Materials Specialist

Overview

Key Responsibilities

1. Material Constraints & Build Plan Alignment

• Maintain a clear and actionable line of sight between material constraints and factory build plans, ensuring supply readiness aligns with production requirements.
• Proactively identify supply gaps, shortages, and timing risks that could impact builds.
• Translate supply constraints into clear impacts, recovery options, and decision points for cross‑functional stakeholders.

2. Constrained Material Ownership & Supplier Engagement

• Develop clear problem statements for constrained materials, including root cause, supply gaps, and recovery paths.
• Lead direct engagement with suppliers to resolve material constraints, including capacity issues, lead‑time risks, and delivery shortfalls.
• Own and track material recovery plans, ensuring accountability, cadence, and closure of commitments.

3. Customer-Facing Status & Critical Part Coordination

• Serve as a customer-facing point of contact for status, risks, and mitigation plans related to critical parts and supply initiatives.
• Communicate material availability, risks, and recovery actions clearly and consistently to internal customers, program teams, and leadership.
• Support escalations by framing options, tradeoffs, and impacts to customer commitments.

4. Demand Volatility Buffers & Risk Buy Strategy

• Oversee and drive inputs to demand volatility buffer programs to protect build continuity amid forecast variability.
• Develop and manage risk buy strategies, including business justification, timing, and exposure assessment.
• Partner with finance, planning, and procurement to balance service protection with inventory and cost risk.

Additional Responsibilities

ERP & System Integrity

• Ensure proper and complete ERP configuration for assigned products and parts.
• Validate planning parameters (lead times, MOQ, safety stock, sourcing rules) to ensure accurate MRP signals.

Purchasing & Item Master Accuracy

• Maintain accurate Purchasing Source Records (PSRs) and Item Master Records.
• Ensure correct Make vs. Buy designation and Bill of Material relevance to support effective MRP execution.

Expedite & Cost Management

• Coordinate expedite fees related to supplier recovery actions or schedule changes.
• Ensure expedite decisions are aligned with business priorities and properly communicated.

Standard Work & Process Discipline

• Define, document, and execute standard work for material program management activities.

Drive consistent cadence reviews, risk tracking, and escalation processes.

Experience

• 7+ years of experience in manufacturing supply chain, materials management, procurement, or production planning
• 3–5+ years in a material program management, supply program management, or lead materials role supporting complex manufacturing environments
• Demonstrated experience managing material constraints, shortages, and supplier recovery plans impacting production schedules
• Proven track record of customer‑facing communication on critical parts, supply risks, and mitigation strategies
• Hands‑on experience with ERP/MRP systems, including item master, sourcing records, planning parameters, and BOM structures
• Strong cross‑functional collaboration experience with manufacturing, planning, procurement, engineering, finance, and suppliers

Education

• Bachelor’s Degree in Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, Industrial Engineering, Business Administration, or related field
• Master’s Degree (MBA or MS) in Supply Chain, Operations, or Engineering – preferred

Certifications (Desired / Preferred)

• APICS / ASCM Certifications 
  • CPIM (Certified in Planning and Inventory Management)
  • CSCP (Certified Supply Chain Professional)
• Six Sigma or Lean Certifications (Green Belt or Black Belt)
• ERP platform training or certification (e.g., SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics) – preferred