Sales & Demand Planning Manager

Company Description Amylu Foods is a high-growth, woman-founded, natural and health CPG company, known for its fresh ingredients and hand-crafted recipes. As pioneers in the chicken sausage category, we combine innovation with tradition, delivering bold and fresh flavors. Rooted in Chicago and celebrating 100+ years of craftsmanship, we continue to expand our product offerings and distribution nationwide, redefining the protein category. We are seeking passionate and talented leaders to join our rapidly growing company for our next phase of growth. Role Description The Sales & Demand Planning Manager is a new, foundational role for Amylu, established to give Sales, Production, Procurement, Finance, Marketing, and Leadership a single, reliable demand signal to plan against. The role translates insights across syndicated retailer data, warehouse inbound and outbound data, and direct order/shipment data into reliable, actionable demand forecasts. It is an individual-contributor position with no direct reports at this time. The Sales & Demand Planning Manager partners with Sales and Customer Service/Customer Supply Chain to shape retailer and distributor buying patterns and resolve order variances, with Marketing and Sales to size the demand lift from integrated marketing campaigns and trade plans, and with Product Development, Commercialization, and Project Management to contextualize expected volumes and timelines for new item launches. This person leads the S&OP process - including proactively flagging demand-side risk - and supports Annual Operating Plan (AOP) development with forecast models grounded in commercial inputs. Success in this role looks like a forecast that the business trusts, and a demand signal that gets ahead of problems rather than reacting to them. Areas of Responsibilities Translate Data Into Reliable Forecasts Aggregate and interpret syndicated retailer/POS data (e.g., Circana/IRI, Nielsen), warehouse inbound and outbound movement data, and direct customer order/shipment history into a single, coherent demand signal. Build and maintain statistical and consensus forecasts at the appropriate SKU / customer / channel level, identifying trends, seasonality, promotional lift, and distribution changes. Own forecast accuracy and bias performance and report results and root causes to leadership on a regular cadence. Continuously evaluate and improve forecasting methods, tools, and data inputs to increase reliability and lead time of the demand signal. Provide the resulting forecast as the primary demand input to the Production, Procurement, and Finance planning processes. Proactively Influence Buying Patterns Partner with retailers and distributors, alongside Sales and Customer Service/Customer Supply Chain, to shape order timing and volume ahead of anticipated demand shifts. Translate forecast insights into early, specific flags for upcoming demand changes - promotions, seasonality, new item launches, distribution gains or losses - shared with customers and internal partners. Support joint business planning and customer conversations with data-driven recommendations that help retailers and distributors order in line with true underlying demand. Identify and Proactively Manage Order Variances to Forecast Monitor incoming orders against forecast on an ongoing basis, flagging significant variances early rather than after they affect service or inventory. Collaborate with Customer Service/Customer Supply Chain and Sales to investigate root causes of variances - inventory position, promotional timing, distribution changes, order pattern shifts - and drive them to resolution. Build and maintain exception reporting and variance-tracking processes that give the team a consistent, proactive way to intervene before variances become problems. Adjust Forecast With Key Learnings Partner with Sales to capture field intelligence - customer plans, promotional calendars, competitive activity, distribution changes - and incorporate it into forecast adjustments. Facilitate regular forecast review and consensus cycles with Sales to reconcile the statistical forecast with market and account-level intelligence. Document the rationale behind forecast overrides and adjustments to build institutional learning and improve forecast accuracy over time. Incorporate Marketing, Sales, and New Item Inputs Partner with Marketing to size and incorporate demand lift associated with integrated marketing campaigns into the forecast. Partner with Sales to size and incorporate demand lift associated with trade plans and promotional activity into the forecast. Partner with Product Development, Commercialization, and the relevant project manager(s) to contextualize anticipated volumes for new item launches and support launch timelines with early demand visibility. Lead S&OP and Support the Annual Operating Plan Lead the monthly S&OP process, bringing demand, commercial, and new-item inputs together into a single, reviewed forecast. Proactively flag demand-side risks - both upside and downside - to leadership and cross-functional partners ahead of and during S&OP. Support Annual Operating Plan (AOP) development by providing forecast models grounded in commercial inputs from Sales and Marketing. Note: the production plan owns inventory management; this role is responsible for the demand signal and forecast accuracy that the production plan is built on. Cross Functional Collaboration Serve as the connective link between Sales, Marketing, Customer Service/Customer Supply Chain, Product Development/Commercialization, and Production, Procurement, and Finance - ensuring the forecast is understood, trusted, and acted on across teams. Build strong working relationships with key retailer and distributor supply chain contacts to support collaborative planning. Skills and Qualifications Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, Statistics, or a related field. 5-7+ years of demand planning or forecasting experience, ideally within CPG or food manufacturing. Experience with syndicated data platforms (e.g., Circana/IRI, Nielsen), warehouse and distributor portals, ERP systems, and forecasting/planning tools Strong analytical and statistical skills; advanced Excel proficiency Excellent cross-functional communication skills, with the ability to influence outcomes without direct authority across Sales, Marketing, Customer Service, Product Development, and external retail/distributor partners. Analytical rigor paired with clear data storytelling. Proactive, forward-looking mindset - focused on getting ahead of demand shifts and variances, not just reporting on them after the fact. Skilled collaborator and influencer across internal teams and external retail/distributor partners. Comfortable building a new process/function from the ground up - defining scope, routines, and reporting rather than operating within an established one. Comfortable operating in ambiguity and driving process improvement Leadership & Culture Expectations Operates with urgency, integrity, and accountability. Demonstrates curiosity, critical thinking, and a proactive, problem‑solving mindset. Builds trust‑based relationships and communicates with clarity and empathy. Elevates team standards through disciplined execution, high analytical rigor, and consistent follow‑through. Embodies a growth mindset and a commitment to continuous learning. Compensation and Benefits Summary: Pay Range : $90,000 - $110,000 per year. Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance. 401(k) retirement plan with a company match of up to 3.5% Paid Time Off (PTO) plus 40hrs paid sick leave plus 8 paid holidays. Amylu Foods is proud to be an Equal Opportunity and Aff… #J-18808-Ljbffr Prelude Growth