Planning Manager - Novanta

Build a career powered by innovations that matter!  At Novanta, our innovations power technology products that are transforming healthcare and advanced manufacturing—improving productivity, enhancing people’s lives and redefining what’s possible.  We create for our global customers engineered components and sub-systems that deliver extreme precision and performance for a range of mission-critical applications—from minimally invasive surgery to robotics to 3D metal printing.

Novanta is one global team with over 26 offices located in The Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific.  Looking for a great place to work?  You have found it with a culture that embraces teamwork, collaboration and empowerment.  Come explore Novanta.

Business Overview

Novanta is the world’s leading developer of robotic end of arm technologies. Novanta end-effectors enhance productivity and flexibility of robotic and automated solutions across a wide spectrum of industries through capabilities such as automatic tool changing, force-torque sensing, material removal, and more. Since 1989, our commitment to engineering excellence, superior quality, and customer-focused support drives us to innovate and continuously improve the most reliable automated solutions available.

Summary

We are seeking a motivated leader for a business and operations critical role encompassing planning and production scheduling.  You will help drive the Sales Inventory & Operations Planning (SIOP) process working with the SIOP Leader and various stakeholders of the business.  The role includes evaluation and analysis of data, coordination with SIOP Leader, Sales/Product Management, Operations, Procurement, and site leadership team.  You have a passion for developing people and proactive processes, while driving excellence and engagement through the organization while ensuring safety, quality, delivery, productivity, and profitability.  

Primary Responsibilities

• Review the existing scheduling process for robustness, flexibility and sustainability and make recommendations to improve the process
• Partner with procurement team to ensure supplier strategy supports current lead-time, quality, capacity, inventory and OTD requirements for the business
• Drive systemic performance improvements in production planning and validate the improvements through defined KPI’s and leverage the Novanta Problem Solving Process to drive continuous improvement to those KPI’s
• Ensures production schedules meet customer requirements
• Lead cross functional backlog review meetings
• Actively support inventory management strategies for Finished Goods, WIP and Raw Material, to deliver breakthrough performance of Net Working Capital
• Establish mechanisms to achieve critical metrics such as schedule attainment, DOI, raw material availability to drive business results, including leading indicators
• Create and ensure standard work is maintained across the site and the within the Planning organization
• Support the SIOP Leader to fully align and contribute to the Novanta Growth System SIOP processes and tools
• Setting and reviewing inventory policies, such as sub-assembly safety stocks to optimize production runs
• Establish and maintain master and transactional data management excellence
• Work closely with Engineering and Sales to ensure proper BOM and routing structures to enable operational success for new product launch

People & Talent Management

• Develop and mentor direct reports and team members to reach their next career goals and to increase understanding of customer expectations and operating environments
• Continue to build and develop a highly engaged, high-performing, growth-oriented organization
• Ensure the team is doing the right things (focusing on the critical few) and doing things right (applying applicable processes from our NGS (Novanta Growth Systems) toolkit to reduce friction)
• Give leadership and support to the continual development of a Novanta best in class approach to Order Entry to Delivery process
• Support SIOP Leader in building a robust SIOP process, ensuring collaboration and engagement with sales, finance, product management and senior leadership team

Required Experience, Education, Skills, Training and Competencies

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Industrial Engineering, or related field.  MBA or other advanced degree preferred
• At least 10 years of managerial experience in Supply Chain, Manufacturing and/or Commercial role
• He/she will have earned a reputation for having successfully implemental production and material planning strategies across organizations and successfully led organizations to deliver results through positive change
• Knowledgeable of end-to-end SIOP best practices and KPIs (knows what good looks like)

• Specific experience managing production scheduling in large scale ERP systems a must, with SAP a strongly desired plus

• Knowledge of lean manufacturing principles and tools (Kaizen, improvement workshops, etc.), and continuous improvement techniques
• Successful candidate will need to demonstrate a hands-on, proactive, creative, and disciplined manner while working across many peers and both direct and indirect subordinates in a matrixed environment
• APICS or other relevant Supply Chain certifications/coursework a plus
• Strong ability to drive cross-functional collaboration and decision making at all management levels.  Align stakeholders to a common vision and process

Travel Requirements

• Willingness to travel approximately 10%

Physical Requirements

• Sitting and standing while performing job duties

Novanta is proud to be an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action workplace. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, military and veteran status, disability, genetics, or any other category protected by federal law or Novanta policy.

Please call +1 781-266-5700 if you need a disability accommodation for any part of the employment process.