About this role
Pharma Source & Ostomy Source, Supply Chain Team Leader Full-time, Permanent City West, Hybrid
The Role Lead, coach and challenge the Supply Chain Planning team, setting clear priorities, standards and objectively measured expectations. • Support Business Unit gross margin and sales targets through optimum stock availability, strategic purchasing and strong execution. • Drive a proactive stock management approach covering demand, safety stock, shortages, excess, slow-moving stock and expiry exposure. • Create an environment of ownership, creative problem solving, collaboration and continuous improvement. • Use data and cross-functional collaboration to identify risk early, escalate clearly and deliver practical solutions.
People Leadership & Team Development
• Provide visible day-to-day leadership to Supply Chain Planners, including clear direction, prioritisation and workload management. • Set role expectations and measurable KPIs, review performance consistently and follow through on agreed actions. • Develop team capability in analytical, judgement-based and scenario-led decision-making to support effective problem-solving. • Foster open discussion and new ideas while ensuring clear accountability for decisions, actions and outcomes. • Support the team in managing busy periods effectively, maintaining focus and prioritising urgent issues alongside routine workload. • Identify opportunities for capability development and establish practical development plans, cross-training and succession cover. • Create a high-performance culture based on ownership, collaboration, curiosity and continuous improvement. Stock, Demand & Expiry Management
• Oversee stock availability in line with customer demand, service targets, lead times and company budget parameters. • Review demand forecasts, sales trends and exception reports to reduce reactive purchasing and improve forward planning. • Monitor out-of-stocks, excess stock, slow and dead stock, short-dated inventory and expiry exposure, ensuring actions have owners and deadlines. • Challenge safety-stock settings, order quantities and purchasing patterns where data indicates risk or opportunity. • Ensure planners develop and maintain credible recovery or contingency plans for supply disruptions. • Maintain high standards of planning data and master data accuracy. Risk, Escalation & Change
• Establish a consistent risk-management rhythm for supply continuity, including early identification, impact assessment and mitigation tracking. • Ensure escalations are timely, evidence-based and clear on business impact, options, recommended action and decision required. • Coordinate cross-functional responses with Operations, Quality, Finance, Sales, Customer Service and other relevant stakeholders. • Adapt plans quickly when supply, demand, systems, processes or business priorities change, and help the team understand the reason for change. • Lead root-cause reviews on recurring issues and embed practical corrective and preventative actions. Commercial & Financial Delivery
• Support monthly gross margin and sales delivery through stock decisions that balance availability, cost, risk and working capital. • Develop planner understanding of buy price, gross margin, inventory value, cash impact, write-off risk and cost-to-serve considerations. • Identify opportunities to improve margin through purchasing choices, supplier discussions and redistribution of volume, escalating opportunities to the Strategic Procurement Manager. • Provide concise monthly reporting on stock health, risks, expiries, escalations, service and commercial outcomes. • Collaborate with Finance to strengthen the planning team’s understanding of financial considerations and support informed decision-making. Supplier & Stakeholder Management
• Ensure effective supplier planning around availability, order fulfilment, lead times, constraints and recovery actions. • Maintain constructive working relationships with key internal stakeholders and communicate priorities, risks and decisions clearly. • Work closely with the Strategic Sourcing Specialist on shortages, alternative supply options and access initiatives, with clear handover back to the planner when the issue stabilises. • Represent Supply Chain Planning at relevant daily, weekly and monthly operational meetings.