How to hire a planning manager

How to hire a planning manager, step by step

Here's a step-by-step planning manager hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a planning manager job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new planning manager
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a planning manager do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a planning manager, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A planning manager's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, planning managers from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   Here's a comparison of planning manager salaries for various roles:

   Type of Planning Manager	Description	Hourly rate
   Planning Manager	Advertising, promotions, and marketing managers plan programs to generate interest in products or services. They work with art directors, sales agents, and financial staff members.	$34-64
   Manager, Field Marketing	A field marketing manager oversees a company's field marketing operations, aiming to improve brand awareness and reach sales goals. Their responsibilities primarily revolve around devising marketing strategies, participating in organizing campaigns and trade shows, setting objectives for the team, and monitoring the progress of marketing programs, ensuring they are functioning effectively and efficiently... Show more	$32-61
   Supply Chain Director	A supply chain director is primarily in charge of the overall supply chain operations in a company. Their responsibilities revolve around devising strategies to improve processes, creating business plans and sales forecasts, delegating tasks, coordinating and selecting suppliers and vendors, creating new supply chain policies when necessary, and spearheading the inventory and delivery processes... Show more	$43-88

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Project Management
   • Customer Service
   • Strong Analytical
   • KPIs
   • Demand Planning
   • Capacity Planning
   • Continuous Improvement
   • Logistics
   • Product Development
   • Technical Support
   • Process Improvement
   • Financial Analysis
   • Direct Reports
   • ERP

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead a team that contribute to Mexico achieving the #1 market position through the implementation of CPFR and sales support.
   • Manage commodities teams in support of program execution.
   • Lead initial rollout of JDA / manugistics concepts and forecasting operations.
   • Manage and analyze monthly OTB opportunities base on receipt projections using JDA.
   • Used people skills managing upward to build corporate consensus on ISO processes and controls.
   • Develop an ABC class system, which lead to a $1,000,000 inventory reduction.

   More planning manager duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your planning manager job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A planning manager salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a planning manager in Utah may be lower than in California, and an entry-level planning manager usually earns less than a senior-level planning manager. Additionally, a planning manager with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average planning manager salary

   $98,486yearly

   $47.35 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level planning manager salary

   $71,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 26, 2025

   Average planning manager salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$122,727	$59
   2	Michigan	$113,181	$54
   3	New Jersey	$111,255	$53
   4	Washington	$110,973	$53
   5	Pennsylvania	$109,471	$53
   6	Massachusetts	$103,874	$50
   7	Oregon	$102,045	$49
   8	New York	$101,265	$49
   9	North Carolina	$99,672	$48
   10	Arizona	$99,518	$48
   11	Ohio	$98,234	$47
   12	Wisconsin	$97,346	$47
   13	Texas	$94,384	$45
   14	District of Columbia	$93,424	$45
   15	Indiana	$93,050	$45
   16	Illinois	$91,408	$44
   17	Virginia	$91,140	$44
   18	Nevada	$90,176	$43
   19	Minnesota	$87,882	$42
   20	Florida	$87,002	$42

   Average planning manager salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	ZS	$174,732	$84.01	9
   2	Cheniere Energy	$167,552	$80.55
   3	Meta	$163,830	$78.76	342
   4	Exelixis	$160,311	$77.07	4
   5	Google	$156,042	$75.02	340
   6	Airbnb	$151,703	$72.93	6
   7	Apple	$146,431	$70.40	79
   8	Capgemini	$145,027	$69.72	37
   9	Hawaiian Electric Industries	$144,202	$69.33	4
   10	Koch Industries	$143,702	$69.09
   11	Sidley Austin	$142,906	$68.70	13
   12	Cloudflare	$142,821	$68.66	24
   13	Xilinx	$141,994	$68.27
   14	ServiceNow	$141,864	$68.20	49
   15	Southern California Edison	$140,846	$67.71	10
   16	Genentech	$139,916	$67.27	11
   17	Juniper Networks	$137,482	$66.10
   18	CITGO Petroleum	$136,996	$65.86
   19	Applied Materials	$136,996	$65.86	6
   20	Yahoo	$136,189	$65.48

4. Writing a planning manager job description

   A job description for a planning manager role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a planning manager job description:

   Planning manager job description example

   Reporting to the Director of Supply Planning, you will provide strategic direction and planning regarding the management of inventories at manufacturing facilities, copackers and distribution centers. You will direct the production master planning function for long-term scheduling, inventory planning, capacity planning and all deployment activities and help improve plant and IMC sourcing to deliver lost TDC. You will also achieve inventory, service and other S&OP metric improvement.
   
   You Will:Develop a manufacturing and distribution strategy to support achieving target customer service levels and customer service levels with a minimum investment in inventories Guide the development of ongoing network supply and capacity planning Work with teams on the positioning and maintenance of finished goods inventories, in such a way to balance customer fill rate, inventory carrying costs and transportation Establish guidelines to achieve cost efficient movement of finished goods while maintaining minimum inventory investment Monitor inventory and manage aged stock, SKU rationalized inventory, and restricted stock (hold, damage) to maximize sales revenue and minimize P&L impact Plan and communicate with Transportation & Warehousing on annual and periodic freight and warehousing flow changes Oversee the production planning process through the coordination of sourcing, production plan and deployment/flow plans for assigned businesses and plants to support our Integrated Business Planning processS&OP contact for dry Network Optimization projects and due diligence You Have:Bachelor's Degree in business, finance, logistics7+ years experience in a supply chain environment with some management experience.Project management skills.Experience leading a team Proficient in Microsoft Excel (can maintain complex spreadsheets) and Powerpoint.APICS or CPIM certification Our Modern WorkplaceConagra's culture of collaboration enhances our ability to meet critical business goals, deliver value to customers and consumers and provide you with the flexibility you need to achieve a better work-life balance. We carefully consider each role and how often each team member needs to collaborate in-person. This position will be Omaha based and work in office 3 days/week, Tuesday-Thursday.#LI-MC1#LI-Hybrid
   Our Benefits:
   
   We care about your total well-being and will support you with the following, subject to your location and role:
   Health: Medical, dental and vision insurance, company-paid life, accident and disability insurance Wealth: great pay, incentive opportunity, matching 401(k) and stock purchase plan Growth: online courses, virtual and classroom development experiences Balance: paid-time off, parental leave, flexible work-schedules (subject to your location and role)
   
   Our Company:
   
   Conagra Brands is one of North America's leading branded food companies. We have a rich heritage of making great food, and a team that's passionate about innovation and growth. Conagra offers choices for every occasion through iconic brands, such as Birds Eye , Marie Callender's , Banquet , Healthy Choice , Slim Jim , Reddi-wip , and Vlasic , and emerging brands, including Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP , Duke's , Earth Balance , Gardein , and Frontera .
   We pride ourselves on having the most impactful, energized and inclusive culture in the food industry. For more information, visit www.conagrabrands.com.
   
   Conagra Brands is an equal opportunity employer and considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to sex, race, color, religion, ethnic or national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, pregnancy, leave status, disability, veteran status, genetic information and/or any other characteristic or status protected by national, federal, state or local law.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find planning managers for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your planning manager job on Zippia to find and attract quality planning manager candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as swipe files, exit five, marketinghire, american marketing association.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with planning manager candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new planning manager

   Once you've decided on a perfect planning manager candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new planning manager. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a planning manager?