Commercial Planning Manager

Commercial Planning Manager

Oakland, CA

We're seeking a Commercial Planning Manager to serve as the analytical backbone of our sales organization. In this role, you will own the sales forecasting process, lead monthly performance reviews, and produce the executive-level materials that drive business decisions across the company. You'll partner closely with our field sales teams, finance, operations, marketing and leadership to turn data into clear narratives and growth opportunities.

This is a high-visibility role for someone who thrives at the intersection of analytics, storytelling, and cross-functional collaboration — and who is energized by the chance to help scale a mission-driven brand.

THIS ROLE IS A HYBRID POSITION, 3 DAYS A WEEK IN-OFFICE REQUIREMENT IN OUR OAKLAND, CA OFFICE.

Important Note: This role operates in a fast‑moving, imperfect data environment. Candidates coming from highly automated or routine analytics environments should be comfortable rolling up their sleeves, validating data, and building solutions from the ground up.

What You'll Do:

Commercial & Business Planning

• Lead the monthly business sales forecasting and review, quarterly and annual commercial planning processes, including volume, revenue, margin, and investment planning, in close partnership with Sales, Distribution, and Finance.
• Translate company and commercial strategies into executable plans by channel, customer, region, and distribution partner.
• Own commercial assumptions, scenario modeling, and sensitivity analyses to support strategic decisions and trade‑offs.

• Track key commercial KPIs (volume, revenue, distribution, velocity, share) and translate movement into actionable insight
• Prepare monthly performance reviews, board decks and executive readouts for senior leadership
• Own ad‑hoc commercial analysis in support of high‑impact business decisions (pricing, trade, distribution, SKU expansion)

• Support long‑range planning and growth initiatives with data‑driven recommendations.

Forecasting & Performance Management

• Develop and maintain accurate sales and volume forecasts, partnering with Sales and FP&A to align targets and assumptions.
• Monitor performance against plan, identifying risks and opportunities, and proactively recommending corrective actions.
• Lead monthly and quarterly business reviews (MBRs/QBRs), including preparation of executive‑level materials and insights.
• Establish and track key commercial KPIs, ensuring consistent measurement across the organization.
• Balance structured monthly reporting with unplanned, urgent analytical requests

Analytics & Insights

• Analyze sales performance, distribution metrics, pricing, promotions, and trade spend effectiveness to drive continuous improvement.
• Investigate and resolve data inconsistencies across sales, distributor, and syndicated data sources
• Deliver clear, actionable insights that inform commercial execution and strategic prioritization.
• Build and maintain reports and dashboards to provide ongoing visibility for commercial leadership and cross‑functional partners.
• Leverage internal systems and data sources to improve forecasting accuracy and decision support.

Cross‑Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with Sales, Distribution, Marketing, Finance, and Supply Chain to ensure plans are aligned, achievable, and well‑executed.
• Partner closely with Sales to challenge forecasts, surface risks, and pressure‑test assumptions
• Translate incomplete or conflicting inputs into clear recommendations for Sales and Leadership
• Act as a key point of integration between strategic planning and field execution.
• Support launch planning for new products, channels, and initiatives from a commercial readiness perspective.
• Influence without authority, aligning stakeholders around facts, trade‑offs, and outcomes.

Process & Capability Building

• Improve and standardize commercial planning processes, tools, and templates.
• Drive best practices in planning cadence, governance, and documentation.
• Identify opportunities to enhance systems, reporting, and automation to scale the commercial organization.
• Support development of planning and analytical capabilities within the broader commercial team.

What You'll Bring

• Bachelor's Degree in Business, Economics, Finance, or a related field
• 5+ years of experience in commercial planning, sales strategy, FP&A, revenue operations, or category management — CPG or beverage experience strongly preferred
• Advanced Excel and financial modeling skills; comfort with large datasets and forecasting methodologies
• Ability to interpret complex data sets to identify trends and inform decision-making.
• Strong PowerPoint and storytelling skills, with proven ability to communicate to executive audiences
• Experience working with syndicated data (Nielsen, IRI, Circana, SPINS) and sales reporting tools is a plus
• Familiarity with planning systems (Anaplan, NetSuite, Power BI, Tableau, or similar) a plus
• Strong analytical skills to identify root causes of issues and develop effective solutions.
• Experience with Microsoft Office, including fluency with Excel Pivot Tables, and function formulas
• Demonstrated analytical and organizational skills
• Proficiency in English. Fluency in Portuguese or Spanish a plus

Who Will Thrive Here:

This role is best suited for someone who:

• Enjoys ambiguous, fast‑changing work where priorities shift week to week
• Is comfortable working with imperfect, evolving data and digging into issues rather than waiting for clean inputs
• Prefers being a hands‑on problem solver rather than a purely strategic or project‑management role
• Feels confident challenging assumptions and influencing sales leaders using data
• Is energized by building structure where none exists yet

Travel

• 10%

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Employee is regularly required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear
• Employee is frequently required to walk (industrial facility and rural/forest areas), climb stairs, and sit
• Exposed to moving mechanical parts and outside weather conditions
• Noise level in the work environment is usually moderate to high
• Commercial vehicle operations

What We Offer:

The pay range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors; actual pay offered may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations. Sales commissions and/or variable pay plans are also offered depending on the position (ex: monthly, quarterly, annual bonuses). Additionally, we offer a competitive benefits package including top-tier benefits, comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans, employee life and disability, mental health benefits, paid medical leave, paid company holidays, and paid time off, as well as opportunities for career growth and advancement within our team!

Salary Range

$111,500 - $145,000 USD

Yerba Madre—formerly Guayakí Yerba Mate—is the nearly 30-year pioneer of regenerative yerba mate [yer-bah ma-tay] and the category leader in ready-to-drink mate beverages across North America. The name Yerba Madre, meaning "Mother Herb," is a tribute to Mother Earth and the ancestral wisdom of the Indigenous communities who have cultivated yerba mate for generations —a reflection of the values the brand has championed since day one.

Headquartered in Sebastopol and Los Angeles, California, Yerba Madre sources organic, shade-grown yerba mate in direct partnership with 255 family farmers and Indigenous communities across Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. Using its Market Driven Regeneration™ model, every purchase helps reforest the Atlantic Forest, support fair trade premiums, and build long-term economic resilience for grower communities.

In 2025, the brand became the world's first yerba mate to achieve Regenerative Organic Certified™ Gold®