Sr. Manager Production Planning & Materials

Understands how planning decisions affect machines, labor, throughput, inventory, cost, and customer service.

Creates executable plans and establishes clear operating rhythms, priorities, and escalation paths.

Balances availability, continuity of supply, inventory investment, and production requirements.

Connects ERP/MRP signals, demand, capacity, materials, and manufacturing execution.

Builds alignment across functions and resolves issues without relying solely on authority.

Uses data to identify root causes, evaluate tradeoffs, and make timely decisions.

Builds capable teams, raises planning maturity, and develops talent.

Improves processes, metrics, system discipline, and manufacturing predictability.

• Schedule attainment / schedule adherence
• On-time delivery / OTIF / customer service performance
• Material availability and shortage reduction
• Inventory turns and working capital performance
• Excess and obsolete inventory reduction
• Production lead time, backlog, and constraint management
• Capacity utilization and manufacturing plan stability
• Planning accuracy, ERP/MRP discipline, and data quality
• Team capability and cross-functional planning effectiveness

A strong candidate is a senior manufacturing planning and materials leader who has personally operated at the intersection of demand, production, materials, inventory, and factory execution. They can describe how they have built production plans, managed material constraints, used ERP/MRP systems, partnered with plant leadership, improved planning performance, and led teams through changing priorities. They are comfortable moving between strategic planning conversations and the operational realities of the factory floor.

• Pure procurement/sourcing leaders without production planning ownership.
• Corporate demand planners or S&OP professionals with limited factory execution experience.
• Logistics, transportation, or warehouse leaders without production/materials planning responsibility.
• ERP implementation consultants without direct manufacturing planning ownership.
• BOM, master data, configuration, or engineering change specialists whose experience does not include broader production planning/materials leadership.
• Production supervisors whose experience is primarily shop-floor people leadership without materials, scheduling, or planning ownership.

Recruiter shorthand: Find a senior manufacturing leader who has actually run production planning + materials inside a factory. Fiber experience is a plus, not a requirement. Prioritize complex manufacturing, ERP/MRP depth, factory planning ownership, materials management, and leadership.

• Must have: complex manufacturing + production planning/scheduling + materials/MRP + ERP + leadership.
• Preferred: SAP + S&OP/IBP + multi-line/multi-site/global manufacturing.
• Do not over-index on title; equivalent leaders may sit under Plant Supply Chain, Site Supply Chain, Production & Inventory Control, Planning & Inventory Control, Manufacturing Control, or Integrated Planning.
• Suggested experience target: 10+ years; consider 7-9 years only when scope and progression are exceptional.