Material Operations Manager

Locations

Altoona, IA 50009, USA

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.

The Material Operations Manager is responsible for leading the teams and processes that ensure materials are received, stored, moved, staged, and made ready to support production and customer delivery. This role oversees the Material Handling function and the Material Readiness function, creating alignment between physical material flow and production readiness. The manager works cross‑functionally with production, planning, purchasing, inventory, shipping, and operations leadership to ensure the right materials are in the right place, in the right condition, at the right time.

• Lead the overall Material Handling and Material Readiness functions across the operation.
• Provide direction, coaching, and accountability to the Material Handling Supervisor and Material Readiness Supervisor.
• Ensure raw materials, components, WIP, and finished goods are received, stored, staged, transferred, and shipped accurately and efficiently.
• Ensure material readiness processes support production with complete and available material when needed.
• Establish clear ownership and alignment between material movement activities and material readiness activities.
• Develop and maintain standard work for receiving, material handling, storage, staging, material transfers, shipping support, job readiness checks, shortage management, and escalation.
• Partner with production leadership to align priorities with daily and weekly production needs.
• Work with planning, purchasing, and inventory teams to identify and resolve material risks before they impact schedule attainment.
• Drive visibility to shortages, missing materials, incomplete jobs, aging WIP, and material‑related disruptions.
• Lead development of tools, reports, dashboards, and routines that improve material flow and readiness visibility.
• Support barcode, scanner, ERP, rack/bin, and license plate processes that improve traceability and execution.
• Monitor staffing, workload balancing, team performance, and responsiveness to operational priorities.
• Lead problem‑solving efforts related to missing material, inaccurate locations, delayed movement, incomplete jobs, and schedule interruptions.
• Drive continuous improvement efforts that reduce downtime, waiting, searching, excess movement, and material‑related waste.
• Establish and monitor KPIs for material flow, material readiness, shortage resolution, and service to production.
• Promote a strong culture of safety, organization, standard work, accountability, and cross‑functional teamwork.

• Bachelor’s degree in business, supply chain, operations, or related field preferred; equivalent experience considered.
• 5+ years of experience in materials, warehouse, inventory, logistics, production support, or manufacturing operations.
• 3+ years of leadership experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Experience with ERP systems, inventory transactions, scanners, barcoding, and material tracking processes.
• Experience in a multi‑step manufacturing environment with multiple work centers or multiple buildings.

• Strong leadership and team development skills.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing material flow and production support requirements.
• Ability to connect shop floor execution with system visibility and process discipline.
• Strong prioritization, problem‑solving, and decision‑making skills.
• Ability to work cross‑functionally and build alignment across departments.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to elevate issues clearly and constructively.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to use data to drive action and improvement.

Leads…