Manager Materials Planning

Requisition Number: Req-257745

Position Title:

External Description: Title: Manager Materials Planning

               

Location: Kennewick, WA

               

About Lamb Weston

You’ve probably enjoyed our fries without even knowing it! As a leading manufacturer in our industry, and public Fortune 500 company, we inspire and bring people together with foods they love and trust. Our customer base includes international food service providers, restaurants, and households in over 100 countries around the world.

A highly innovative global corporation with a start-up mindset, we empower every individual to make a genuine difference. You’ll gain access to hands-on training to fuel your growth and success, explore opportunities for new solutions, and you’ll join a winning team of 10,000+ people all dedicated to raising the bar – together.

If you have a strong drive for results, a desire to help us bring the world together through our fries, and are ready for a fresh challenge, we want to hear from you.

Job Description Summary

               

The Manager, Materials Planning is responsible for ensuring consistent availability of raw materials, components, and packaging necessary to support manufacturing and fulfillment across the network. This role leads a team of planners who develop, maintain, and execute supply plans based on demand signals, supplier capabilities, and inventory targets. The Manager serves as a key link between procurement, manufacturing, and planning functions, ensuring material flow is timely, cost-effective, and aligned to service and inventory objectives.

Job Description

      Materials Planning Execution

• Translate demand and production requirements into material supply plans, ensuring timely availability of raw materials and components.
• Manage inventory levels in alignment with working capital targets while preventing supply disruptions.
• Monitor supplier delivery performance and proactively identify risks or constraints in the material supply chain.

      People Leadership & Development

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Materials Planners to ensure consistent execution, responsiveness, and ownership.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, collaboration, and cross-functional accountability.
• Set clear objectives, provide regular feedback, and support career development planning for team members.

      Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Procurement, Master Scheduling, Production, and Logistics teams to align supply plans with operational needs.
• Escalate material constraints and propose recovery options to minimize impact on production and customer service.
• Support execution forums with timely updates, risks, and resolution paths for material-related issues.

       Analytics & Continuous Improvement

• Monitor material availability KPIs (e.g., OTIF from suppliers, inventory turns, shortages) and drive root cause resolution.
• Lead or support initiatives to reduce material waste, improve forecast accuracy, and strengthen supplier reliability.
• Leverage tools and systems to improve visibility, reporting, and decision-making across the materials planning process.

        System & Process Discipline

• Ensure planning master data is accurate (e.g., lead times, safety stocks, MOQ, lot sizes).
• Utilize planning tools to maintain realistic and executable supply plans.
• Support planning transformation initiatives to improve process standardization, automation, and scalability.

Scope:

• Supports materials availability for a high-volume, multi-site supply chain.
• Manages a team of 5–10 planners.
• Interfaces with global and regional Procurement, Supply Planning, and Operations teams.
• Drives material availability to support production for a $6B+ North America business.

Basic & Preferred Qualifications

Education/ Certifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Operations Management, Engineering or related field preferred.
• Certifications such as APICS (CPIM), Six Sigma, or Lean are a plus.

Skills and Experience:

• 6+ years of experience in materials planning, supply chain planning, or production scheduling roles.
• 2+ years of experience leading teams or mentoring junior planners.
• Strong understanding of MRP and material flow in a manufacturing environment.
• Strong Excel skills are required.
• Experience with ERP systems (e.g., SAP ECC/IBP) and planning tools; proficiency in Power BI or other analytics tools preferred.
• Knowledge of modern planning tools are a plus.
• Strong organizational, communication, and problem-solving skills with a continuous improvement mindset.

Physical Environment/Demands:

• Some travel may be required
• Most work is performed in a temperature-controlled office environment
• Incumbent may sit for long periods of time at desk or computer terminal
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear.
• Incumbent may use calculators, keyboards, telephone and other office equipment in the course of normal workday
• Stooping, bending, twisting and reaching may be required in completion of job duties

Industry-Competitive Benefits

Coupled with our compensation and bonus incentive programs, our benefits deliver rewards that are market competitive.  Some of the most attractive elements of our benefit programs include:

• Health Insurance Benefits - Medical, Dental, Vision

• Flexible Spending Accounts for Health and Dependent Care, and Health Reimbursement Accounts

• Well-being programs including companywide events and a wellness incentive program

• Paid Time Off

• Financial Wellness – Industry leading 401(k) plan with generous company contributions, Financial Planning Services, Employee Stock purchase program, and Health Savings Accounts, Life and Accident insurance

• Family-Friendly Employee events

• Employee Assistance Program services – mental health and other concierge type services

Benefits may vary based on location, job role/level, job status, and/or the terms of any applicable collective bargaining agreements.

               

Job Requisition ID: Req-257745

               

Time Type: Full time

               

Anticipated Close Date: 07/22/2025

               

In compliance with applicable state and local laws, Lamb Weston has opted to include a reasonable estimate of the compensation for this role. This compensation is specific to this position and takes into account a number of variables. Actual compensation may be higher or lower in the range posted based on various factors, including, but not limited to, job duties, experience and expertise. A candidate’s work location could also impact the actual compensation being outside of the range to reflect local cost of labor. A reasonable annual estimate of the range for this role based on the variables previously mentioned is: $101,730.00 - $152,600.00

               

Lamb Weston is an Equal Opportunity Employer and considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, disability, veteran status or any other protected factor under federal, state or local law

City:

State:

Community / Marketing Title: Manager Materials Planning

Company Profile:

Lamb Weston is a leading supplier of frozen potato, sweet potato, appetizer and vegetable products to restaurants and retailers around the world.

For more than 60 years, Lamb Weston has led the industry in innovation, introducing inventive products that simplify back-of-house management for our customer and make things more delicious for their customers.

It’s all about seeing the possibilities in potatoes and never, ever settling.

Learn more about us at lambweston.com.

Location_formattedLocationLong: Washington, US