Overview

The Director, Global Demand Planning is accountable for defining and leading the global demand planning strategy across a highly regulated medical device and clinical supply network. This role spans a ~$2B global division, encompassing approximately 4,000 active SKUs across six regions, and is responsible for establishing a forward-looking, data-driven demand planning capability that enables service excellence, inventory optimization, and sustainable growth. The role owns the design, governance, and continuous improvement of demand planning processes, ensuring forecast accuracy, bias mitigation, and alignment to commercial and financial objectives across regions. This role leads a globally distributed team of regional and platform demand planners and is responsible for building organizational capability, standardizing processes, and elevating demand planning maturity. This includes driving adoption of best-in-class forecasting methodologies, strengthening IBP/SIOP integration, and embedding disciplined demand review processes that align commercial insights with statistical models. The role partners closely with Commercial, Marketing, Finance, Global Supply Planning, and Deployment Planning to ensure a single, aligned demand signal that supports production, inventory, and revenue planning. As a senior leader within the supply chain organization, this role plays a critical part in driving transformation—shifting the organization from reactive, judgment-driven forecasting toward predictive, analytics-enabled, and insight-led demand planning. The position provides executive visibility into demand risks and opportunities, enabling proactive decision-making that improves forecast reliability, reduces variability, and enhances customer service. This role is instrumental in advancing a Customer First mindset while strengthening end-to-end planning integration and delivering scalable, resilient growth in a regulated healthcare environment.

Typical tasks of the position include, but are not limited to

• Establish and execute a forward-looking global demand planning strategy that enables service excellence, revenue attainment, and inventory optimization across a complex, regulated product portfolio.
• Establish and lead a high-performing, globally distributed demand planning organization, strengthening capabilities in advanced analytics, business partnering, and strategic thinking while fostering a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and talent development.
• Build strong, trust-based partnerships with Commercial leadership, translating market insights into actionable demand plans while proactively shaping strategies that enable growth, improve forecast alignment, and enhance customer outcomes.
• Drive accountability for forecast accuracy, bias reduction, and demand variability management across regions, ensuring a single, aligned demand signal that supports operational and financial plans.
• Lead the demand planning pillar of the IBP/SIOP process, embedding disciplined demand review cycles, robust scenario planning, and clear escalation pathways to support executive decision-making.
• Establish and enforce global standards, governance, and best practices for demand planning, ensuring consistency in methodologies, assumptions, and outputs across all regions and platforms.
• Partner closely with Commercial, Marketing, Finance, and Product Management teams to translate market intelligence, promotions, and new product launches into high-quality, risk-adjusted demand plans.
• Advance the adoption of statistical modeling, advanced analytics, and system-enabled forecasting tools (e.g., SAP IBP), reducing reliance on manual adjustments and improving forecast scalability.
• Provide proactive visibility into demand risks, upside opportunities, and market shifts, enabling timely cross-functional actions to protect service levels and financial performance.
• Ensure strong integration with Global Supply Planning and Deployment Planning to align demand, supply, and inventory strategies, optimizing trade-offs across service, cost, and working capital.
• Lead the evolution from reactive, judgment-driven forecasting to predictive, insights-led demand planning, continuously improving process maturity, digital enablement, and organizational capability.
• Oversee demand planning inputs for product launches, transitions, and end-of-life management, minimizing obsolescence risk and ensuring alignment with portfolio and commercialization strategies.
• Deliver clear, concise insights on demand performance, forecast risks, and business outlook to senior leadership, enabling data-driven decisions that support growth and resilience.
• Drive the adoption of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and advanced analytics to enhance forecast accuracy, demand sensing, and responsiveness, reducing reliance on manual, judgment-driven processes.
• Partner with Digital and IT to embed predictive and prescriptive forecasting tools (e.g., SAP IBP), leveraging internal and external data signals to enable real-time, insight-driven decision-making and scalable planning performance.

The successful candidate will have a combination of knowledge, skills, and experience that would include the following

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Industrial Engineering, Finance, or related field.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in supply chain planning, with demonstrated ownership of complex, multi‑site supply and distribution networks.
• 5+ years of people leadership experience, including leading leaders.
• APICS certification (CPIM/CSCP) preferred.
• Executive-level communication, presence, and influencing skills, with the ability to clearly articulate insights, risks, and recommendations to senior leadership.
• Demonstrated expertise in demand planning methodologies, including statistical forecasting, demand sensing, segmentation strategies, and lifecycle planning (new product introduction, phase-in/phase-out).
• Experience in regulated industries (medical device, biotech, pharmaceutical).
• Proven ability to lead through significant change; merger and integration experience strongly preferred.
• Hands‑on experience working with international supply chain teams, including navigating time zone, cultural, and regional operating differences.
• Experience leveraging advanced analytics, AI/ML, and digital planning tools (e.g., SAP IBP or equivalent) to enhance forecast accuracy and enable scalable, data-driven planning.
• Proven ability to partner with Commercial organizations as a trusted advisor, translating market insights into actionable demand plans that support growth objectives.
• Advanced experience with ERP and demand planning systems; SAP IBP strongly preferred.
• Strong analytical and financial acumen, with the ability to connect demand plans to revenue, budgeting, and business performance outcomes.
• Strong analytical capability with experience using advanced analytics to drive planning decisions.

Additional Experience a Plus

• MBA or Master’s degree in a relevant field.
• Experience leading a planning transformation (ERP/APS implementation, IBP implementation).
• Prior experience in both supply chain planning and at least one adjacent supply chain or business function, enabling the ability to identify upstream and downstream implications of planning decisions.

Company Description

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) is a global leader in life sciences and diagnostics, dedicated to accelerating the benefits of pioneering science through analytical technologies, informatics, and service. With a focus on regulated, high-volume testing environments, our innovative portfolio harnesses deep scientific expertise across chemistry, physics, and biology. We collaborate with customers around the world to advance the release of effective, high-quality medicines, ensure the safety of food and water, and drive better patient outcomes by detecting diseases earlier, managing routine infections, and combating antibiotic resistance. Through a shared culture of relentless innovation, our passionate team of ~16,000 colleagues turn scientific challenges into breakthroughs that improve lives worldwide. 

Diversity and inclusion are fundamental to our core values at Waters Corporation. It benefits our employees, our products, our customers and our community. Waters complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws. Qualified applicants are considered without regard to sex, race, color, ancestry, national origin, citizenship status, religion, age, marital status (including civil unions), military service, veteran status, pregnancy (including childbirth and related medical conditions), genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, legally recognized disability, domestic violence victim status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Waters is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. All hiring decisions are based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.