Materials Planning Manager

About Syngenta
At Syngenta Crop Protection, we're pioneering solutions that safeguard global food security while championing sustainable agriculture. As a world market leader headquartered in Switzerland, we empower farmers with innovative crop protection technologies that defend against nature's toughest challenges. We unite advanced science with digital solutions to develop intelligent crop protection that maximizes yields while minimizing environmental impact. Join our mission of revolutionizing plant protection from seed to harvest.

Role Overview

As the Materials Planning Manager, you'll spearhead critical vendor scheduling and Material Handler activities while driving continuous improvement initiatives to optimize plant utilization and enhance customer responsiveness. You'll lead a dynamic team in implementing strategic planning processes that balance operational efficiency with business agility, ultimately reducing fixed costs through smart resource allocation and digital transformation.

Key responsibilities

• Lead and coach a team of Materials Planners and Material Handlers on site and align practices with materials scheduling/planning excellence
• Enable business-optimized decision making through balanced production schedules, anticipating production constraints and responding quickly to customer demand changes
• Optimize resource utilization including equipment, materials, and labour to maximize operational efficiency
• Monitor inventory to ensure optimal stock levels
• Support the development and maintenance of site material planning capabilities (process, people, systems) to continuously improve agility and asset utilization
• Provide regular reporting on key planning metrics including schedule adherence, capacity utilization, and inventory performance
• Develop contingency plans to address supply disruptions, equipment failures, or demand fluctuations
• Support new product introductions and technology transfers from a materials planning perspective
• Support and sometimes lead routine and non-routine waste activities and improvement projects
• Drive digital transformation initiatives related to planning systems and tools
• Support Known Consignor activities when needed.
• Deputise for the Site Planning and Logistics Manager when needed

Required skills and experience

• Operations experience
• Experience of managing diverse teams
• Digitally proficient
• Some experience of continuous improvement methodologies

Work Level: 4A
There is 1 open position available for this role.

At the Huddersfield Manufacturing Centre we make important Crop Protection products that are used in over 120 countries worldwide. These products help our growers to meet the ever-increasing demand for food, feed and fuel, and our talented & dedicated teams make this possible. The Huddersfield team is proactive, driven, and friendly, with a strong emphasis on diversity, equality and inclusion.  We work cross functionally to get the job done!

What We Offer

• A culture that celebrates diversity & inclusion, promotes professional development, and strives for a work-life balance that supports the team members.
• Extensive benefits package including a generous pension scheme, bonus scheme, private medical & life insurance.
• Up to 31.5 days annual holiday plus 8 UK bank holidays.
• 36-hour working week.

Syngenta is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or any other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.