Summary

Every day, incredible things happen at Apple. What will you make happen? At Apple, fresh ideas quickly turn into groundbreaking products, services, and customer experiences. Bring your passion and dedication, and there’s no limit to what you could achieve.

The SDM Central Team is at the heart of Apple's EMEIA Operations, acting as the strategic connection across all lines of business and regional functions. As SDM Central Team Lead, you will lead a talented team, shape cross-functional strategy and help define how Apple manages supply and demand planning at scale across one of the world's most dynamic consumer electronics markets spanning Europe, Middle East, India, and Africa.

Description

This leadership role presents the opportunity for a highly motivated professional to join the SDM leadership team responsible for leading the dynamic Central team of EMEIA Supply Demand Management (SDM) in Cork. The SDM organisation is responsible for analysing sales and managing supply to meet the demand of products within the EMEIA region.This role will play a key part in coordinating business and project strategic priorities across the overall SDM organisation across all lines of business iPhone, iPad, Mac, Watch, Vision and Accessories.



Responsibilities

• Lead, develop, and mentor a team of professionals, championing the adoption of AI to support automation, anomaly detection, and autonomous decision-making.
• Contribute actively, alongside other SDM leads, to the strategic direction of the organisation, with a strong focus on management team development and talent management.
• Lead key business planning systems, including sell-through reporting, demand reviews, Sales Finance alignment, and quarter-end reporting coordinating cross-functional engagement around peak events.
• Drive volume planning across short, medium, and long-term horizons, partnering with Logistics and line-of-business teams to plan for required scale and determine the best supply chain models across channels.
• Lead and define the vision for demand planning activities, including infrastructure, process efficiency, and automation.
• Lead coordination and project management for business-driven initiatives, partnering closely with the BPR organisation on all capital initiatives and driving the SDM Strategy Focus Areas forum to ensure direction and alignment on key strategic topics.
• Support the Inventory team in the automation and re-engineering of inventory reporting and identification of inventory ageing risks, enabling relevant AI solutions to automate inventory processes and partnering with Logistics to ensure a robust cross-functional approach.
• Build and maintain strong connections with Sales teams on the disposition of excess and end-of-life inventory, continuously enhancing and automating the reporting and management systems.
• Partner with Product Operations to drive in-region returns and refurbished product solutions aligned to Apple's 2030 sustainability goals, maximising return for Apple, limiting scrap, and positioning EMEIA as a thought leadership example globally.
• Ensure a strong management system for Third-Party Products across Apple's direct channels, focusing on simplification, efficiency, and automation in partnership with third-party merchants.
• Act as the central communication link across the EMEIA SDM organisation, driving cross-functional connections and coordinating with regional and global SDM teams to share learnings and best practices.
• Maintain focus on the customer experience across all supply channels — Reseller, Online, and Stores ensuring timely escalation responses, addressing root causes, and building strong partnerships with Reseller Operations and Retail Fulfilment Operations to champion the voice of the customer.
  
  

Minimum Qualifications

• Proven leadership skills, including experience managing teams, supply chain processes and systems
• Extensive relevant experience in Operations, Planning, or Finance within a fast-moving product industry
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to evaluate, analyse, and present data at executive level
• Strong business acumen and consumer focus
• Experience delivering results and driving solutions in a fast-paced, constantly evolving environment
• Proven track record of setting direction for process and/or tool improvements to support team objectives
• Experience operating across both strategic and detailed levels, adapting focus to the needs of the business
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Extensive experience in demand and supply planning across multiple product lines or business categories
• Experience leveraging AI and automation tools to drive process improvements and operational efficiencies within a supply chain or planning environment
• A third-level degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, Engineering, Analytics, IT, Mathematics, Economics, or a related field is preferred; equivalent professional experience will be fully considered