Planning and Forecasting Specialist

Hunter Amenities is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of Personal Care Amenities with 40 years of experience in the global market. We are a highly entrepreneurial, professional, and driven organization that believes in teamwork, professional ethics, and outstanding service. Hunter is proud to be a Platinum level member of the “Best Managed Companies” program in Canada.

The Opportunity:
Join our dynamic team as a Planning & Forecasting Specialist. Focused on Demand Planning, this is a pivotal role in ensuring that our personal care and amenities products meet market demand while maintaining a targeted inventory fill rate of 95%+.

You will blend disciplined analytical approaches with a deep understanding of consumer trends, regulatory nuances, and market dynamics specific to our industry. Your innovative forecasting and collaboration across internal teams will drive efficiency, customer satisfaction, and supply chain performance, ensuring that our products remain in sync with evolving consumer needs.

Key Duties & Responsibilities

Strategic Demand Forecasting:

• Develop, refine, and execute demand planning strategies using advanced forecasting methodologies that capture the seasonal fluctuations, emerging consumer trends, market innovations, new segments, customers and products.
• Continuously analyze historical sales data, real-time market insights, and competitive intelligence to anticipate demand shifts and proactively adjust forecasts.

• Work closely with Production Scheduling, Customer Service, Sales, Supply Chain, Finance and Purchasing departments to determine optimal forecast quantities for input into the MRP system.
• Partner with Project Managers and Sales teams to support new product launches and adjustments to existing product lines, ensuring forecasts align with dynamic market trends and product life cycles.
• Liaise with Customer Service, key customers, and global teams—particularly in European and Asian markets—to understand and integrate regional demand factors and volume requirements.

• Monitor pipeline orders and collaborate with Sales to set realistic customer expectations while maintaining inventory targets.
• Evaluate usage patterns, lead times, and customer service levels to determine safety stock requirements, ensuring minimal disruption to production schedules.

• Review run sizes, annual purchase orders, and production efficiencies; suggest and implement adjustments to support lean manufacturing principles and operational excellence
• Refine forecasting models and methodologies continuously to enhance accuracy and responsiveness in a fast-paced marketplace.
• Prepare and analyze detailed reports and dashboards on demand trends, forecast accuracy, inventory gaps, and overall supply chain performance for senior management.
• Collaborate with phase-out program managers to transition obsolete products or integrate new products smoothly into the commercial portfolio.

• Dominance of simple models like moving averages, exponential smoothing, & regression
• Goal: to have the building blocks for more advanced techniques.

• Experienced with cleaning, merging, and interpreting datasets, especially sales history and market data.
• Goal: accurate, organized data is the foundation of reliable forecasts.

• Knowledge of advanced formulas, PivotTables, Power Query, and basic VBA automation
• Goal: Hunter Amenities, its companies, customers and partners still rely heavily on Excel for demand planning.

• Work closely with sales, marketing, finance, and supply planning.
• Goal: integrate cross-functional insights leads to consensus forecasts and fewer surprises.

• Understand metrics such as MAPE and forecast bias and use them to get a better forecast
• Goal: knowing where and how much the forecast misses the mark for improvement.

• Build “what-if” models for promotions, supply disruptions, or unexpected demand surges.Goal: be prepared for multiple outcomes to boost readiness and avoid panicked reactions when real events unfold.

• Use post-mortems after each forecasting cycle: what went right, what went wrong.
• Goal: constant iteration to help improve and adapt to evolving market conditions.

• A College Diploma or equivalent in Business, Supply Chain Management, Operations, or a related field.
• CPIM or APICS certification is strongly preferred.

• 3-5 years of experience in inventory or demand planning, ideally with exposure to the personal care, beauty, or amenities industries.
• 2-3 years of proven ERP system experience; expertise in specialized demand planning software is an asset.

• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (especially Excel), with the ability to create complex models, pivot tables, and analytical dashboards.
• Demonstrated strong analytical ability with attention to detail and a capability to transform complex data into actionable insights.
• Experience with lean initiatives, S&OP processes, and continuous improvement methodologies.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with a proven aptitude for building collaborative relationships across diverse teams and global markets.
• A proactive and adaptable mindset with the ability to manage multiple projects concurrently in a fast-paced environment.

• Deep understanding of consumer behavior and market trends in the personal care and amenities industries.
• Familiarity with relevant regulatory standards, sustainability considerations, and packaging innovations that influence product demand.
• Ability to integrate market data, promotional activities, and consumer feedback into refined forecasting models that drive business growth.

• A genuine interest in the personal care and amenities sector with an eye for emerging trends and innovations.
• A track record of improving forecast accuracy and inventory management in a competitive, consumer-focused marketplace.

• Proactive in identifying challenges and proposing creative, data-driven solutions to enhance demand planning effectiveness.
• Experience working in a diverse, multicultural team and managing global supply chain operations.

We offer:

• A competitive compensation package.

• An excellent company-paid benefit package including health, dental, life, a matching group RRSP, skills development, and training reimbursement.

• The opportunity to be part of a fast-growing, dynamic, and successful global team. We believe in our people and our people believe in Hunter.

A Little Bit More About Us:

Hunter Amenities’ global headquarters is in Burlington, Ontario where we manufacture one of the richest portfolios of licensed amenity brands for our 5- and 6-star global hotels, boutique hotels, spas, cruise lines and retail clients. Hunter has built a broad retail portfolio, creating both private labels and branded beauty products of the highest quality. Learn more about our company and culture at www.hunteramenities.com.

Based on our profile and needs we will only contact those candidates selected for interviews. Thanks for applying!

Hunter Amenities International Ltd. is an equal opportunity employer. Hunter does not discriminate on the basis of race/religion/sex/national origin/veteran/disability/sexual orientation/gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by current law.

Hunter Amenities is committed to providing accessible employment practices that are in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (‘AODA’). If you require accommodation for disability during any stage of the recruitment process, please notify Human Resources at 1-800-668-1483.