Hybrid Sr. Director of Planning presso Riceland Foods

Sr. Director of Planning

Job Location: RFI’s Little Rock Office Little Rock, AR. 

Reports to: Vice President of Supply Chain

RICELAND

FAMILY FARMER OWNED

Riceland Overview

Riceland Foods and its family farmers have provided the world with wholesome, nutritious rice since 1921. Grown in the United States, our rice is known for its high quality and versatility, and that's why Riceland has become a trusted brand around the globe. Riceland is a cooperative, which means we are owned by our 5,500 family farmer members who are also our stockholders and growers. 

Company Mission Statement

Riceland, a farmer owned cooperative, helps farmers feed the world, sustainably.

Job Description

   Riceland Foods is looking for a Sr. Director of Planning. The Senior Director of Planning is a strategic leadership position responsible for overseeing all aspects of Supply and Demand Planning, Master Production Scheduling, and the Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) process for a billion-dollar cooperative. This role is not a maintenance function, it’s a build-and-lead opportunity for a seasoned supply chain professional ready to drive transformation and scale operational excellence across a vertically integrated agricultural and food manufacturing network.

This individual will play a critical role in ensuring we deliver the right product, at the right time, in the right quantity—every time—while optimizing inventory, enhancing service levels, and improving cost-to-serve. You’ll serve as the connective tissue between commercial ambitions and operational execution, leading a team of planners and schedulers across plants, DCs, and co-manufacturing sites.

Key Responsibilities

Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP)

•    Own and evolve the monthly S&OP process, aligning Sales, Finance, Operations, and Executive stakeholders.

•    Drive demand consensus and translate forecasts into actionable supply, production, and inventory plans.

•    Lead cross-functional scenario planning to balance service levels, cost, and working capital.

Supply and Demand Planning

•    Lead a team of planners across retail, bulk, and export channels.

•    Build forecasting models that incorporate seasonality and market volatility.

•    Develop inventory strategies aligned with service levels, lead times, and financial targets.

Production & Master Scheduling

•    Manage long- and short-term master production schedules for all milling and packaging facilities.

•    Partner with operations to ensure capacity utilization is balanced across sites.

•    Provide clear visibility of production requirements to procurement and plant teams.

Inventory & Deployment Optimization

•    Optimize inventory placement across multiple nodes—mills, DCs, export terminals, and customer locations.

•    Lead FEFO execution and working capital stewardship across finished goods and raw materials.

•    Collaborate with logistics and customer service teams to execute deployment strategies.

Process, Systems, & Data Governance

•    Own master data integrity for planning (SKUs, BOMs, planning parameters).

•    Partner with IT and Finance to improve ERP/MRP system performance.

•    Develop planning dashboards and performance metrics to inform executive decisions.

Qualifications

Required

•    Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Operations, Engineering, Business, or related field.

•    10+ years of progressive experience in supply and demand planning, including 5+ years in a leadership role.

•    Strong understanding of manufacturing scheduling, inventory optimization, and S&OP principles.

•    Experience in food manufacturing, agriculture, or process industries strongly preferred.

•    Proficiency in ERP systems and planning tools (Preferably JGS Atlas).

•    Expertise in Excel and planning analytics; Python and Tableau a plus.

Preferred

•    APICS/ASCM certifications (CPIM, CSCP, or similar).

•    Experience leading planning in a vertically integrated manufacturing environment.

•    Familiarity with export markets and commodity-based supply chains.

Leadership Attributes

•    Systems thinker with the ability to connect dots across commercial, operational, and financial domains.

•    Strong communicator and facilitator, capable of driving alignment among cross-functional teams.

•    Analytical and data-driven, with a continuous improvement mindset.

•    High level of initiative and accountability—able to build from scratch and lead through complexity.

Key Metrics of Success

•    Forecast Accuracy (Bias and MAPE)

•    OTIF > 95%

•    Inventory Turns and Working Capital Reduction

•    Schedule Adherence and Capacity Utilization

•    S&OP Maturity and Cross-Functional Engagement

  Education Requirements

    Bachelor’s degree in logistics, business administration or related field. Master’s degree preferred but not required, with a minimum of 10 years of supply chain, deep expertise in demand and supply planning, inventory        optimization, S&OP.

Company Benefits and Incentives

•    Medical insurance with low premiums

•    Free dental with medical insurance enrollment

•    Vision insurance with low premiums

•    Free basic life insurance, up to 3x basic annual earnings

•    Voluntary term life (rates depends on the age and salary of the employee)

•    Long term disability

•    Free short-term disability

•    Accident insurance, for unexpected healthcare expenses due to accidents

•    Critical illness insurance

•    Employee Assistance Program

•    401K with company match 4% of an employee’s 5% 

•    Paid training programs.

      PTO & Paid Holidays

Riceland Foods is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Riceland Foods provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.