Sales Operations and Demand Planning Specialist, Ford Energy

Ford Energy is a newly formed, wholly-owned subsidiary of Ford Motor Company dedicated to accelerating U.S. energy independence. Leveraging Ford’s century of manufacturing excellence and world-class battery energy storage systems (BESS) technology, Ford Energy designs, manufactures, and services grid-scale and commercial DC battery energy storage systems (BESS).

The Sales Operations & Demand Planning Specialist serves as the vital link between Sales, Operations, Supply Chain, Sourcing, and Finance to enable scalable commercial growth. This role translates deal-level pipeline activity into actionable demand signals that drive Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP), executive decision-making, and operational capacity alignment.

Responsibilities

• Demand Planning & Forecast Management
• Demand Data Integrity: Own consolidation, maintenance, and reporting of commercial pipeline demand data.
• S&OP Demand Signals: Translate sales opportunities, forecasts, and customer commitments into actionable demand signals for S&OP processes.
• Forecasting Models: Develop and maintain demand forecasting models, assumptions, and reporting tools.
• Accuracy & Risk Assessment: Monitor forecast accuracy and identify risks, constraints, and upside opportunities.
• Planning Cycles: Support monthly, quarterly, and annual demand planning cycles.
• Primary Liaison: Serve as the primary liaison between Sales and S&OP teams.
• Demand Conversion: Convert deal-level information into volume, timing, and product demand requirements.
• Cross-Functional Alignment: Partner with Operations, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Sourcing teams to align demand assumptions.
• Demand Visibility: Provide visibility into customer demand trends, capacity requirements, and commercial commitments.
• Executive Insights: Support executive reviews and leadership decision-making through data-driven insights.
• Pipeline Dashboards: Manage sales pipeline reporting and forecast dashboards.
• Standardization: Standardize pipeline stage definitions and forecast confidence methodologies.
• KPI Analytics: Create KPI dashboards, performance reports, and forecasting analytics.
• Trend Analysis: Analyze conversion rates, sales cycle trends, and demand patterns.
• Growth Initiatives: Support strategic planning and business growth initiatives with quantitative analysis.
• NDA Workflow Management: Manage customer and partner Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) workflows, including tracking NDA status, approvals, execution dates, and renewals.
• RFP & RFI Bid Support: Provide Sales and Sales Operations bid support for completion of RFPs and RFIs.
• Commercial Communications: Manage and distribute news updates, operational announcements, and key commercial information.
• System Enhancements: Support implementation of CRM, forecasting, and lead management enhancements.
• Lead Automation: Assist with deployment and monitoring of automated lead generation tools.
• Process Documentation: Develop standardized operating procedures, training materials, and process documentation.
• Efficiency Optimization: Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, data quality, and reporting automation.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Work closely with Sales, Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, Legal, and Executive Leadership.
• Commercial Alignment: Facilitate communication between commercial and operational organizations.
• Special Projects: Lead or support special projects focused on growth, forecasting, and process optimization.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Finance, Operations, Engineering, or related field.
• Experience: 5+ years of experience in sales operations, demand planning, forecasting, supply chain planning, business analytics, or related functions.
• Analytical Skills: Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with demonstrated capability in handling complex datasets.
• System & Excel Expertise: Experience with Salesforce, CRM platforms, or forecasting systems, combined with advanced Microsoft Excel skills.
• Executive Presentations: Experience preparing executive-level reporting and presentations.
• Stakeholder Management: Strong communication and stakeholder management abilities with the capability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• S&OP Process Knowledge: Experience supporting S&OP or integrated business planning processes.
• Forecasting Methodologies: In-depth knowledge of demand planning and forecasting methodologies.
• BI Tools: Experience with Power BI, Tableau, or similar business intelligence analytics tools.
• Industry Experience: Experience in energy, manufacturing, battery storage, or industrial equipment industries.
• Digital Transformation: Familiarity with process automation and digital transformation initiatives.

Benefits

• Immediate medical, dental, vision and prescription drug coverage
• Flexible family care days, paid parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up child care and more
• Family building benefits including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, fertility treatments, and more
• Vehicle discount program for employees and family members
• Tuition assistance
• Established and active employee resource groups
• Paid time off for individual and team community service
• A generous schedule of paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day
• Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time.