Strategic Planner

Chr. Hansen•West Allis, WI

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

As a Strategic Planner at Novonesis, you'll play a critical role in optimizing planning and scheduling processes that support our West Allis manufacturing operations and ensure we continue delivering innovative biosolutions to customers around the world. You will join our Planning & Scheduling team, which supports the West Allis plant through collaborative planning, capacity management, and continuous improvement initiatives. The team works closely with manufacturing, supply chain, commercial teams, and global stakeholders to align business needs with operational capabilities and drive sustainable growth. The Role & Your Impact As a Strategic Planner, you will combine tactical and strategic planning responsibilities to improve operational performance, optimize resource utilization, and enhance supply chain reliability. You will provide critical planning insights, coordinate across functions and locations, and lead initiatives that strengthen our planning capabilities.

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree in Supply Chain, Operations, Business, Engineering, or a related field.
Minimum of 5 years of materials planning experience within a manufacturing environment.
Strong mathematical aptitude, including the ability to convert between English and Metric systems.
Intermediate proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, Power BI, Excel and SAP.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to effectively engage managers, customers, vendors, and colleagues.
Ability to collaborate with global teams and stakeholders across multiple functions.
Strong analytical skills with the ability to develop planning tools, capacity models, KPIs, and reporting solutions that support informed decision-making.
Demonstrated collaboration and stakeholder management skills to drive cross-functional planning discussions and business decisions.
Proven accountability and the ability to work independently, make sound decisions, and seek solutions with minimal oversight.

Nice To Haves

Food and beverage manufacturing experience.
APICS certification.
Experience supporting large-scale ERP implementations or SAP superuser responsibilities.
Experience leading continuous improvement, process optimization, or supply chain transformation projects.
Exposure to global manufacturing networks and cross-regional planning processes.

Responsibilities

Optimize and re-engineer planning and scheduling processes to improve efficiency and business performance.
Develop and maintain short-term and long-term capacity plans that align manufacturing capabilities with business, customer, and commercial requirements.
Identify capacity constraints and opportunities to improve utilization across operations.
Coordinate planning activities across manufacturing sites and global stakeholders to address capacity, quality, material, inventory, shipment, and supply challenges.
Manage critical inventory and perform analyses to identify and implement inventory reduction opportunities.
Lead local improvement projects, including initiatives involving global teams, that enhance key performance measures and support organizational objectives.
Develop and maintain standardized work processes and operating procedures related to planning activities.
Communicate planning process changes, risks, and issues effectively to stakeholders across the organization.