Operations Planning within a large, complex, matrix organisation.
- Proven ability to operate and influence across a wide stakeholder group, up to and including director level.
- Strong leadership capability with experience building, motivating and inspiring high‑performing teams.
- Excellent stakeholder management, negotiation and influencing skills, with the confidence to challenge established behaviours and ways of working.
- Strong commercial and operational mindset, with the ability to balance strategic objectives and day‑to‑day delivery.
- Degree‑level qualification in a numerate, analytical or business‑focused discipline (or equivalent experience).
- Comfortable working with geographically dispersed teams in a collaborative, fast‑paced environment.
- This role is based at a highly advanced UK technology site and offers hybrid working, with a minimum average onsite attendance of three days per week. Due to the nature of the work, security clearance eligibility (SC as a minimum) is required.
To apply for this Sales & Operations Planning Manager / S&OP Manager / Head of S&OP / Senior S&OP Manager / Operations Planning Manager role, candidates must be eligible to live and work in the UK and meet the relevant security clearance requirements.
