Director of Materials Management

In addition to day-to-day operational execution, this role leads transformation initiatives—leveraging deep SAP/ERP expertise to implement warehouse automation, eliminate operational bottlenecks, and implement LEAN principles. The Director provides robust cross-functional leadership, aligning supply chain workflows with Site Operations, Maintenance, EHS, Procurement, and Finance to ensure high plant uptime, inventory integrity, traceability, and strict safety and environmental governance.

Position Responsibilities:

• Team Leadership & Operational Ownership: Establish and implement policy and procedures for receiving, inventory management, storage, staging, and material delivery activities. Uhold strict safety, environmental, and HazMat storage protocols, driving zero-incident culture.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Drive organizational alignment across Site Leadership, Operations, Maintenance, Procurement, EHS, and Finance to resolve material bottlenecks and align supply chain strategies with site production plans.
• Warehouse Operations & Material Reliability: Ensure maximum operational uptime and reliability by establishing continuous, predictable, and traceable material flow to ensure seamless support for plant operations. Coordinate SOX compliance and financial controls activities to insure inventory integrity.
• Materials Management Expertise: Develop comprehensive Materials Management and Inventory Management Strategies, Implementing Spares Programs, Asset Recovery Programs, Material Transfer Programs, as well as Consignment and VMI (vendor managed inventory) opportunities.
• Automation & Digital Transformation: leverage technology to drive operational efficiency and scalability of warehouse operations to support rapid growth. Lead evaluation, selection, deployment of automation/digitization of processes/tracking tools/barcoding/dashboards/etc.
• Develop & Drive Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Prevent stock outs, improve physical space utilization, shorten receiving and processing cycle times, partner with end users to leverage use of reservations and work orders.
• Act as a supportive and inspirational leader who can work independently with a high sense of urgency in a hands-on, active industrial team environment ("boots on the ground" engagement). Build, mentor, and scale a high-performing materials management organization, fostering a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and operational discipline.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Industrial Engineering, Business Administration, or a related technical field (Master’s/MBA preferred).
• Minimum 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in materials management, warehouse operations, or supply chain execution in a heavy industrial, chemical processing, mining, or complex manufacturing environment
• Minimum 5 years of direct experience with engineered spares and complex materials management programs integrating with plant maintenance and operations.
• Expert-level proficiency and hands-on operational leadership in SAP ERP/MRP systems.
• Advanced expertise in inventory optimization techniques, ABC classification, safety stock modeling, demand planning, and financial valuation metrics.
• Cross-Functional Communication: Demonstrated success leading cross-functional teams, driving consensus across engineering, operations, and finance, and presenting strategic roadmaps to executive leadership.

Desired Qualities:

• Warehouse Automation & Systems Design: Proven track record of evaluating and implementing automated warehouse solutions within heavy industrial settings.
• Transformation & Project Management: Deep experience managing large-scale supply chain transformation projects utilizing formal project management frameworks, LEAN, Six Sigma, or continuous improvement methodologies.
• Regulatory & Industrial Safety Standards: Strong working knowledge of OSHA, DOT, EHS, and HazMat regulatory frameworks governing chemical storage, reagent handling, and warehouse operation.
• Governance & Audit Compliance: Demonstrated capability to maintain strict SOX inventory compliance, internal control frameworks, and financial audit readiness across multi-warehouse environments.
• Continuous Improvement & Change Leadership: serve as a Change Champion leveraging ERP and data analytics to optimize supply chain efficiency, manage KPIs, and enhance decision-making.