Materials Manager

Setting/Hours: 100% In-Office | day shift but must be available for worldwide customer calls

Join trak group in partnering with a growing client in Hamilton, Ohio that’s expanding its Manufacturing team. 

Website Summary

Trak group is partnering with a growing manufacturing client seeking an experienced Materials Manager to lead customer demand management, production scheduling, and material planning. This senior leadership position will oversee planning functions through managers while ensuring material availability, production capacity, inventory performance, supplier performance, and customer delivery requirements are effectively managed.

The ideal candidate is a strategic, data-driven supply chain leader with experience managing complex planning operations in a fast-paced manufacturing environment. This role requires strong people leadership, cross-functional collaboration, and the ability to respond quickly to changing customer demand, capacity constraints, and supply chain challenges.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for Customer Demand Management, Production Scheduling, and Material Planning.

• Lead, coach, and develop managers responsible for demand planning, production scheduling, and materials planning.

• Establish clear expectations and accountability across planning teams.

• Ensure customer forecasts, schedules, and requirements are accurately translated into production and material plans.

• Develop scheduling strategies that balance customer demand, manufacturing capacity, labor availability, inventory, and operational efficiency.

• Ensure material availability while optimizing inventory investment and minimizing supply chain risk.

• Establish and monitor KPIs related to customer delivery, inventory, planning accuracy, schedule attainment, and operational performance.

• Review customer scorecards and performance trends and lead corrective actions when needed.

• Lead responses to significant demand fluctuations, capacity constraints, supplier performance issues, and material shortages.

• Serve as a senior escalation point for critical demand, production scheduling, inventory, and material planning issues.

• Partner with Sales, Operations, Manufacturing, Engineering, Purchasing, Logistics, and Supply Chain leadership.

• Ensure compliance with customer-specific requirements, scheduling agreements, and delivery expectations.

• Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on inventory optimization, planning accuracy, supplier performance, operational efficiency, and customer satisfaction.

• Identify opportunities to reduce costs, improve planning processes, and mitigate supply chain risks.

• Develop organizational capabilities through coaching, mentoring, succession planning, and talent development.

• Promote a culture centered on accountability, collaboration, safety, and continuous improvement.

• Ensure compliance with applicable safety, environmental, quality, and regulatory requirements.

Must-Haves

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Engineering, Operations Management, or a related field, or equivalent education and relevant experience.

• Extensive experience in materials management, supply chain planning, demand planning, production scheduling, or manufacturing operations.

• Significant experience working within a manufacturing environment.

• Proven leadership experience overseeing multiple planning functions.

• Experience leading through managers or supervisors and developing high-performing teams.

• Strong knowledge of:

  • Demand planning

  • Production scheduling

  • Material planning

  • Capacity planning

  • Inventory management

  • End-to-end supply chain processes

• Demonstrated ability to balance customer demand with manufacturing capacity, inventory, labor, and material availability.

• Experience managing material shortages, supplier issues, capacity constraints, and changing customer demand.

• Strong understanding of customer delivery and operational performance metrics.

• Experience with ERP/MRP systems and supply chain planning tools.

• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret data, identify trends, assess risk, and implement solutions.

• Demonstrated success driving continuous improvement and supply chain performance.

• Strong cross-functional leadership and communication skills.

• Proven ability to coach, mentor, and develop leaders.

Preferred

• Automotive manufacturing experience.

• Experience supporting automotive OEM customers.

• Knowledge of OEM customer-specific requirements and scheduling processes.

• SAP experience.

• Experience with EDI systems.

• Experience managing customer scorecards and delivery performance.

• Supplier performance management experience.

• Background leading inventory optimization and cost-reduction initiatives.

If you're ready to take the next step in your career and want to make an impact, partner with trak group to explore this opportunity.