Planning Manager

Job Description

• Lead a team of planners and is responsible for reviewing demand forecasts and backlog, optimizing production output and meeting customer lead time and schedule
• Develop and maintain production plans aligned to customer demand, operational constraints, and business priorities.
• Ensure timely material availability to support production schedules and customer requirements.
• Work closely with Procurement, Suppliers, and Warehouse teams to manage lead times, shortages, and delivery risks.
• Partner with Manufacturing, Procurement, Engineering, Quality, Logistics, and Customer Operations to align planning priorities and execution readiness.
• Ensure production plans are realistic, achievable, and aligned with shop floor capacity and operational readiness.
• Manage order execution and delivery performance, ensuring accurate planning and commitment dates.
• Act as the primary planning interface for issue resolution, trade-off decisions, and change impact assessments.
• Strengthening planning processes, data quality, and system utilization to improve forecast accuracy, schedule stability, and supply reliability.
• Build a high-performing planning organization through capability development, performance management, and succession planning.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Proactively identify supply chain risks (capacity constraints, material shortages, delays) and drive mitigation plans.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Engineering, Operations Management, Business or a related discipline.
• 7+ years of experience in production or materials planning within a manufacturing or industrial environment. Experience in high-mix, high-volume contract manufacturing is strongly preferred.
• Proven people leadership experience, including coaching, performance management and team development. Firm, assertive and results-oriented with the confidence to drive accountability and make difficult trade-off decisions.
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, complex and constantly changing environment with competing priorities.
• Demonstrated experience leading integrated planning activities across demand planning, supply planning, materials planning and production scheduling.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing operations, capacity planning, material availability and production scheduling.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving and decision-making skills, with the ability to act decisively under pressure.
• Strong stakeholder management skills and the ability to influence and challenge cross-functional teams when required.
• Strong communication and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and drive execution.
• Knowledge of Oracle, Power BI and VBA is preferred.
• Passion for innovation, process improvement and operational excellence.