Manufacturing Manager - Materials, Planning and Execution

Job description

Job Description Summary Reporting to the Plant Leader this role will lead the Materials team to define and continuously improve material flow across an engineer-to-order Grid equipment factory operating in a Lean Manufacturing environment, spanning both in-house production and outsourced contract-manufacturer (CM) supply. The role owns inventory turns, working-capital landing, and material availability, and is accountable for the planning, procurement, material MRP setup, and analytics systems that drive them. The successful candidate combines outstanding cross-functional leadership with hands-on technical fluency in SAP, MRP, and work automation and analysis toolsets, and partners with Operations, Finance, and Sourcing to drive operations.

Job Description Essential Responsibilities:

- Drive a zero-tolerance environment for safety infractions.

- Lead weekly meetings and cross-functional planning sessions with engineering, production, contracts, and finance stakeholders; communicate priorities clearly across all organizational levels.

- Lead, develop, and motivate a team of buyers, planners and inventory control analysts, maintain performance management, objective setting and scorecards.

- Ensure materials/production planning, buying, and inventory control support sales, product development, customer service, and production cost-effectively.

- Plan, organize, direct and support, monitor and control the staff and functions related to planning materials, buying and inventory control.

- Continuously review and monitor departmental performance to ensure corporate objectives are being met. Review actions, risks, and shortages, and drive forecasting and material planning to protect the production schedule.

- Manage the end-to-end supply chain, including materials/consumables suppliers, logistics service providers, and contract manufacturers; develop risk mitigation strategies (dual-sourcing, safety stock optimization) to ensure supply continuity.

- Identify any performance deficiencies and problems or opportunities for improvement in these areas of responsibility and take initiative to solve the problems and realize the opportunities.

- Identify specific cost reduction opportunities and take action to achieve cost reductions, or improve cost effectiveness, including introducing alternative sources where appropriate.

- Work effectively in co-operation with the Production Manager to develop and maintain efficient planning and operations in production, warehousing and materials handling.

- Drive for continuous inventory improvement and implement best practice models to ensure targets are achieved.

- Champion sustainability and ESG initiatives within the supply chain, supporting environmental practices such as packaging reduction.

- Drive digital transformation of materials management processes through automation, data analytics, and system integration to improve forecast accuracy and decision-making speed.

Qualifications/Requirements:

- Bachelor’s degree in supply chain management, Engineering, Business Administration, or related field; master’s degree or APICS/SCMP certification preferred.

- 5+ years’ material management experience in a manufacturing setting.

- Strong logistics, supply chain, and material management skills; exposure to JIT, Kanban, MRP, and Lean manufacturing.

- Contract manufacturing / outsourced (EMS/CM) forecasting and supply management experience.

- Hands-on technical depth: SAP, Excel, VBA, Power Query, Smartsheet. Able to build, maintain, document, and troubleshoot tools and processes.

- Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional teams and setting/meeting aggressive targets.

- Self-motivated, high-energy, results-oriented; forward-thinking and proactive.

- Flexible and adaptable: Open to change and modification of tasks.

- Operational finance knowledge.

- Proven ability to drive change in a matrix environment.

- Ability to successfully motivate and maintain employee involvement while driving change.

Desired Characteristics:

- Ability to translate complex supply chain data into clear executive-level presentations and stakeholder communications.

- Experience navigating supplier negotiations in volatile commodity markets or constrained supply environments.

- Strong root-cause analysis skills applied to supply disruptions, quality escapes, and delivery failures.

- Track record of leading cross-functional supply chain improvement projects (e.g., ERP migrations, warehouse redesigns, supplier consolidation).

- Familiarity with demand sensing, predictive analytics, or AI-driven planning tools.

- Knowledge of sustainability frameworks and experience integrating ESG criteria into supplier selection.

For candidates applying to a Canadian-based position, the pay range for this position is between 123,000 and 185,400 CAD. The specific pay offered may be influenced by a variety of factors, including the candidate’s experience, education, and skill set. Bonus eligibility: discretionary annual bonus. This posting is for an existing vacancy.

Additional Information Relocation Assistance Provided: Yes