Material Handling and Readiness Manager

Robinson Inc.; Altoona (IA); On-site; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Robinson Inc. in Altoona, IA is seeking a Material Handling and Readiness Manager to lead the Material Handling and Material Readiness functions, ensuring materials are received, stored, and ready for production and customer delivery.

You will coach supervisors, drive standard work, and partner with planning, purchasing, and inventory to mitigate material risks. The role emphasizes ownership of material flow, readiness, and raises the bar on safety, traceability, and process discipline across

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business, supply chain, operations, or related field preferred; equivalent experience considered.
• 5+ years of experience in materials, warehouse, inventory, logistics, production support, or manufacturing operations.
• 3+ years of leadership experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Experience with ERP systems, inventory transactions, scanners, barcoding, and material tracking processes.
• Experience in a multi-step manufacturing environment with multiple work centers or buildings.

Responsibilities

• Lead the overall Material Handling and Material Readiness functions across the operation.
• Provide direction, coaching, and accountability to the Material Handling Supervisor and Material Readiness Supervisor.
• Ensure raw materials, components, WIP, and finished goods are received, stored, staged, transferred, and shipped accurately and efficiently.
• Ensure material readiness processes support production with complete and available material when needed.
• Establish clear ownership and alignment between material movement activities and material readiness activities.
• Develop and maintain standard work for receiving, material handling, storage, staging, material transfers, shipping support, job readiness checks, shortage management, and escalation.
• Partner with production leadership to align priorities with daily and weekly production needs.
• Work with planning, purchasing, and inventory teams to identify and resolve material risks before they impact schedule attainment.
• Drive visibility to shortages, missing materials, incomplete jobs, aging WIP, and material-related disruptions.
• Lead development of tools, reports, dashboards, and routines that improve material flow and readiness visibility.
• Support barcode, scanner, ERP, rack/bin, and license plate processes that improve traceability and execution.
• Monitor staffing, workload balancing, team performance, and responsiveness to operational priorities.
• Lead problem-solving efforts related to missing material, inaccurate locations, delayed movement, incomplete jobs, and schedule interruptions.
• Drive continuous improvement efforts that reduce downtime, waiting, searching, excess movement, and material-related waste.
• Establish and monitor KPIs for material flow, material readiness, shortage resolution, and service to production.
• Promote a strong culture of safety, organization, standard work, accountability, and cross-functional teamwork.

Skills

Leadership

Cross-functional teamwork

Data-driven decision making

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in business, supply chain, operations, or related field

Equivalent experience considered

Tools

ERP systems

Barcoding & scanners

Material tracking processes

Job description

Job Category: Warehouse Ops/S&R/Material Handling

Requisition Number: MATER001539

Locations

Showing 1 location

Altoona, IA 50009, USA

Description

COMPANY OVERVIEW

We appreciate your interest in joining our team! At Robinson, Inc. we pride ourselves on our manufacturing solutions and ownership culture, which support the industries we serve and our local communities. Robinson is employee-owned and is driven by a dedicated team of skilled professionals that value trust, loyalty, teamwork, integrity, and accountability as the foundations of our organization. We strive to provide customer service that goes above and beyond the standard.

The Material Handling and Readiness Manager is responsible for leading the teams and processes that ensure materials are received, stored, moved, staged, and made ready to support production and customer delivery. This role oversees the Material Handling function and the Material Readiness function, creating alignment between physical material flow and production readiness. The manager works cross-functionally with production, planning, purchasing, inventory, shipping, and operations leadership to ensure the right materials are in the right place, in the right condition, at the right time.

ROLE + RESPONSIBILITIES (includes but not limited to)

• Lead the overall Material Handling and Material Readiness functions across the operation.
• Provide direction, coaching, and accountability to the Material Handling Supervisor and Material Readiness Supervisor.
• Ensure raw materials, components, WIP, and finished goods are received, stored, staged, transferred, and shipped accurately and efficiently.
• Ensure material readiness processes support production with complete and available material when needed.
• Establish clear ownership and alignment between material movement activities and material readiness activities.
• Develop and maintain standard work for receiving, material handling, storage, staging, material transfers, shipping support, job readiness checks, shortage management, and escalation.
• Partner with production leadership to align priorities with daily and weekly production needs.
• Work with planning, purchasing, and inventory teams to identify and resolve material risks before they impact schedule attainment.
• Drive visibility to shortages, missing materials, incomplete jobs, aging WIP, and material-related disruptions.
• Lead development of tools, reports, dashboards, and routines that improve material flow and readiness visibility.
• Support barcode, scanner, ERP, rack/bin, and license plate processes that improve traceability and execution.
• Monitor staffing, workload balancing, team performance, and responsiveness to operational priorities.
• Lead problem-solving efforts related to missing material, inaccurate locations, delayed movement, incomplete jobs, and schedule interruptions.
• Drive continuous improvement efforts that reduce downtime, waiting, searching, excess movement, and material-related waste.
• Establish and monitor KPIs for material flow, material readiness, shortage resolution, and service to production.
• Promote a strong culture of safety, organization, standard work, accountability, and cross-functional teamwork.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in business, supply chain, operations, or related field preferred; equivalent experience considered.
• 5+ years of experience in materials, warehouse, inventory, logistics, production support, or manufacturing operations.
• 3+ years of leadership experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Experience with ERP systems, inventory transactions, scanners, barcoding, and material tracking processes.
• Experience in a multi-step manufacturing environment with multiple work centers or multiple buildings.

PREFERRED SKILLS

• Strong leadership and team development skills.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing material flow and production support requirements.
• Ability to connect shop floor execution with system visibility and process discipline.
• Strong prioritization, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Ability to work cross-functionally and build alignment across departments.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to escalation issues clearly and constructively.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to use data to drive action and improvement.

LEADERSHIP RESPONSIBILITIES

Leads the overall material flow and material readiness functions to ensure materials are moved efficiently and available to support production

TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS

Travel to other Robinson facilities may be required.

At Robinson, we value professionalism, expertise, and a dedication to craftsmanship. We offer a dynamic work environment where employees are empowered to excel and grow within their roles. Join us in our mission to deliver exceptional metal fabrication solutions while fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and employee satisfaction.

Robinson is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.