Business Planning Manager

At the core of our UK service division you will lead the strategic, financial and operational planning and reporting with responsibility for forecasting plus, profitability and performance analysis. This role partners closely with business leaders across service, sales, corporate planning and finance both in the UK and in Daikin Europe to align business objectives, customer needs and service delivery capability to ensure setting of robust budgets & profitability of our engineering service operations. Your data-driven insights, market intelligence and ability to translate raw data into clear, concise and compelling business cases will directly shape the long term strategic planning to ensure service growth, service excellence and profitability at Daikin. 

Business Improvement & Strategy

• Ensure financial budgets (quantity) are underpinned by commercial & operational insights (quality)
• Detailed analysis of market drivers, customer feedback, competitor activity and benchmarking
• Proactively identify opportunities to enhance customer lifetime value and drive business growth through new service solutions, such as extended warranties, remote monitoring, and energy optimisation services or new customer development opportunities (vertical sectors)
• Develop compelling business cases for strategic investments. Co-ordinate the implementation of strategic and/or tactical changes in the Daikin service processes (especially P&L and demand planning)and make proposals for process design and improvements of P&L reporting that will lead to coherent control and planning
• Collaborate closely with Service, Corporate Planning, Sales, and Finance departments to ensure a seamless and profitable end-to-end customer journey, from initial sale to long-term service and support

Financial Planning & Budgeting

• Take responsibility for the foundations of the budget and reporting process and the related definitions. Lead the annual budgeting and forecasting process (revenue, volume, margin, cost, profit…) specifically for the Service Division, encompassing planned preventative maintenance (PPM) contracts, reactive call-outs, commissioning, spare parts sales, and our accredited Service Partner network
• Develop and refine financial models to accurately assess the profitability and correct revenue recognition of various service offerings and contract types, from single residential Altherma units to large commercial VRV and Chiller installations
• Work with Corporate departments to manage and report divisional expenditure, providing detailed variance analysis on everything from engineer overtime and vehicle costs to spare part inventory levels.
• Ensure accurate month end close and analyse variances between actuals and forecast / budget identifying trends, risks, opportunities and recommended actionable insights
• Partner with service and operations teams to support pricing strategies, resource planning, capacity management & cost optimisation

Performance Monitoring & Analysis

• Define, track, and report on the core KPIs that drive our service excellence. This includes engineer utilisation, back office efficiency, speed of customer response, first-time-fix (FTF) rates, Service Level Agreement (SLA) adherence, and contract renewal rates
• Conduct deep-dive analysis into operational performance, identifying trends that lead to preventative or proactive measures and further opportunities to improve our service delivery in line with regulations and market best practice
• Prepare and present detailed monthly and quarterly business reviews to the senior management team, translating complex operational data into clear commercial insights and actionable recommendations
• Lead all service related reporting towards Daikin Europe (including action plan activity progress) and assure J-Sox compliance for all revenue related topics