Sr. Sales Planning & Forecast Manager

Job description

We’re looking for a Sr. Sales Planning & Forecast Manager to own and lead sales forecasting, reporting, and forecast performance across our key retail and e-commerce partners. This role is highly cross-functional and will work closely with Sales, Finance, and Demand Planning to build accurate forecasts, improve forecasting processes, and provide the business with clear visibility into future demand. If you enjoy working with data, understanding what drives sales, and using modern analytics and AI tools to improve forecasting and decision-making, this role is for you. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES - Own and lead the sales forecasting process across retail and e-commerce channels, customers, and products - Develop and manage weekly, monthly, quarterly, and longer-range sales forecasts using historical sales, POS data, trends, seasonality, promotions, and business inputs - Partner closely with Sales leadership to incorporate customer insights, opportunities, risks, promotions, and changing market conditions into forecasts - Drive cross-functional forecast alignment across Sales, Finance, Demand Planning, Supply Chain, and Marketing - Analyze actual sales performance against forecast and identify key drivers of forecast variance - Own forecast accuracy, forecast bias, and other key forecasting KPIs, identifying opportunities for continuous improvement - Identify and communicate emerging trends, risks, and opportunities that could impact future sales performance - Lead forecasting for new product launches, promotions, product transitions, and other major business events - Partner with Demand Planning and Supply Chain to ensure sales forecasts provide an accurate demand signal for inventory and supply planning - Collaborate with Finance to align sales forecasts with revenue expectations, financial plans, and business outlooks - Build and deliver regular forecast reporting, insights, and recommendations to Sales and leadership - Own and improve forecasting processes, tools, methodologies, and reporting - Work with third-party forecasting, planning, retailer, and data platforms and help drive integrations across systems - Ensure data quality and consistency across internal and third-party systems used for forecasting and reporting - Build, improve, and automate forecasting tools and reporting using Excel, BI, AI, and planning platforms - Leverage AI and emerging analytics tools to improve forecasting, automate analysis, identify patterns, and surface actionable insights - Evaluate and implement new AI-enabled tools and capabilities that can improve forecast accuracy, reporting efficiency, and decision-making - Perform scenario and sensitivity analysis to help the business understand potential outcomes, risks, and opportunities - Establish scalable forecasting processes and best practices as the business and analytics capabilities grow REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS - 5–8+ years of experience in sales forecasting, demand planning, sales analytics, or a related analytical role - Strong understanding of sales forecasting processes, methodologies, and reporting - Demonstrated experience owning or leading a forecasting process - Strong analytical skills with the ability to work with large and complex datasets - Advanced Excel skills including pivots, formulas, lookups, and data modeling - Experience analyzing historical sales, POS, inventory, and demand data - Strong understanding of forecast accuracy, bias, variance analysis, and forecast performance metrics - Experience working with third-party forecasting tools, data platforms, and system integrations - Experience using AI tools to accelerate analysis, automate workflows, or improve forecasting and business insights - Ability to translate complex data into clear business insights, recommendations, and actions - Strong cross-functional leadership skills and experience influencing stakeholders across Sales, Finance, Supply Chain, Demand Planning, and Marketing - Ability to challenge assumptions, identify risks, and drive alignment around a forecast - Strong attention to detail with the ability to balance analytical depth with the broader business picture - Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present forecasts and recommendations to leadership PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS - Consumer electronics, consumer hardware, or CPG background - Experience with Tableau, Power BI, or similar BI tools - Experience with AI-enabled forecasting, predictive analytics, machine learning, or generative AI tools - Experience using AI to automate recurring reporting, analyze large datasets, identify forecast drivers, or improve business workflows WHY THIS ROLE - High visibility with leadership and commercial teams - Ownership of a critical business process that directly impacts revenue, inventory, and business performance - Opportunity to shape how the organization forecasts and plans future demand - Significant cross-functional exposure across Sales, Finance, Demand Planning, Supply Chain, and Marketing - Opportunity to build and improve forecasting tools, methodologies, reporting, and processes - Opportunity to apply AI and emerging technologies to real-world forecasting and business challenges - Ability to help establish the next generation of forecasting capabilities as the business scales Company Statement/Values: At NETGEAR, we are on a mission to unleash the full potential of connectivity with intelligent solutions that delight and protect. We turn ideas into innovative networking products that connect people, power businesses, and advance the way we live. We're a performance-driven, talented and connected team that's committed to delivering world-class products for our customers. As a company, we value our employees as the most essential building blocks of our success. And as teammates, we commit to taking our work to the Next Gear by living our values: we Dare to Transform the future, Connect and Delight our customers, Communicate Courageously with each other and collaborate to Win It Together. You’ll find our values woven through our processes, present in our decisions, and celebrated throughout our culture. We strive to attract top talent and create a great workplace where people feel engaged, inspired, challenged, proud and respected. If you are creative, forward-thinking, passionate about technology and are looking for a rewarding career to make an impact, then you've got what it takes to succeed at NETGEAR. Join our network and help us shape the future of connectivity. NETGEAR hires based on merit. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment. All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.