Materials Director

Material Director

Location: West Michigan

Position Type: Full-Time, Salaried Exempt

Position Overview:

A well-established manufacturing organization is seeking an experienced Materials Director to lead its materials, purchasing, inventory, and supply chain operations.

This position will provide strategic and hands-on leadership in a fast-paced manufacturing environment. The successful candidate will ensure material availability, improve inventory performance, strengthen supplier relationships, and develop a high-performing materials team.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead materials planning, purchasing, inventory, warehouse, and supplier activities.
• Align material requirements with production schedules and business priorities.
• Reduce excess, obsolete, and inactive inventory.
• Improve inventory accuracy, turnover, working capital, and cost controls.
• Manage supplier performance related to cost, quality, delivery, and responsiveness.
• Support product transitions, engineering changes, and production launches.
• Collaborate with Operations, Production, Engineering, Quality, Finance, Sales, and suppliers.
• Identify cost-reduction and process-improvement opportunities.
• Provide accurate analysis, recommendations, and performance updates to support business decisions.
• Establish clear expectations and hold the materials team accountable.
• Develop standardized processes and operating discipline.
• Support continuous improvement across purchasing, planning, logistics, and warehouse operations.
• Travel periodically as needed to support suppliers and business operations.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Leadership Expectations:

The Materials Director will be a visible, engaged, and accountable leader who builds trust and develops strong teams. This individual will:

• Lead with professionalism, consistency, and respect.
• Set clear expectations and follow through on commitments.
• Coach and develop employees to improve performance and capabilities.
• Address performance concerns promptly and constructively.
• Promote teamwork, ownership, and operational discipline.
• Communicate effectively across all levels of the organization.
• Build strong relationships with employees, suppliers, peers, and leadership.
• Encourage continuous improvement and recognize employee contributions.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Operations, or a related field preferred.
• Minimum of five years of progressive materials or supply chain leadership experience in manufacturing.
• Experience leading teams and cross-functional initiatives.
• Strong knowledge of inventory control, purchasing, forecasting, material planning, and supplier management.
• Experience with ERP and inventory management systems.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, negotiation, and decision-making skills.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building abilities.
• Proven ability to coach, develop, and hold employees accountable.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to accuracy.
• Willingness to travel as needed.
• Successful completion of a pre-employment drug screen and background check required.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is strategic, hands-on, analytical, collaborative, proactive, and results-oriented. This individual will be comfortable working directly with operational teams while balancing people, inventory, cost, supplier, and production priorities.

Schedule and Benefits:

This is a full-time, salaried position with a Monday–Friday schedule. A competitive compensation and benefits package is available, including:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) matching
• Company-provided life insurance
• Short- and long-term disability coverage
• Paid time off
• Paid holidays
• Tuition reimbursement