Director, IT - Supply Chain Planning & Transformation

Baxter International•Riverwoods, IL

24d•$184,000 - $253,000

About The Position

This is where your work makes a difference. At Baxter, we believe every person—regardless of who they are or where they are from—deserves a chance to live a healthy life. It was our founding belief in 1931 and continues to be our guiding principle. We are redefining healthcare delivery to make a greater impact today, tomorrow, and beyond. Our Baxter colleagues are united by our Mission to Save and Sustain Lives. Together, our community is driven by a culture of courage, trust, and collaboration. Every individual is empowered to take ownership and make a meaningful impact. We strive for efficient and effective operations, and we hold each other accountable for delivering exceptional results. Here, you will find more than just a job—you will find purpose and pride. Your role at Baxter: We are seeking a strategic and hands-on IT leader to drive the transformation of Baxter's Integrated Supply Chain Planning Capabilities. This role will be instrumental in driving customer satisfaction and supply chain agility through significantly improved forecast accuracy, demand sensing, multi-echelon inventory optimization, and robust data governance. The successful candidate will also lead the ISC IT Visibility and Insights workstream, developing and executing a business intelligence strategy that brings transparency to key performance indicators across supply chain domains—enabling improved decision-making around growth and cost objectives and supporting our LEAN / Six Sigma journey. What you'll be doing: Strategic Leadership & Transformation Define and execute the IT strategy for supply chain planning and visibility transformation, partnering closely with ISC Planning leaders in a way that enables the ISC strategy. Drive transformation initiatives to modernize planning capabilities, leveraging advanced analytics and automation Champion the use of Baxter's advanced planning platform, Kinaxis, and adjacent technologies including AI, ML and statistical models to improve forecast accuracy, supply responsiveness, and inventory optimization. Lead initiatives that enhance forecasting through AI, demand sensing and multi-echelon inventory management. Lead the integration of supply chain technology focused planning team into the enterprise IT organization, establishing governance, accountability, and alignment with Baxter's planning strategy. Provide teamwork, leadership and support for incident, problem and change tickets related to enterprise planning and fulfillment solutions as the need arises in order to meet service levels and system uptime requirements. Yearly project planning and budgeting. Technology Enablement Own the architecture, implementation, and continuous improvement of the Kinaxis platform including RapidResponse. Integrate Kinaxis with CRM (Salesforce), ERP systems (JDE, SAP) and adjacent platforms to enable end-to-end planning and visibility. Ensure strong data governance and master data integrity across planning and reporting systems. Supply Chain Visibility & Insights Lead the development and execution of a business intelligence strategy for Integrated Supply Chain performance. Deliver dashboards and analytics that provide transparency into KPIs across planning, sourcing, manufacturing, logistics, and customer service. Collaborate with the Integrated Supply Chain analytics team to deliver on analytics projects and key priorities Enable data-driven decision-making aligned with LEAN / Six Sigma principles. Partner with operational and executive stakeholders to govern ISC business intelligence and metrics while driving a continuous improvement mindset. Stakeholder Engagement Rebuild trust and partnership with business planning stakeholders by delivering measurable improvements in planning outcomes and responsiveness. Collaborate with internal stakeholders including supply chain planners, IT teams, and senior executives to align planning and visibility capabilities with business goals. Engage external partners and vendors to ensure successful delivery and adoption of planning and BI solutions. Communicate progress, risks, and benefits of transformation initiatives to executive stakeholders. Facilitate change management and user adoption through effective communication and training strategies. Performance & Optimization Establish KPIs and metrics to measure planning effectiveness, system performance, and supply chain health. Continuously identify opportunities for process improvement, automation, and predictive analytics. Drive innovation through data insights and advanced analytics.

Requirements

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Information Technology, Supply Chain Management, Data Analytics, or related field.
10+ years of experience in IT leadership roles, with a focus on supply chain planning and analytics along with planning systems and transformation
Proven experience implementing and managing the Kinaxis Maestro and Rapid Response platform including configuration, integration, and optimization across demand, supply, and inventory planning domains.
Strong understanding of CRM and ERP integration strategies and technologies.
Demonstrated success in leading cross-functional teams and driving organizational change.
Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and strategic thinking skills.
Deep familiarization with Planning capabilities and principles (ie demand, supply, IBP, SIOP, SOE, WAPE, MAPE, SFA).

Nice To Haves

Experience in regulated industries (e.g., healthcare, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing).
Familiarity with AI/ML applications in demand forecasting, inventory optimization, and supply chain analytics.
Certification in Kinaxis or related planning platforms.
Experience with BI and analytics tools such as Power BI, Tableau, Snowflake.
Strong vendor management and negotiation skills.

Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Transformation Define and execute the IT strategy for supply chain planning and visibility transformation, partnering closely with ISC Planning leaders in a way that enables the ISC strategy.
Drive transformation initiatives to modernize planning capabilities, leveraging advanced analytics and automation
Champion the use of Baxter's advanced planning platform, Kinaxis, and adjacent technologies including AI, ML and statistical models to improve forecast accuracy, supply responsiveness, and inventory optimization.
Lead initiatives that enhance forecasting through AI, demand sensing and multi-echelon inventory management.
Lead the integration of supply chain technology focused planning team into the enterprise IT organization, establishing governance, accountability, and alignment with Baxter's planning strategy.
Provide teamwork, leadership and support for incident, problem and change tickets related to enterprise planning and fulfillment solutions as the need arises in order to meet service levels and system uptime requirements.
Yearly project planning and budgeting.
Technology Enablement Own the architecture, implementation, and continuous improvement of the Kinaxis platform including RapidResponse.
Integrate Kinaxis with CRM (Salesforce), ERP systems (JDE, SAP) and adjacent platforms to enable end-to-end planning and visibility.
Ensure strong data governance and master data integrity across planning and reporting systems.
Supply Chain Visibility & Insights Lead the development and execution of a business intelligence strategy for Integrated Supply Chain performance.
Deliver dashboards and analytics that provide transparency into KPIs across planning, sourcing, manufacturing, logistics, and customer service.
Collaborate with the Integrated Supply Chain analytics team to deliver on analytics projects and key priorities
Enable data-driven decision-making aligned with LEAN / Six Sigma principles.
Partner with operational and executive stakeholders to govern ISC business intelligence and metrics while driving a continuous improvement mindset.
Stakeholder Engagement Rebuild trust and partnership with business planning stakeholders by delivering measurable improvements in planning outcomes and responsiveness.
Collaborate with internal stakeholders including supply chain planners, IT teams, and senior executives to align planning and visibility capabilities with business goals.
Engage external partners and vendors to ensure successful delivery and adoption of planning and BI solutions.
Communicate progress, risks, and benefits of transformation initiatives to executive stakeholders.
Facilitate change management and user adoption through effective communication and training strategies.
Performance & Optimization Establish KPIs and metrics to measure planning effectiveness, system performance, and supply chain health.
Continuously identify opportunities for process improvement, automation, and predictive analytics.
Drive innovation through data insights and advanced analytics.

Benefits

Baxter offers comprehensive compensation and benefits packages for eligible roles.
Our health and well-being benefits include medical and dental coverage that start on day one, as well as insurance coverage for basic life, accident, short-term and long-term disability, and business travel accident insurance.
Financial and retirement benefits include the Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP), with the ability to purchase company stock at a discount, and the 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan (RSP), with options for employee contributions and company matching.
We also offer Flexible Spending Accounts, educational assistance programs, and time-off benefits such as paid holidays, paid time off ranging from 20 to 35 days based on length of service, family and medical leaves of absence, and paid parental leave.
Additional benefits include commuting benefits, the Employee Discount Program, the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and childcare benefits.

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