Specialist, Inventory System Planning and Configuration

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The Specialist Inventory Planning System Governance serves as the internal technical authority for the planning systems, configuration standards, planning logic, data inputs, and model behaviour that support TechOps Supply Chain inventory planning. The role ensures that planning platforms such as Servigistics, TRAX, MOS-related processes, and associated data flows operate in a controlled, reliable, and business-aligned manner.

Working in partnership with the Specialist, Inventory Strategy Performance & Governance, the role ensures that planning systems, configuration logic, models, and data structures effectively enable business objectives, operational readiness, inventory optimization, and financial stewardship. The incumbent is accountable for ensuring planning-system outputs are stable, traceable, explainable, and fit for purpose.

This position is a high-impact technical ownership role. It provides internal decision authority over planning-system design and configuration, reduces dependence on external expertise for critical system decisions, and ensures that planning-system behaviour supports operational readiness, inventory productivity, and financial discipline. The role will enable business initiatives and routines execution’s outcomes by ensuring that the systems, models, configuration logic, and planning data used by Inventory Strategy & Systems are stable, traceable, explainable, and fit for purpose.

Responsibilities:

• Own the design principles, configuration standards, and controlled evolution of the inventory planning systems used by TechOps Supply Chain.
• Serve as the final technical authority for planning logic, planning parameters, model behaviour, and system configuration decisions within Inventory Strategy & Systems.
• Define and maintain standards for planning-system configuration, including controls for changes to forecasting logic, service-level settings, planning attributes, optimisation parameters, and model assumptions.
• Ensure planning-system behaviour remains aligned with operational requirements, inventory strategy objectives, financial constraints, fleet plans, maintenance realities, and service expectations.
• Establish and maintain governance over critical planning inputs, including planning attributes, demand assumptions, lead times, repair assumptions, service-level definitions, part relationships, and other system-driving master data.
• Lead technical root-cause analysis related to planning-system behaviour, configuration settings, data integrity, model performance, and system-generated outputs.
• Translate approved business requirements, operational pain points, and advanced planning use cases into controlled system behaviour, configuration logic, and technical design decisions.
• Partner with the Specialist, Inventory Strategy Performance & Governance to ensure KPI priorities and business improvement objectives are supported by appropriate system capability, planning logic, data controls, and technical feasibility.
• Work with Demand Planning Advisors to translate business requirements, planning issues, and validation findings into sustainable system improvements.Support Demand Planning Analysts by improving the planning environment in which they execute, while maintaining clear separation from day-to-day planning execution and inventory recommendation responsibilities.
• Govern external vendor and consulting support by reviewing proposed technical solutions, challenging recommendations where required, and ensuring knowledge remains internal to the organisation.
• Reduce dependency on external consultants by building internal ownership of system design decisions, configuration rationale, planning logic documentation, and model validation practices.
• Maintain documentation of planning-system logic, configuration standards, technical decisions, validation outcomes, and key assumptions to improve traceability and auditability.
• Identify and address configuration drift, model instability, data-quality issues, and system behaviours that may weaken confidence in planning outputs.
• Develop and maintain a planning-systems capability roadmap that supports inventory planning maturity, automation, productivity, planning quality, and long-term system reliability.
• Lead continuous improvement of planning-system controls, technical validation practices, data-quality governance, and system-change discipline.
• Ensure planning-system decisions consider airline operational constraints, including aircraft availability, maintenance planning requirements, sourcing limitations, regulatory expectations, and AOG support risk.
• Provide technical guidance and subject-matter leadership across Inventory Strategy & Systems without direct people-management responsibility.
• Make recommendations on system capability, configuration priorities, and technical risk to support informed decision-making by leadership and business governance forums.
• Escalate system or data issues that create material risk to planning integrity, operational support, financial exposure, or confidence in system-driven recommendations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, Operations Management, Business, Data Analytics, Information Systems, or equivalent practical experience.
• 7+ years of progressive experience in inventory planning, supply chain planning, planning systems, airline Technical Operations, MRO supply chain, system configuration, or related operational planning environments.
• Strong understanding of inventory planning concepts, including demand forecasting, service-level planning, safety stock logic, repairable material planning, lead-time assumptions, inventory optimisation, and planning parameter management.
• Demonstrated experience working with planning systems, supply chain platforms, ERP/MRO systems, or integrated operational planning environments. Experience with tools such as Servigistics, TRAX, ERP/MRP systems, Power BI, SQL, or similar platforms is an asset.
• Strong technical aptitude with the ability to understand how system configuration, data structures, model assumptions, and business rules influence planning outputs.
• Demonstrated ability to diagnose planning-system issues, assess configuration impacts, validate model behaviour, and recommend sustainable system corrections.
• Strong judgement and problem-solving skills, with the ability to structure ambiguous technical and business problems, define decision criteria, evaluate trade-offs, and make practical recommendations.
• Ability to translate business requirements into system behaviour, configuration standards, data requirements, validation rules, and controlled implementation plans.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to explain technical planning-system behaviour in practical operational language to business stakeholders, planners, leaders, vendors, and technical teams.
• Demonstrated ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders without formal authority and to challenge proposed changes when system integrity, planning quality, or long-term sustainability may be at risk.
• Experience working in an integrated airline, MRO, maintenance, logistics, procurement, finance, or operational supply chain environment is strongly preferred.
• Ability to maintain discipline over configuration control, documentation, technical validation, and change governance in a fast-paced operational environment.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently in a highly autonomous role, exercising ownership over technical decisions and providing clear direction on planning-system design and configuration standards.
• Experience managing or governing external vendors, consultants, or system providers is an asset, particularly where knowledge transfer and internal ownership are required.
• Ability to balance operational urgency with the need for controlled, traceable, and sustainable system changes.

Conditions of Employment:

Candidates must be eligible to work in the country of interest at the time any offer of employment is made and are responsible for obtaining any required work permits, visas, or other authorizations necessary for employment. Prior to their start date, candidates will also need to provide proof of their eligibility to work in the country of interest.

Linguistic Requirements

Based on equal qualifications, preference will be given to bilingual candidates.

Diversity and Inclusion

Air Canada is strongly committed to Diversity and Inclusion and aims to create a healthy, accessible and rewarding work environment which highlights employees’ unique contributions to our company’s success.

As an equal opportunity employer, we welcome applications from all to help us build a diverse workforce which reflects the diversity of our customers, and communities, in which we live and serve.

Air Canada thanks all candidates for their interest; however only those selected to continue in the process will be contacted.