This Role in Summary:

Whirlpool Corporation is seeking an experienced and visionary Director, Materials Strategy and Planning to lead and coordinate our materials operations across the US and Mexico. In this critical leadership role, you'll be responsible for developing and executing comprehensive materials strategies that optimize our supply chain, drive efficiency, and support our growth objectives. You'll also build and lead a core team, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Location: One of the following Ohio manufacturing sites (Findlay, Marion, or Clyde) or in Benton Harbor, MI.

Your Responsibilities Will Include:

• Materials Operations Leadership: Oversee and optimize all aspects of materials operations, including planning, scheduling, and traditional materials management processes, ensuring seamless execution across US and Mexico facilities.
• Define and Execute Materials Roadmap: Create, communicate, and deploy a comprehensive materials roadmap that aligns with business objectives and drives operational excellence.
• Strategic Leadership: Develop and implement robust materials strategies for operations, planning, and scheduling, aligning with overall business objectives and short and long term strategic growth plans, leading and influencing across the organization.
• Design Standards and Industrial Engineering: Lead the design and implementation of standardized processes and systems for material flow, inventory management, and organizational design. This includes significant industrial engineering work to optimize layouts, material handling, and overall operational efficiency.
• Automation and Optimization: Drive initiatives to automate materials processes, transitioning from manual to unmanned operations wherever feasible, to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and improve safety.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Oversee and drive collaboration with various departments, including operations, manufacturing, supply chain, procurement, engineering, sales and marketing, finance, and others.
• Raw WIP Reduction: Develop and execute strategies to significantly reduce raw Work-In-Progress (WIP) inventory, optimizing cash flow and minimizing storage requirements.
• Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) Strategy: Collaborate closely with the Global Strategic Sourcing (GSS) team to develop and refine VMI strategies aimed at optimizing inventory levels and reducing reliance on VMI where appropriate.
• Expedite Optimization & Reduction: Analyze, optimize, and significantly reduce expedited freight costs and occurrences through improved planning, supplier collaboration, and proactive problem-solving, in partnership with the Global Strategic Sourcing (GSS) team.
• Inbound Freight Logistics Optimization: Lead the analysis and optimization of inbound freight logistics routes and processes to improve efficiency, reduce transit times, and minimize transportation costs.

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Materials Management, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, or a related field.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive leadership experience in materials management, supply chain, or a combination of materials and operations.
• Minimum of 5 years experience leading and developing teams.
• Demonstrated expertise in industrial engineering principles and their application to materials flow, facility layout, and process optimization.
• Strong understanding of lean manufacturing principles and their application in materials management.
• Experience with advanced planning systems (e.g., ERP, APS) and data analytics for decision-making.
• Proven ability to drive significant process improvements and cost reductions.
• Exceptional interpersonal and presentation skills with the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels.
• Ability to travel frequently (~30%) to various plant locations in the US and Mexico.

Preferred Skills and Experiences:

• Masters degree or related advanced certification.
• Proven experience building a team focused on strategy.
• Bilingual in English and Spanish.

What We Offer:

Generous benefits package, Whirlpool employee discount, fitness and educational reimbursement programs, kitchenettes, and more! Saint Joseph/Benton Harbor locations: Beautiful, recently renovated office space, free coffee, biking/walking trails, and access to The Eddy - Early Childhood Center (depending upon availability - additional costs required).
 
Brands That Innovate: We are focused on innovation that inspires consumers, and we design and build our products around what families and households really want and need. Sure, we’re designing and manufacturing some of the “smartest”, most technologically advanced appliances in the world. But what gets us most excited is empowering our people with the freedom to shape their futures while challenging themselves every day to make our customers’ lives better. For more than 110 years, with our products, we have helped families take care of loved ones. Improving life at home is why we exist and why we are passionate about what we do.

Additional Information:

• Always On Flexibility - You will have the autonomy to manage personal, family, and outside-of-work commitments as needed.
• Two-Week Work from Anywhere - Minimum of one-week increments for a total of two weeks per year.
• Sabbatical - Four weeks paid leave after every five years of service.

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