Material Readiness Supervisor

Robinson, Inc.; Altoona (IA); On-site; USD 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Robinson, Inc. is seeking a Materials Readiness Supervisor to lead the processes and team ensuring materials are available and aligned to production. You will oversee shortages, missing material follow‑up, and readiness visibility to protect the schedule.

This role partners with planning, purchasing, inventory, and production teams to resolve gaps and improve readiness. Responsibilities include supervising coordinators, driving timely resolutions, and developing visibility tools.

Qualifications

• High school diploma required; associate’s or bachelor’s degree preferred.
• 3+ years of experience in materials, inventory, planning, production support, or manufacturing operations.
• Prior supervisory or team leadership experience.
• Experience with ERP systems, job tracking, inventory transactions, and shortage management.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing routing, scheduling, and work center support.

Responsibilities

• Lead the daily execution of material readiness processes to ensure production has the right materials at the right time.
• Supervise Material Readiness Coordinators responsible for shortages, missing parts, completeness checks, and readiness follow‑up.
• Monitor open shortages, missing material, incomplete jobs, and at‑risk work orders and drive timely resolution.
• Develop and maintain visibility tools, reports, and routines that show material status by job, work center, or priority.
• Partner with planning, purchasing, production, inventory, and materials teams to resolve material gaps and protect the production schedule.
• Establish processes for verifying readiness before jobs move to the next operation.
• Help define and maintain standards for what constitutes a complete job, kit, or move.
• Support root cause analysis for shortages, missing parts, incorrect transactions, inaccurate locations, and readiness failures.
• Escalate material risks that could impact output, schedule attainment, labor efficiency, or customer delivery.
• Drive continuous improvement in material availability, shortage resolution, and readiness support processes.
• Support ERP, reporting, and dashboard improvements that improve material visibility and job readiness.
• Train, coach, and develop team members while reinforcing a proactive and service‑oriented team culture.

Skills

ERP systems

Inventory management

Supervisory experience

Data analysis

Planning & scheduling

Education

Associate's degree preferred

Bachelor's degree preferred

Tools

Job tracking software

Dashboard/reporting tools

Job 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.

JOB OVERVIEW

The Materials Readiness Supervisor is responsible for leading the processes and team members who ensure materials are available, complete, and aligned to support production when needed. This role oversees shortage management, missing material follow‑up, job completion verification, and material readiness visibility to help protect production flow and schedule attainment. The Materials Readiness Supervisor works cross‑functionally with production, planning, purchasing, inventory, fleet, and material handling teams to identify and resolve material gaps before they disrupt operations.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead the daily execution of material readiness processes to ensure production has the right materials at the right time.
• Supervise Material Readiness Coordinators responsible for shortages, missing parts, completeness checks, and readiness follow‑up.
• Monitor open shortages, missing material, incomplete jobs, and at‑risk work orders and drive timely resolution.
• Develop and maintain visibility tools, reports, and routines that show material status by job, work center, or priority.
• Partner with planning, purchasing, production, inventory, and materials teams to resolve material gaps and protect the production schedule.
• Establish processes for verifying readiness before jobs move to the next operation.
• Help define and maintain standards for what constitutes a complete job, kit, or move.
• Support root cause analysis for shortages, missing parts, incorrect transactions, inaccurate locations, and readiness failures.
• Escalate material risks that could impact output, schedule attainment, labor efficiency, or customer delivery.
• Drive continuous improvement in material availability, shortage resolution, and readiness support processes.
• Support ERP, reporting, and dashboard improvements that improve material visibility and job readiness.
• Train, coach, and develop team members while reinforcing a proactive and service‑oriented team culture.

QUALIFICATIONS

• High school diploma required; associate’s or bachelor’s degree preferred.
• 3+ years of experience in materials, inventory, planning, production support, or manufacturing operations.
• Prior supervisory or team leadership experience.
• Experience with ERP systems, job tracking, inventory transactions, and shortage management.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing routing, scheduling, and work center support.

PREFERRED SKILLS

• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills.
• Ability to coordinate across departments and influence action without direct ownership of all resources.
• Strong sense of urgency and follow‑up.
• Ability to identify risks before they disrupt production.
• Strong communication and escalation judgment.
• Ability to balance system data, floor visibility, and operational priorities.

LEADERSHIP RESPONSIBILITIES

Leads the team responsible for material availability, shortage resolution, and job readiness to support schedule execution.

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.

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