Senior Material Planner

Unilever; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 71,000 - 107,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus eligible

LTI eligible

Health benefits

Job summary

Unilever is seeking a Sr. Material Planner in Chicago (Kilbourn factory) for a hybrid role with three days in-office and two days remote. You will manage sourcing, expediting, and inventory strategies to support production and customer service while balancing costs.

The role interfaces across procurement, production, and logistics teams to optimize material flow. You will drive continuous improvement using MRP data, maintain master data, and influence stakeholders without direct authority.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in an analytical discipline (e.g., supply chain, engineering, math, economics).
• Minimum 3 years in supply chain; at least 2 years in material requirements planning preferred.
• Ability to balance competing objectives across teams and influence without direct authority.
• Understanding of data-mining techniques, root cause analysis, and statistics.
• Proficiency with PC tools, especially Excel; SAP ECC knowledge a plus.

Responsibilities

• Evaluate material requirements based on MRP; requisition and expedite raw and packaging materials to support a flexible production schedule.
• Implement and adhere to inventory strategy to support business needs defined by CMRP.
• Monitor inventory and minimize waste for obsoletes and stockouts; optimize data feeds between systems.
• Manage master data to optimize planning and ensure accurate system outputs.
• Handle invoicing exceptions and support material launches and set-ups for flawless launches.
• Interface with Production Managers, Procurement, Warehouse, Transportation, Suppliers, QA, R&D, and other sites to ensure reliable production schedules.
• Lead change by adopting best practices and new tools; apply World Class Manufacturing concepts to identify losses and drive process improvements.

Skills

Analytical skills

Supply chain experience

MS Excel

SAP ECC knowledge

Data mining / statistics

Influencing without authority

Independent / team player

Education

Bachelor’s degree in analytical discipline

Tools

MS Excel

SAP ECC

Job description

Job Title: Sr. Material Planner
Hybrid Role - 3 days in office, 2 days WFH
Location: Chicago, IL - Kilbourn factory
Job Purpose
The primary purpose of this position is to manage the sourcing of raw and packaging materials to support the growth agenda of our business by reviewing material availability for production of finished goods at our Unilever Manufacturing sites. The material planner will own expediting and de-expediting of packaging materials to support the plant production schedule, and customer service while optimizing inventory levels; this will require working with procurement and suppliers to improve vendor reliability and responsiveness as well as ensuring factory alignment. The planner must be able to make decisions that will balance service with cost to ensure that diverse business objectives are met. This position encompasses all categories within the foods network and engages with cross-functional stakeholders to achieve results.
This position acts as a focal point in managing the MRP process, key step within the E2E Supply Chain Planning pillar. In this role you will be part of a team that has got a winning spirit and a passion for delivering results. The key metrics of this role are 1) Customer Service (Losses driven by material gaps/delays) 2) Waste reduction 3) Materials inventory management.
Key Responsibilities

• Evaluate material requirements based on system generated MRP and requisition materials accordingly. Expedite and de-expedite raw and package materials to support and maintain a flexible production schedule while communicating with Business Units and supporting delivery of high customer satisfaction.
• Responsible for implementing and adhering the inventory strategy required to support business needs defined by CMRP.
• Monitor raw and package inventory to achieve continuous improvement in inventory optimization and minimize waste for obsoletes and run outs
• Own, monitor, update, and manage master data to allow systems to optimize plans
• Manage invoicing exceptions
• Supporting innovation launches and material set ups to deliver flawless launches
• Interface with Production Managers, Mix Room Supervisors, Procurement, Warehouse, Transportation, Suppliers, Quality, R&D, Supply planners and other Material Planners in other Sites to ensure reliable production schedule.
• Be a “change leader”, implement standard best practices and adopt new tools.
• Apply World Class Manufacturing principals to identify major loss areas and facilitate process improvement.

Who You Are & What You’ll Do
You’re a born leader: Influencing a group of practitioners to take action and change behaviors even though you do not have direct authority over them
You’re a strategy guru: You will always be on your toes thinking of a Plan B & be ready to execute when needed. You will support functional team improvement efforts in driving minimal inventory positions, optimal component consumption, optimal data feed between systems, and overall improvement in Material Planning KPIs.
You love to win, and have fun doing it: Define and help enforce system best practices. This is done through a combination of gap analysis, audits, community of practice reviews, & escalation to Sr management as necessary.
You’re a teacher: Provide “how to” and onboarding training to material planning. Training will range from developing OPL’s (One point lessons) to providing Instructor-Led class room sessions on system operation.
You’re a changemaker: Identify process or system innovation opportunities with SAP or other materials management software. Work with GPE (Global Plan Excellence) office to define/implement system change requests.
Required Skills

• Bachelor’s degree with focus in an analytical discipline preferred (e.g. Supply Chain Management, computer science, math, statistics, economics, engineering, etc.).
• A minimum of 3 years’ experience in supply chain. At least 2 years in material requirements planning is preferred
• Being able to balance objectives of different teams that are sometimes at tension with each other and influencing a group of practitioners to change behaviors even though you do not have direct authority over them will be critical to success.
• Understanding of data-mining techniques, root cause analysis and statistical methods
• Proficiency in PC based software tools, specially MS Excel. Knowledge of SAP ECC a plus
• Ability to work independently and as a team, self-starter

Pay: The pay range for this position is $71,400 to $107,200. Unilever takes into consideration a wide range of factors that are utilized in making compensation decisions including, but not limited to, skill sets, experience and training, licensure and certifications, qualifications and education, and other business and organizational needs.
Bonus: This position is bonus eligible.
Long-Term Incentive (LTI): This position is LTI eligible.
Benefits: Unilever employees are eligible to participate in our benefits plan. Should the employee choose to participate, they can choose from a range of benefits to include, but is not limited to, health insurance (including prescription drug, dental, and vision coverage), retirement savings benefits, life insurance and disability benefits, parental leave, sick leave, paid vacation and holidays, as well as access to numerous voluntary benefits. Any coverages for health insurance and retirement benefits will be in accordance with the terms and conditions of the applicable plans and associated governing plan documents.
At Unilever, inclusion is at the heart of everything we do. We welcome applicants from all walks of life and are committed to creating an environment where everyone can thrive/succeed. All applicants will receive fair and respectful consideration, and we actively support the growth and development of every employee.
Unilever Is An Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Persons With Disabilities.
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If you are an individual with a disability in need of assistance at any time during our recruitment process, please contact us at [e-mail]. Please note: This email is reserved for individuals with disabilities in need of assistance and is not a means of inquiry about positions or application statuses. The Protected Veterans or Individuals with Disabilities AAP narratives are available for inspection by any employee or applicant for employment Monday through Friday during normal business hours at establishment.