Senior Manager, SIOP and PlanningJob Code: 41880
Location: Waterdown, Ontario
About the RoleReporting to the Director of Operations, the Senior Manager, SIOP & Planning serves in a key leadership role, providing strategic direction for the Sales, Inventory & Operations Planning (SIOP) process and leading the Planning organization, including Master Scheduling, Production Planning, and Planning Change Management. The role builds and develops a high-performing team while shaping medium- and long-term operational plans, influencing cross-functional decisions, and aligning customer demand, operational capacity, inventory investment, revenue commitments, and strategic priorities to drive sustainable business performance.
The Senior Manager ensures the integrity of the company's planning processes, systems, and Master Production Schedule while establishing clear priorities, accountability, and effective operating practices across the Planning team. As a trusted advisor to Operations leadership, the incumbent drives alignment across Engineering, Demand, Supply Chain, Operations, Program Management, and Finance, identifies business risks and opportunities, and ensures mitigation plans are developed and executed. The role also fosters talent development, collaboration, and continuous improvement within a dynamic manufacturing environment.
Primary Responsibilities- Lead, coach, mentor, and develop a high-performing planning organization, including SIOP professionals, Master Schedulers, Production Planners, and Planning Change professionals, through clear objectives, performance expectations, resource allocation, development plans, succession planning, and ongoing feedback.
- Provide strategic leadership and governance for the end-to-end Sales, Inventory and Operations Planning (SIOP) process, aligning demand, supply, capacity, inventory investment, customer commitments, revenue expectations, and financial objectives.
- Lead the complete SIOP cycle, including preparation, functional reviews, demand and supply alignment, scenario development, executive reviews, decision-making, and follow-up, while ensuring assumptions, constraints, risks, opportunities, and agreed actions are documented, communicated, and tracked.
- Enable informed executive decision-making by delivering accurate and timely reporting, scenario analyses, planning alternatives, risk assessments, and recommendations, and by escalating significant forecast gaps, capacity constraints, delivery concerns, and business performance risks to the Director of Operations.
- Foster a culture of ownership, accountability, collaboration, professional excellence, and continuous improvement, holding team members and cross-functional stakeholders accountable for agreed actions, mitigation plans, and the realization of business opportunities.
- Establish governance, standards, and performance expectations for Master Scheduling and Production Planning, ensuring production plans and schedules support customer commitments, revenue targets, inventory objectives, material availability, capacity requirements, and manufacturing efficiency across sustaining operations and New Product Introduction.
- Ensure alignment among forecasts, customer demand, capacity plans, material strategies, and production schedules, leading the resolution of scheduling conflicts, material shortages, capacity constraints, and operational risks, and governing the assessment, approval, documentation, communication, and execution of build plan changes.
- Provide strategic planning oversight for enterprise and product lifecycle changes, including Enterprise Change Assessments, engineering changes, new product introductions, product transfers, cut-ins, supersessions, and product sunsets, ensuring cross-functional planning readiness before implementation.
- Partner with Engineering, Product Lifecycle Management, Demand Management, Program Management, Operations, Finance, Commercial, and Supply Chain teams to develop achievable operational plans, establish business priorities, manage product transitions, optimize inventory, and enable effective execution through proactive communication and alignment.
- Ensure the integrity, accuracy, timeliness, and effective governance of planning data, systems, and structures, including ERP, MRP, reporting environments, Planning BOMs, and fractional Planning BOMs, so they support forecasting, material planning, capacity planning, inventory management, and business decision-making.
- Own and improve planning and operational performance metrics, including On-Time Delivery, Master Schedule Attainment, AOP Achievement, forecast accuracy, planning accuracy, schedule attainment, capacity utilization, inventory health, production performance, and revenue attainment, driving corrective actions when results do not meet expectations.
- Lead continuous improvement and business transformation across the planning function, championing Lean, Kaizen, Operational Excellence, digital transformation, standardization, automation, advanced analytics, system enhancements, and industry best practices to improve planning accuracy, schedule stability, operational effectiveness, and customer satisfaction.
Desired Skills and KnowledgePlanning and Technical Expertise- Expert knowledge of Sales, Inventory and Operations Planning (SIOP), Master Scheduling, Production Planning, and Capacity Planning principles and practices.
- Strong knowledge of modern manufacturing planning and control methods, including Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Material Requirements Planning (MRP), Kanban, Just-in-Time (JIT), and configuration management.
- Experience working with Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems, such as Teamcenter, or comparable platforms.
- Strong understanding of Engineering Change Management and Product Lifecycle Management processes.
- Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, business intelligence tools, and modern planning and data-visualization platforms.
- Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret complex operational data, identify trends and risks, develop insights, and provide clear, actionable recommendations.
- Experience in aerospace, defense, electronics, or another complex and highly regulated manufacturing environment is strongly preferred
- Demonstrated management and leadership experience in planning, supply chain, operations, manufacturing, or a related field.
- Comprehensive knowledge and experience in a relevant discipline, along with a broad understanding of related business functions and their impact on planning and operational performance.
- APICS certification, such as Certified in Planning and Inventory Management (CPIM), Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP), or Certified in Logistics, Transportation and Distribution (CLTD), or an equivalent industry-recognized certification an asset.
- Certification in Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Operational Excellence an asset.
Leadership Competencies- Proven leader with the ability to develop high-performing teams, promote accountability, and build effective cross-functional relationships.
- Strategic and systems-oriented thinker who can connect planning and operational decisions to broader customer, financial, and business objectives.
- Strong communication and influencing skills, with the ability to engage effectively at all levels of the organization, including executive leadership.
- Excellent written, verbal, presentation, meeting facilitation, and executive reporting skills.
- Strong organizational and prioritization skills, with the ability to manage multiple initiatives and competing business demands.
- Strong customer focus and demonstrated commitment to operational excellence and continuous improvement.
- Ability to balance strong attention to detail with a strategic, enterprise-wide perspective.
- Ability to perform effectively in a fast-paced, dynamic, and complex manufacturing environment.
Education and Experience- Requires broad management and leadership knowledge to lead cross-department project teams or manage across the function.
- Typically has mastery within a specific technical area or broad expertise across multiple related job areas.
- Bachelor's Degree with a minimum of 12 years of prior related experience.
- Graduate Degree with a minimum of 10 years of prior related experience.
- In lieu of a degree, minimum of 16 years of prior related experience.
*This posting is for a current vacancy. In the province of Ontario, Canada, the pay range for this position will be $140,000 to $190,000
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