Planning and Purchasing Manager

Sharp & Carter; Gold Coast City; On-site; AUD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Superannuation

Job summary

Sharp & Carter is seeking a hands-on planning and purchasing professional to own raw material planning, purchasing and inventory management for a manufacturing client on the Gold Coast. You will forecast demand, manage long‑lead‑time imports and align procurement with production needs to ensure stock is right-sized and available.

The role involves partnering with Operations, Finance, Sales and the factory, taking ownership of Excel-based processes, and driving improvements to forecasting,

Qualifications

• Experience in materials planning, supply planning, purchasing or inventory management within a manufacturing environment.
• Proven experience with long‑lead‑time or imported materials and aligning purchasing with production requirements.
• Strong Excel skills and a data‑driven approach to stock decisions.
• Process improvement mindset to automate and improve manual processes.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management across technical and commercial teams.
• Hands‑on and able to work as an individual contributor.
• Experience in FMCG, chemicals, plastics, building products or textiles is well regarded but not essential.

Responsibilities

• Manage raw material replenishment and forward ordering across long‑lead‑time imported materials.
• Monitor sales trends, product demand, new product launches and performance by product line to set appropriate stock levels.
• Take ownership of existing Excel‑based planning processes and identify opportunities to improve forecasting, reporting and inventory management.
• Improve purchasing, planning and inventory processes to reduce the risk of shortages and excess stock.
• Proactively identify slow‑moving and ageing inventory and work with stakeholders to manage exposure.
• Partner with Operations, Finance, Sales, Customer Service and factory teams to align material requirements with production and customer demand.
• Support the General Manager with supplier management, with scope to take on greater commercial responsibility over time.

Skills

Materials planning

Supply planning

Purchasing

Inventory management

Data-driven decisions

Process improvement

Stakeholder management

Communication

Hands-on contributor

Tools

Excel

Job description

About the business

Our client is an established Australian manufacturer with a strong reputation in its market and a loyal customer base. They are looking for a hands‑on planning and purchasing professional to take ownership of raw material supply and help the business scale.

About the role

This is a pivotal opportunity to own raw material planning, purchasing and inventory management, ensuring the business has the right stock at the right time to support manufacturing and customer demand. With imported materials on lead times of around three months, forward planning is critical, and you’ll be the one who gets it right.

Working closely with Operations, Finance, Sales, Customer Service and the factory, you’ll bring visibility to a function that currently runs on Excel‑based processes and put your stamp on how it evolves.

Key responsibilities

• Manage raw material replenishment and forward ordering across long‑lead‑time imported materials
• Monitor sales trends, product demand, new product launches and performance by product line to set appropriate stock levels
• Take ownership of existing Excel‑based planning processes and identify opportunities to improve forecasting, reporting and inventory management
• Improve purchasing, planning and inventory processes to reduce the risk of shortages and excess stock
• Proactively identify slow‑moving and ageing inventory and work with stakeholders to manage exposure
• Partner with Operations, Finance, Sales, Customer Service and factory teams to align material requirements with production and customer demand
• Support the General Manager with supplier management, with scope to take on greater commercial responsibility over time

About you

• Experience in materials planning, supply planning, purchasing or inventory management within a manufacturing environment
• Proven experience managing long‑lead‑time or imported materials and aligning purchasing with production requirements
• Strong Excel skills and a confident, data‑driven approach to stock decisions
• Process improvement mindset, with the ability to take a manual process and make it better
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills across both technical and commercial teams
• Hands‑on and happy to work as an individual contributor
• Experience in FMCG, chemicals, plastics, building products or textiles is well regarded, though not essential

Why apply

• Own a function and make a visible impact in a business that values it
• Genuine scope to grow your responsibilities, including commercial and supplier decisions
• Stable, established manufacturer with a supportive leadership team and deep technical knowledge on site
• Competitive salary plus superannuation, commensurate with experience