Director of Materials Management

The Director of Materials Management is responsible for leading the end-to-end materials management function for manufacturing of high-end indoor and outdoor cooking appliances. The Director owns demand planning, translation and timely loading of the approved forecast into the ERP/MRP system, supply planning, purchasing execution, inventory performance, and material availability. This leader establishes a disciplined demand-to-supply operating cadence; maintains direct, proactive communication with suppliers; and partners closely with manufacturing to identify, escalate, and resolve potential shortages before production is affected. The Director leads and develops a team of 5-7 buyers, planners, and materials professionals in an engaged continuous improvement environment while collaborating with Strategic Sourcing on contracts, pricing, supplier strategy, and new product introductions. 

ESSENTIAL JOB RESULTS

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for demand planning, supply planning, purchasing execution, inventory control, and material availability across the manufacturing operation.
• Own the demand planning process and operating cadence, integrating commercial forecasts, customer demand, production plans, promotions, service requirements, and new product introductions into one approved demand plan.
• Ensure the approved forecast is accurately and timely loaded into the ERP/MRP system; govern planning parameters, lead times, safety stocks, order policies, and master data so system-generated demand signals are reliable and actionable.
• Chair regular demand and supply reviews, identify material and capacity gaps, reconcile constraints, document decisions, and communicate risks, options, and required actions to executive and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Maintain direct and proactive supplier communication regarding forecasts, purchase requirements, capacity, commitments, past-due orders, expedites, recovery plans, and emerging risks.
• Establish supplier operating rhythms and performance reviews; drive corrective actions and sustainable recovery for delivery, quality, responsiveness, and capacity issues.
• Stay closely connected to manufacturing through daily shortage and production-readiness reviews; anticipate constraints, prioritize actions, and escalate potential line-impacting shortages with clear owners and recovery dates.
• Lead cross-functional shortage mitigation with manufacturing, quality, engineering, logistics, and Strategic Sourcing, including alternate supply, substitutions, schedule adjustments, premium freight decisions, and supplier recovery plans.
• Optimize inventory investment and working capital by balancing service and production continuity with inventory turns, excess and obsolete exposure, safety stock, lot sizes, and supplier lead times.
• Set functional strategy, policies, standard work, controls, and decision rights for planning, buying, shortage management, inventory governance, and supplier follow-up.
• Partner with Strategic Sourcing on supplier transitions, resourcing, negotiations, cost-reduction initiatives, risk management, and new product introductions while ensuring execution readiness and continuity of supply.
• Partner with Quality and Engineering to resolve supplier non-conformance, disposition constrained material, and ensure corrective actions protect future production requirements.
• Build meaningful dashboards and analytics that provide forward-looking visibility to demand changes, forecast accuracy, supplier performance, shortages, inventory health, and production risk.
• Lead, coach, and develop a team of 5-7 buyers, planners, and materials professionals; set clear goals, provide timely feedback, build succession capability, and hold the team accountable for results.
• Create an engaged continuous improvement culture using structured problem solving, root-cause analysis, standard work, visual management, and employee-led improvement initiatives.
• Develop team capability in ERP/MRP discipline, data analysis, supplier communication, business acumen, and cross-functional influence; ensure appropriate workload balance and coverage.
• Communicate supply risks, operational tradeoffs, and performance trends clearly across all levels of the organization and translate business priorities into aligned materials actions.

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS:

• Demand plan and system discipline - forecast accuracy and bias by product family; approved forecast loaded into ERP/MRP accurately and on schedule; planning parameter and master-data accuracy.
• Material availability and production continuity - material availability to schedule; shortage aging and closure rate; production disruptions or schedule misses attributable to material shortages.
• Supplier delivery and responsiveness - supplier on-time delivery, past-due purchase orders, commit-date adherence, corrective-action closure, and recovery-plan effectiveness.
• Inventory and working capital - inventory turns or days on hand; excess and obsolete inventory; safety-stock adherence; inventory record accuracy; progress against annual working-capital plan.
• Planning and purchasing execution - MRP exception closure, purchase-order placement timeliness, reschedule-message action rate, and premium freight or expedite cost attributable to planning or supplier performance.
• Cross-functional operating cadence - on-time completion of demand, supply, shortage, and supplier reviews; timely escalation of material risks with documented owners, actions, and recovery dates.
• Continuous improvement - measurable improvements delivered against the annual CI roadmap, including lead-time reduction, process adherence, waste elimination, and sustained corrective actions.
• People leadership and engagement - achievement of team objectives, development-plan completion, retention, succession coverage, cross-training, engagement, and closure of employee-led improvement actions.
• Financial performance - materials-related cost, inventory, premium freight, and productivity performance versus the annual operating plan.

• Bachelor's degree in supply chain management, operations, business, engineering, or a related field; advanced degree or relevant professional certification preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive materials management, planning, purchasing, or operations experience in a complex manufacturing environment, including 5+ years of people leadership.
• Demonstrated success leading a team of 5-7 or more buyers, planners, or materials professionals in an engaged, accountable continuous improvement culture.
• Deep expertise in demand planning, forecasting, ERP/MRP, master data, inventory optimization, production planning, and shortage management.
• Proven ability to translate an approved demand forecast into accurate system requirements and executable supply plans.
• Strong supplier-management capability, including forecast communication, capacity alignment, performance reviews, escalation, corrective action, and recovery planning.
• Track record of partnering closely with manufacturing to anticipate material constraints and protect production schedules.
• Strong financial and analytical acumen with experience building KPI dashboards, interpreting trends, and converting data into decisions and sustained results.
• Working knowledge of Lean, Six Sigma, or comparable continuous improvement methods and structured root-cause problem solving.
• Executive-level communication, influence, and change-leadership skills; able to create alignment and drive accountability across functions and organizational levels.