International Supply & Planning Coordinator

International Supply & Planning Coordinator | North London | Hybrid - 2-3 days a week in the office | Competitive salary + benefits

The Company

I'm working with a successful international consumer goods business that's continuing to grow across global markets.

They're looking for another person to join a close-knit team at the heart of their international operations, connecting customers, overseas manufacturing partners and internal teams.

I've recruited for the business for a number of years and it's one where people genuinely enjoy working. The culture is collaborative, there's a real buzz around the office and people tend to build long-term careers because they enjoy the variety, the people and the opportunities to grow.

The Opportunity

This is a particularly exciting time to join the team. Positive changes within the business have created what is essentially a new role, giving the person joining a genuine opportunity to help shape how the department works as it develops.

You'll get great exposure across the business, working with international customers, colleagues in the US, manufacturing partners in Asia and teams across Sales, Planning and Supply Chain. You'll be close to the full process, seeing how customer requirements translate through purchasing and production and ultimately through to delivery.

But the real opportunity is to make the role your own. The team is looking for someone who will spot where things could work better, bring ideas and solutions and help shape new ways of working rather than simply following processes that have always been there.

You'll have plenty of autonomy and the chance to use your judgement. Priorities can change quickly and problems won't always have an obvious answer, so this will suit someone who's naturally curious, asks the right questions and enjoys working out the best way forward.

For someone who wants to broaden their experience, get closer to different areas of an international business and have a genuine voice in how a growing function develops, there's a lot of opportunity here.

The Role

Day to day you'll be:

• Coordinating international customer requirements through purchasing, production and delivery.
• Supporting forecasting and planning to keep customer requirements, purchasing and production aligned.
• Working with international teams and overseas manufacturing partners to coordinate purchasing and production.
• Making sure orders are accurate, with the right quantities, information and required dates.
• Tracking production and supply, identifying potential delays or issues and finding solutions.
• Working closely with Sales, Planning, Supply Chain and Procurement.
• Building strong customer relationships and providing clear, accurate updates.
• Managing different customer and market requirements.
• Finding practical solutions when timings, quantities or production requirements create challenges.
• Keeping product, customer and supply information accurate.
• Looking for ways to improve processes and make things work better.

The Person

There are several backgrounds that could work well here. You may come from international customer or commercial operations, or your experience might sit closer to buying, merchandising, planning, production or supply chain.

What's important is that you've had exposure to both the customer side and some of what happens further upstream to make those orders possible.

That could include:

• Working with international customers, wholesale accounts or distributors.
• Working with overseas suppliers, factories or manufacturing partners.
• Purchasing, production or supply coordination.
• Critical paths, lead times, stock and availability.
• Planning, forecasting or working closely with planning teams.
• Coordinating across Sales, Supply Chain, Operations or other internal teams.
• Identifying problems, working through the options and finding practical solutions.

You don't need every one of these, but you should understand that getting a customer order right involves more than processing it and arranging delivery.

This also isn't a pure supply chain or production role. You'll work closely with international customers and commercial teams, so you'll need to be a confident communicator who enjoys building relationships as much as getting into the detail.

You'll need to come from a product-led environment such as consumer goods, FMCG, retail, fashion, beauty, homeware or something similar.

Above all, we're looking for someone who thinks ahead, joins the dots and takes ownership. Someone with good judgement, strong attention to detail and the confidence to spot when something doesn't quite add up and work out what to do about it.

If you're looking for a busy, varied role where you'll be trusted, challenged and given the opportunity to put your stamp on something, I'd love to hear from you.

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