Program Manager II

Restaurant Supply Chain Solutions, LLC, a Yum! Brands Co-op, is currently seeking a Program Manager II, to join the Taco Bell Concept team in Irvine, CA.

Position Overview

This position is part of the Program Management team that supports the supply chain for Taco Bell’s 8,200+ restaurants in the U.S. with annual sales more than $18B. This role leads to complex, high-visibility national commercialization initiatives that protect restaurant execution, franchisee experience, supply continuity, and brand performance.

Role

To be successful in this role, Program Manager II must be a strategic, relationship-oriented supply chain leader who can integrate project management, demand planning, financial risk management, scenario planning, and executive stakeholder communication. This person will influence cross-functional decisions, drive launch readiness, manage risk across suppliers and distributors, and provide executive-ready recommendations for new products, limited time offers, core menu forecasts, and strategic supply chain initiatives. Annual oversight is estimated at:

• 20-30 food, packaging and smallwares launches to support national NPI and LTOs
• $300MM-$500MM in inventory authorizations
• 20-30 new product tests
• Forecasting 50-100 core menu items

Hybrid position: 3 days in the office, 2 days remote

Excellent benefits: Medical, Dental, Vision, Vacation, Life Insurance, Retirement, Wellness, and much more.

Essential Functions

Project Management (~70%)

• Lead complex, high-profile national commercialization initiatives for Taco Bell as the supply chain owner from test kitchen concept through restaurant execution. Key initiatives include new product introductions, limited time offers, product transitions, packaging changes, supplier capacity projects, and other marketing calendar initiatives with significant brand, franchisee, and operational visibility.
• Collaborate with cross functional stakeholders (marketing, operations, finance) to identify, quantify, and document the supply chain demands.
• Drive executive alignment on supply chain tradeoffs, commercialization risk, contingency plans, inventory exposure, supplier readiness, and launch readiness decisions.
• Collaborate with supply chain partners internally (supply planning, procurement, distribution) and externally (suppliers, distributors) to develop supply strategies that enable maximum flexibility with minimal financial risk. This includes planning contingencies, capacity assurance, and ingredient procurement timelines.
• Manage multiple overlapping launch timelines with significant supplier, distributor, procurement, quality, inventory, and restaurant execution dependencies.
• Manage supply chain timelines and deliverables of both internal and external stakeholders to ensure flawless execution of marketing initiatives.
• Orchestrate deployment and depletion of new ingredients from suppliers to distributors to restaurants.
• Provide timely, executive-ready communication to internal supply planners, procurement partners, brand partners, Finance, suppliers, distributors, and leadership, including clear recommendations, risk implications, and required decisions.
• Present supply updates, risk assessments, launch readiness recommendations, and decision points to Concept and RSCS Executive Teams.
• Ensure key learnings and best practices are captured to support future strategic planning and continuous improvement.
• Create and manage inventory procurement authorizations, balancing supply assurance, sales upside, supplier lead times, depletion risk, and excess or obsolete inventory exposure.

Demand Planning (~30%)

• Leverage technology systems (primarily Blue Yonder and Power BI) to drive uninterrupted supply.
• Collaborate with cross functional partners to understand marketing activities; gather and input demand plans into the system.
• Develop and maintain accurate demand forecasts for assigned core menu items and products.
• Develop forecast scenarios and sensitivity analyses that translate marketing, sales, product, supplier, and operational assumptions into actionable supply chain recommendations.
• Monitor menu sales, rapidly identify forecast misses, coordinate research activities to reconcile significant variances, adjust plans, and inform stakeholders and leadership with concise insights, business implications, and recommended actions.
• Use and maintain demand planning software.
• Participate in continuous improvement and process optimization efforts.
• Special projects, and other duties as assigned by management.

Required Education, Experience And Skills

• Bachelor’s degree required in supply chain, business, or related field.
• Minimum of 5 to 7 years of progressive business experience in one or more of the following areas or related fields: Supply Chain, Operations, Project Management, Program Management, Commercialization, Demand Planning, Inventory Management, Procurement, and/or Purchasing.
• Prefer experience leading national product launches, limited time offers, commercialization programs, or complex supply chain initiatives in restaurant/foodservice, CPG, distribution, supplier, or manufacturing environments.
• Demonstrated ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders, communicate with senior leadership, and make data-driven recommendations that balance service, cost, risk, and execution.
• Required technical experience: Advanced Excel
• Prefer ISM CPSM certification, APICS CPIM certification, and/or Six Sigma Green Belt.
• Prefer experience in Blue Yonder (Demand and/or Fulfillment modules), Oracle SCM, SAP SCM, or other enterprise supply planning software systems.

Core Competencies

• Ability to build and maintain relationships with partners and stakeholders.
• Ability to influence decisions and outcomes.
• Project management and facilitation skills
• Data analysis, problem identification, and resolution
• Demand calculation and inventory management.
• Ability to anticipate outcomes and avoid/mitigate risk.
• Technical aptitude
• Process orientation
• Executive presence and ability to communicate effectively with Director, VP, executive, and franchisee-facing stakeholders.
• Strategic thinking, commercial acumen, and ability to lead through ambiguity.
• Advanced risk assessment, scenario planning, and decision-making capability
• Teamwork (cooperation and collaboration)
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Attention to detail.
• Excellence in Microsoft Office - Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook
• Presentations skills geared at Director/VP/executive levels.
• World Class Values

Key Contacts/Interfaces

• Cross-functional brand groups (Restaurant Operations, Marketing, Product Development, Quality Assurance, Business Planning, and Training)
• Supply Planners
• Procurement
• Distributors and Redistributors
• Suppliers
• Taco Bell executive leadership, Finance leadership, and franchisee-facing stakeholders