Director of Business Planning & Sales Excellence (m/f/d)

The Director of Business Planning & Sales Excellence (m/f/d)  drives the company’s commercial performance by ensuring robust demand planning, reliable reporting, and high-quality master data. The role increasingly acts as the commercial performance engine of the organization—integrating planning, sales steering, incentives, and performance analytics to support Sales, Finance, Operations, and the Executive Team. This position leads a global team of analysts and collaborates closely with regional Sales Directors to enable data‑driven decisions, transparency, and continuous improvement in sales performance.

Key responsibilities

• Drive the development of Sales Excellence frameworks, including incentive design, sales performance dashboards, KPIs, and steering mechanisms
• Develop actionable sales performance insights (pipeline quality, conversion rates, white-spot analysis, customer segmentation impact)
• Partner with Sales Leadership to define target-setting methodologies and ensure their alignment with business objectives
• Introduce and maintain a Sales Control Tower enabling real-time visibility on performance, backlog, account activity, and forecast health
• Enforce commercial discipline regarding Salesforce usage, customer segmentation, and opportunity management
• Lead monthly, quarterly, and annual planning cycles (Budget, Forecast, LTP)
• Ensure forecasting quality, consistency, and transparency across regions
• Support IBP/S&OP processes with validated inputs, backlog analysis, and scenario planning
• Own all recurring management reports (Actuals vs Forecast, backlog, sales dashboards, strategic reviews)
• Harmonize reporting formats, definitions, and data sources across functions
• Drive automation and simplification of reporting tools and processes
• Ensure accuracy and governance of customer, product, and hierarchical master data
• Lead data quality improvement initiatives and cross-functional validation processes
• Enable automation for product mapping and hierarchy consistency checks
• Act as key business partner to Sales, Finance, PM, SCM, and Operations
• Ensure alignment of assumptions, data inputs, and planning outcomes across the company
• Provide business insights for EOL, migrations, key projects, shortages, and strategic initiatives
• Oversee and continuously improve planning and reporting tools (Excel, Power BI, BW, Salesforce)
• Ensure system integrity through data checks, reconciliations, and issue resolution
• Lead digitalization initiatives to reduce manual work and improve analytical capabilities
• Lead and develop a global team of 7 analysts and experts (3 disciplinary, 4 functional)
• Drive team routines, coaching, capability development, and continuous improvement
• Ensure clear accountability for processes and deliverables within the team

Your qualifications

• Strong skills in Excel, BW, Power BI, Salesforce, and data modelling
• Expertise in reporting automation, master data governance, and planning processes (IBP/S&OP)
• Strong understanding of commercial steering, sales processes, and financial interactions
• Ability to translate business needs into data, reporting, and actionable insights
• High attention to detail, structure, and process reliability
• Proven leadership experience in a multi-functional, global environment
• Strong coordination and communication skills, especially under tight timelines
• Continuous improvement mindset and ability to drive organizational change
• Fluent in English and German; additional languages (Spanish or French) are an advantage

$$ We are an equal opportunity employer! We promote diversity in all its forms and create an inclusive work environment, free from prejudice, discrimination and harassment, in which all employees feel a sense of belonging. We warmly welcome all applications regardless of gender, age, race or ethnic origin, social and cultural background, religion, disability and sexual orientation. 

 $$ Samson Tzeggai $$ Career@gi-de.com $$ $$ $$ https://career5.successfactors.eu/career?company=gieseckede&career_job_req_id=27019&career_ns=job_application