PLANNING DIRECTOR SKILLS, EXPERIENCE, AND JOB REQUIREMENTS

Updated: Jun 13, 2025 - The Planning Director has extensive experience in consumer strategy, planning, and insights within leading consumer goods companies, creative agencies, and research consultancies. This role requires exceptional leadership and problem-solving skills, leveraging both qualitative and quantitative data to drive empirically successful business results and inspire cross-functional teams. The director also possesses deep expertise in brand growth theories, consumer behavior insights, and creative facilitation, consistently balancing aesthetics with strong business acumen.

Essential Hard and Soft Skills for a Standout Planning Director Resume
  • Digital Strategy
  • Market Analysis
  • Consumer Insights
  • Strategic Planning
  • Project Management
  • Inventory Management
  • Financial Planning
  • Business Development
  • Risk Management
  • Data Analytics
  • Leadership
  • Collaboration
  • Stakeholder Management
  • Continuous Improvement
  • Change Management
  • Strategic Communication
  • Client Relationship Management
  • Cross-Functional Collaboration
  • Problem Solving
  • Decision Making

Summary of Planning Director Knowledge and Qualifications on Resume

1. BA in Economics with 9 years of Experience

  • Diverse background in operations, with a strong understanding of logistics, administration, HR
  • Strong finance background, particularly in financial management, budget development, and analysis.
  • Ability to analyze information, evaluate risks and mitigation options, and think and plan strategically
  • Experience working within a complex and matrix organization structure
  • Proven record of the ability and expertise to manage large teams at a senior level.
  • Substantial experience in logistics, including procurement, supply chain, fleet management, and inventory
  • Substantial experience and knowledge in securing grants from major institutional donors
  • Significant knowledge of international humanitarian systems, institutions and donors, and procedures, accountability frameworks, and best practices in emergency management
  • Skill and knowledge in program sustainability and capacity building, public-private partnerships, and project monitoring and evaluation (both quantitative and qualitative methods)
  • Strong computer skills, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
  • Regional experience, knowledge of the context (in experience and expertise), and understating of the culture
  • Outstanding organizational and problem-solving skills, analytical and pragmatic.
  • Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions.
  • Resourcefulness and creativity are essential to work with various program activities.
  • Ability to cope with stressful situations and work with limited resources.

2. BA in Public Administration with 10 years of Experience

  • Experience in the supply chain, specifically in demand, supply, and allocation planning for the toy industry, retail, or comparable seasonal high SKU-count CPG industry such as fashion
  • Sporting goods industry experience 
  • Ability to thrive in a global, multi-cultural, or multi-country environment while building cross-functional trusted partnerships and facilitating consensus within and across work teams
  • Strong work knowledge of effective supply chain performance, including customer service, supplier, and asset management
  • Passion for crafting process and systems improvement
  • Skills in analysis, influencing, negotiation, communication, and navigating a sophisticated global organization
  • Energy for working in a sophisticated, collaborative, fast-paced environment and handling several projects at a time
  • Ability to build and inspire a talented team
  • Proven ability to train, develop, and retain talent
  • Excellent skills in motivating, coaching, and engaging teams
  • Ability to plan, prioritize, and organize
  • Works well under pressure, proactive with a positive attitude
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills (both English and Mandarin)
  • Strong aesthetic and creative sense with a keen eye for design and styling

3. BA in Public Administration with 6 years of Experience

  • Working experience in media/communications planning-related business
  • Highly evolved planning, presentation, and reporting skills.
  • Experience in managing and integrating large projects and teams
  • Demonstrated experience and success working in a client-facing role
  • Shows a depth of understanding of the industry, business, brands, and consumers in client conversations.
  • Good negotiation and selling skills are required for Mindshare products and services.
  • Experience in Consulting, Business Operations, or equivalent.
  • Financial services/insurance industry experience
  • Record of success in building trust and influence across multiple operating units of large financial organizations, preferably insurance companies
  • Experience with project and investment management systems
  • Strong cross-functional collaboration
  • Ability to coach and drive results through others
  • Operates with discipline and strong communication skills
  • Ability to collaborate horizontally and vertically
  • Ability to drive change in difficult circumstances

4. BA in Business Administration with 8 years of Experience

  • Progressive leadership experience within a global Supply Chain
  • Have planning, forecasting, and strategy experience
  • Deep understanding of Demand and Supply Planning and how it impacts the company's success
  • Experience collaborating successfully in a cross-functional manner
  • Ability to develop/execute strategic plans to balance multiple projects simultaneously and provide direction toward the achievement of financial targets
  • Experience leading company-wide transformations or Integrations
  • Strategic planning and development experience in commercial and manufacturing fields
  • Experience in a business consulting firm is highly preferable
  • Strong business acumen with proven experience in project management
  • Excellent presentation, interpersonal, and communication skills
  • Good analytical and problem-solving skills
  • Well-organized, self-motivated, and able to work well under pressure
  • Proficiency in computer software including MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, preferably also BI tool
  • Excellent command of written and spoken English and Chinese (including Mandarin)

5. BA in Supply Chain Management with 12 years of Experience

  • Experience in Merchandise Planning, Demand Planning and Allocation
  • Identify and summarize complex problems and implement hindsight solutions
  • Proven success as a breakthrough thinker who can perform in a competitive retail environment
  • Strong business, analytical, and financial acumen with a proven track record driving results
  • Exceptional collaboration skills and role model for building internal partnerships
  • Proven ability to analyze a problem skillfully, find creative solutions, formulate a logical rationale for the decision, and take action
  • Convey an appropriate sense of urgency while identifying opportunities, developing alternatives, and recommending solutions to complicated business issues in a self-sufficient and highly collaborative environment.
  • Wholesale experience in a matrixed environment
  • Excellent analytical and writing capabilities
  • Strong communication and interpersonal skills
  • Strong work ethic, team player, and organizational Skills
  • Advanced PC skills, including the use of Excel, Word, and PowerPoint
  • Senior management level experience in grants administration, public transit, urban planning, fixed route operations scheduling, or operations
  • Ability to multitask and quickly resolve issues

6. BA in Business Administration with 11 years of Experience

  • Excellent supply chain analytical and insight development skills and deep understanding of SCM business processes (Inventory Policy and forecasts, SandOP, Capacity Planning, Production Planning, Procurement Planning, Materials Management, Shipping/logistics, Customer Service, and Product Life Cycle Management)
  • Strong business and digital acumen with a solid understanding of business case development
  • Use Data Analytics and other digital tools to provide insights to support better decision-making and strong technical skills in analytical software systems such as simulation tools, reporting, and Excel modeling
  • Able to articulate user requirements and effectively perform acceptance tests
  • Strong expertise in enterprise risk management programs
  • Anticipate and have clarity around customer needs, taking into account the big picture and thinking strategically
  • Ability to efficiently frame strategic decisions, integrate disparate information, and consider a complex array of variables and constraints
  • Act speedily and pragmatically, adapt quickly to changing environments without sacrificing quality and long-term goals
  • Proven ability to influence, collaborate, and connect cross-functionally at all levels of the organization to meet common objectives and business results, able to build partnerships internally and externally
  • Willingness and a proven ability to confront difficult situations without avoidance and take strong positions, even if they are not popular
  • Ability to maintain highly confidential information
  • Excellent skills in developing presentation visuals of complex topics in a simple, clear, and compelling manner
  • Highly effective written and verbal communication and presentation skills, ability to adjust presentation style to accommodate various audiences
  • Profound cross-cultural awareness and some insight into healthcare issues
  • Excellent communication skills, both oral and written.

7. BA in Finance with 13 years of Experience

  • Experience as a Consumer Strategy, Planning or Insight Professional in a leading consumer goods company, a Comms/Creative Agency, or a consumer research consultancy, or within more than one of these areas
  • A powerful strategic problem solver and leader – confidence in thought leadership and strategic guidance is a must
  • Experience in working across a diversity of consumer cohorts, whether determined by, and not limited to, age, gender identification, or ethnicity
  • Deeply understanding and accurately representing consumers is central to beliefs
  • Consistent record of using consumer, shopper, and cultural insights to deliver empirically successful business results
  • Supremely comfortable with both qualitative and quantitative data sources, their analysis, and their use as sources of consumer insight
  • Analytical rigor and the ability to evaluate the power in multiple different sources of layered data simultaneously
  • A healthy, ambitious outlook on all new information, with high standards for the credibility and value of data
  • Expertise with the most up-to-date theories of Brand growth and decline, and an interest in how these are evolving
  • Ability to inspire and influence a team of experienced Brand Marketers and Consumer Planning experts as well as a wide range of partners
  • Excellent facilitation skills, able to lead a team to unlock creative solutions to consumer issues
  • Excellent visual merchandising skills
  • Excellent leadership and cross-functional management skills
  • Ability to balance aesthetics with business acumen
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