Strategic Material Control & Supply Planning Lead

McLaren Automotive Ltd; Woking; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days holiday

Enhanced pension

Discretionary annual bonus

Private medical insurance

Life assurance

Sabbatical after 2 years

Lifestyle benefits

Parental leave

Wellbeing programme

Job summary

McLaren Automotive seeks an experienced Material Control & Planning Manager to lead a high-performing team and drive seamless material flow across manufacturing operations. You will optimise inventory, manage supplier schedules and support new model launches with strategic planning and KPI-driven improvements.

Reporting to the Head of Material Control & Planning, you will champion a culture of excellence, develop strategic relationships with suppliers, and ensure parts availability at the Point

Qualifications

• Degree-level qualification or equivalent relevant industry experience.
• Significant experience in Supply Chain, Material Planning or Logistics within a manufacturing environment (automotive experience desirable).
• Proven leadership experience, including leading teams through organisational change and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex, end-to-end global supply chains.
• Strong analytical capability with experience interpreting operational and financial data to drive decision-making.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to influence across all levels of the organisation.
• Strong commercial awareness and negotiation capability.
• High proficiency in ERP systems (SAP preferred) and Microsoft Office applications.

Responsibilities

• Lead the planning and control of production materials to ensure uninterrupted manufacturing operations.
• Manage supplier schedules to optimise material availability while minimising inventory and associated costs.
• Ensure parts are available at the Point of Fit (PPoF), supporting build stability and first-time-through manufacturing targets.
• Monitor inventory levels, balancing customer demand, operational requirements and cash flow objectives while minimising obsolete and excess stock.
• Represent Material Control & Planning within cross-functional New Model Launch activities.
• Collaborate closely with Engineering, Manufacturing and Programme teams to ensure material readiness for new vehicle introductions.
• Provide regular cross-functional reporting on launch readiness, risks and recovery actions.
• Build and maintain strong strategic relationships with suppliers across short, medium and long-term planning horizons.
• Act as the senior escalation point for supplier performance, capacity constraints and delivery issues.
• Drive supplier performance improvement through robust KPI management, business reviews and corrective action plans where required.
• Foster a culture of innovation by challenging existing processes and identifying opportunities to improve efficiency, resilience and service performance.
• Lead improvement initiatives from concept through implementation, ensuring measurable business benefits are delivered.
• Utilise operational metrics and KPIs to monitor performance, identify trends and support informed decision-making.
• Lead the resolution of critical supply chain issues including line stops, supplier shortages, freight disruptions, system constraints and scheduling challenges.
• Conduct structured root cause analysis to identify underlying issues and implement sustainable corrective actions that prevent recurrence.
• Support commercial discussions relating to supply risk, contracts and recovery planning where required.
• Develop strong working relationships with key internal stakeholders including Purchasing, Quality, Manufacturing, Legal, Aftersales and McLaren Special Operations (MSO).
• Ensure Material Control & Planning requirements are represented throughout business planning and operational decision-making.
• Develop and implement long-term material planning strategies aligned to future business growth and product plans.
• Ensure the function has the appropriate systems, processes, resources and capability to support future operational requirements.
• Analyse complex operational and financial data to support forecasting, investment decisions and cost optimisation initiatives.
• We’re looking for a highly capable supply chain leader who combines strategic thinking with strong operational execution.
• You will ideally have:
• Degree-level qualification or equivalent relevant industry experience.
• Significant experience in Supply Chain, Material Planning or Logistics within a manufacturing environment (automotive experience desirable).
• Proven leadership experience, including leading teams through organisational change and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex, end-to-end global supply chains.
• Strong analytical capability with experience interpreting operational and financial data to drive decision-making.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to influence across all levels of the organisation.
• Strong commercial awareness and negotiation capability.
• High proficiency in ERP systems (SAP preferred) and Microsoft Office applications.

Skills

Degree-level qualification

Supply Chain/Material Planning

Leadership

End-to-end global supply chains

Analytical capability

Stakeholder management & communication

Negotiation capability

ERP systems (SAP preferred)

Microsoft Office

Education

Degree-level qualification

Tools

SAP

MS Office

Job description

McLaren Automotive seeks an experienced Material Control & Planning Manager to lead a high-performing team and drive seamless material flow across manufacturing operations. You will optimise inventory, manage supplier schedules and support new model launches with strategic planning and KPI-driven improvements.

Reporting to the Head of Material Control & Planning, you will champion a culture of excellence, develop strategic relationships with suppliers, and ensure parts availability at the Point