What are the responsibilities and job description for the Director, Production and Materials Planning position at Gehl Food & Beverage?
Job Title: Director, Production and Materials Planning
Location: Germantown, WI
Reports To: VP, Supply Chain Planning
Why join our team?
- Full benefits package – medical, dental, vision & 401(k) match
- Generous PTO & holidays
- Growth opportunities to expand skillsets & enhance career
- Amazing team & culture focused on: Communication | Community | Wellness
Other Benefits & Programs We Offer:
- Tuition reimbursement
- HSA Medical plan option with annual company contribution
- Referral bonus program
- Perks at Work – discounts on shopping, travel & more
- Proven continued business growth for future opportunities
Position Summary
Gehl is seeking a Planning Director to lead production planning and scheduling across a complex, multi-site manufacturing network. This role owns rough cut capacity planning (RCCP), Master Production Scheduling (MPS), and finite scheduling across three production plants and a dedicated labeling operation supporting approximately 500 active SKUs.
The Planning Director will build and lead a team of finite schedulers and material planners, establish consistent planning processes, optimize capacity and inventory, and ensure strong customer service. This is a hands-on leadership role requiring close partnership with Operations, Procurement, Sales, Finance, Quality, and Supply Chain leadership.
Key Responsibilities
- Own RCCP, MPS, and finite-capacity scheduling across the manufacturing network.
- Lead and develop a distributed team of schedulers and material planners.
- Balance demand, inventory, materials, labor, equipment, changeovers, and production constraints.
- Partner with Supply Chain leadership on the SIOP/IBP production planning process.
- Identify capacity constraints and supply risks and develop mitigation plans.
- Drive schedule adherence, capacity utilization, inventory, fill rate, and service-level performance.
- Partner with Operations, Procurement, Maintenance, Quality, Sales, Customer Service, and Finance to maintain executable production plans.
- Serve as planning ERP/SCP process owner and drive master-data accuracy.
- Develop planning KPIs, dashboards, and leadership reporting.
- Establish inventory targets, safety stocks, and replenishment parameters.
- Support seasonal demand, new product launches, and continuous improvement initiatives.
Minimum Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Operations, Business, Engineering, or related field.
- 7 years of production planning, master scheduling, or supply chain experience in manufacturing.
- 2 years leading schedulers, planners, or supply chain analysts.
- Strong expertise in RCCP and MPS.
- Hands-on experience with MRP/ERP systems and advanced Excel.
- Proven success managing planning complexity across multiple facilities and product lines.
- Strong analytical, communication, leadership, and cross-functional influencing skills.
Preferred
- Food & beverage, dairy, or CPG manufacturing experience.
- SIOP/IBP process leadership experience.
- Experience with advanced planning tools and high-SKU environments.
- Aseptic, co-manufacturing, or contract manufacturing experience.
- APICS CPIM/CSCP certification.
- Lean, Kaizen, or Six Sigma experience.
Ideal Candidate
A hands-on supply chain leader who can bring structure and discipline to a complex planning environment, develop a strong planning team, anticipate capacity and supply risks, and translate changing demand into realistic, executable production plans.