Sr. Manager of Strategic Planning

Gwynedd Manufacturing Inc.; North Wales (Montgomery County); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Gwynedd Manufacturing seeks a Senior Manager of Strategic Planning to lead enterprise planning and act as the operations control center for manufacturing. You'll align demand with capacity across multiple operations, driving improvements in schedule attainment, forecasting accuracy, and KPI visibility.

Responsibilities include leading Production Planning, Scheduling, Control, Demand Planning, and S&OP, while partnering with Sales and Operations to enable scalable growth and ERP excellence.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Operations Management, Industrial Engineering, Business, or a related field preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive manufacturing planning or operations leadership experience.
• 5+ years leading planning, scheduling, or production control teams.
• Experience developing master production schedules within complex manufacturing environments.
• Strong knowledge of production planning, forecasting, capacity planning, inventory management, and S&OP.
• Advanced ERP experience (Epicor strongly preferred).
• Advanced Microsoft Excel and analytical skills.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the Planning organization, including Production Planning, Scheduling, Production Control, Demand Planning, and Planning Analytics.
• Manage and mentor planning personnel while establishing a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Serve as the primary decision‑maker for production prioritization and resource balancing across manufacturing operations.
• Develop and maintain integrated master production schedules that align customer demand with manufacturing capacity.
• Improve schedule attainment, production execution, and on‑time delivery performance.
• Lead cross‑functional planning meetings and proactively resolve scheduling or capacity constraints.
• Develop labor, equipment, and capacity planning models.
• Partner with Sales and Operations to improve forecasting accuracy and translate demand into executable production plans.
• Identify bottlenecks and support long‑range growth planning.
• Design, implement, and lead the company's S&OP process.
• Facilitate monthly planning reviews to align demand, supply, inventory strategy, and production capacity.
• Drive cross‑functional decision making through data‑driven planning.
• Serve as the business owner for Epicor planning and scheduling functions.
• Improve ERP data integrity, planning workflows, reporting, and system utilization.
• Develop executive KPI dashboards that improve operational visibility and decision making.
• Analyze operational performance and recommend improvements in delivery, throughput, inventory, lead time, and capacity utilization.
• Lead root‑cause investigations and planning process improvements that support continued company growth.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Analytical skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication skills

Mentoring / people leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain or related field

Tools

Epicor ERP

Excel

Planning Analytics

Job description

Gwynedd Manufacturing is a rapidly growing defense contractor and advanced manufacturing facility located in North Wales, PA. We proudly support the U.S. Department of Defense and federal law enforcement agencies by designing and manufacturing precision firearms, weapon components, and accessories. As we continue to grow, we are seeking experienced leaders who thrive in fast-paced manufacturing environments and are passionate about operational excellence.

Position Summary

The Senior Manager of Strategic Planning is responsible for leading the company's enterprise planning function and serving as the operational control center for manufacturing. Reporting to the Director of Operations, this role oversees Production Planning, Master Scheduling, Production Control, Demand Planning, Capacity Planning, Forecasting, and Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP). This leader will translate customer demand and business priorities into executable manufacturing plans while balancing capacity, labor, materials, and inventory across multiple manufacturing operations. The ideal candidate is a strategic leader with strong analytical skills, ERP expertise, and a proven ability to build scalable planning organizations that drive operational performance.

What You'll Accomplish

Leadership & Planning

• Lead and develop the Planning organization, including Production Planning, Scheduling, Production Control, Demand Planning, and Planning Analytics.
• Manage and mentor planning personnel while establishing a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Serve as the primary decision‑maker for production prioritization and resource balancing across manufacturing operations.

Production Planning & Scheduling

• Develop and maintain integrated master production schedules that align customer demand with manufacturing capacity.
• Improve schedule attainment, production execution, and on‑time delivery performance.
• Lead cross‑functional planning meetings and proactively resolve scheduling or capacity constraints.

Capacity Planning & Forecasting

• Develop labor, equipment, and capacity planning models.
• Partner with Sales and Operations to improve forecasting accuracy and translate demand into executable production plans.
• Identify bottlenecks and support long‑range growth planning.

Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP)

• Design, implement, and lead the company's S&OP process.
• Facilitate monthly planning reviews to align demand, supply, inventory strategy, and production capacity.
• Drive cross‑functional decision making through data‑driven planning.

ERP & Process Improvement

• Serve as the business owner for Epicor planning and scheduling functions.
• Improve ERP data integrity, planning workflows, reporting, and system utilization.
• Develop executive KPI dashboards that improve operational visibility and decision making.

Continuous Improvement

• Analyze operational performance and recommend improvements in delivery, throughput, inventory, lead time, and capacity utilization.
• Lead root‑cause investigations and planning process improvements that support continued company growth.

First-Year Objectives

First 30 Days

• Assess the current planning and scheduling environment.
• Stabilize production scheduling processes.
• Develop an integrated production plan across manufacturing operations.
• Identify planning deficiencies within Epicor.
• Establish planning governance and reporting standards.

First 90 Days

• Improve on‑time delivery and schedule attainment.
• Launch a formal S&OP process.
• Increase forecasting accuracy and capacity planning visibility.
• Standardize ERP planning data.
• Develop executive KPI reporting.Build a scalable planning organization to support future growth.

Key Performance Indicators

Success in this role will be measured by improvements in:

• On‑Time Delivery (OTD)
• Schedule Adherence
• Forecast Accuracy
• Capacity Utilization
• Inventory Accuracy
• Manufacturing Lead Time
• Work-in-Process (WIP)
• ERP Data Integrity
• Backlog Management
• Customer Promise Date Performance
• Revenue Throughput

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Operations Management, Industrial Engineering, Business, or a related field preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive manufacturing planning or operations leadership experience.
• 5+ years leading planning, scheduling, or production control teams.
• Experience developing master production schedules within complex manufacturing environments.
• Strong knowledge of production planning, forecasting, capacity planning, inventory management, and S&OP.
• Advanced ERP experience (Epicor strongly preferred).
• Advanced Microsoft Excel and analytical skills.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and cross‑functional collaboration skills.

Preferred

• Experience in defense, aerospace, firearms, CNC machining, or other regulated manufacturing environments.
• Epicor implementation or optimization experience.
• APICS/ASCM certifications (CPIM, CSCP).
• Lean Manufacturing or Six Sigma experience.
• Experience leading planning transformations within high‑growth manufacturing organizations.

Physical And Work Environment Requirements

This position is based in a manufacturing environment and may require the following over extended periods of time up to a full 8-hour work shift (excluding lunch and breaks): stand, walk, sit, squat or bend, kneel and rise, lift, carry, push, or pull materials and equipment weighing up to and occasionally exceeding 50 pounds, view a computer or other digital screen, work on a computer, workstation or comparable system, and make accurate entries in such systems. Manual dexterity and fine motor skills are required for detailed assembly and precision work. Work may take place in areas with varying temperatures or no climate control, varying noise levels, and production equipment in motion. Proper personal protective equipment (PPE) must be worn in designated areas at all times as required by company policy. Reasonable accommodations may be available to enable individuals with disabilities but are always subject to safety concerns for the employee and all team members. Employer may require a physical assessment of the candidate's ability to perform these tasks as a condition of an offer letter. Any assessment will be performed by a third party vendor and will be reported on a pass/fail basis with no other medical information conveyed to employer.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Gwynedd Manufacturing is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

Note: This job description reflects general duties and responsibilities and is not intended to be an exhaustive list. Management may modify or assign other responsibilities as needed.