Material planning & Supplier Specialist

Position: Material planning & Supplier Performance Specialist
JOB TITLE:

Material Planning & Supplier Performance Specialist

JOB LOCATION:

Waltham, MA Hybrid (be able to come in for meetings when needed and some limited possible travel) WAGE RANGE*: $58-68/hr job NUMBER: NGGJP

JOB DESCRIPTION:

Position Overview We are seeking an experienced Material Planning & Supplier Performance Specialist to support major capital projects within the electric utility environment. This position serves as the operational link between Engineering, Project Management, Procurement, Suppliers, Inventory Management, Warehousing, and Field Operations, ensuring that critical materials are available when and where they are needed. The ideal candidate brings a strong combination of material planning, supplier coordination, SAP, procurement support, project execution, and data analysis.

This individual will manage material requirements from planning and sourcing through supplier production, delivery, warehousing, and ultimately installation in the field. Success in this role requires strong organizational skills, supplier management experience, and the ability to identify material risks early and drive issues through resolution.

Key Responsibilities Material Planning & Supplier Coordination Serve as the primary point of contact for end-to-end material planning and visibility across assigned suppliers and projects. Coordinate material quoting, ordering, expediting, tracking, and delivery forecasting for both inventory and non-inventory materials. Partner with Engineering and Project Management teams to identify material requirements and support ordering activities. Monitor supplier production schedules, deliverables, commitments, and key milestones.

Maintain regular communication with suppliers regarding production status, delivery schedules, risks, delays, and issue resolution. Develop and maintain material status reports providing visibility into procurement, manufacturing, shipping, and delivery performance. Support material sourcing activities, including requests for quotation, purchase requisitions, and supplier coordination. Support major stock and non-stock material sourcing activities from Technical Recommendation to Award through final material installation.

Project Material Readiness Work closely with Inventory Management to ensure materials are available to support construction schedules and project milestones. Coordinate with Warehousing and Field Material Management teams, including depot, yard, and staging operations, to support material receipt and deployment. Identify potential material shortages, supplier delays, and other constraints before they impact construction. Develop and coordinate mitigation and recovery plans for at-risk materials.

Provide Project Management, Engineering, and Construction teams with accurate material availability and delivery forecasts. Track critical and long-lead materials against project need dates. Supplier Performance & Vendor Management Partner with Procurement and Supplier Performance teams to monitor supplier execution. Track supplier performance across delivery, quality, responsiveness, and commitment adherence. Provide data and analysis supporting supplier scorecards and performance evaluations. Escalate supplier performance issues and assist with development and execution of corrective action plans.

Participate in supplier performance reviews and continuous improvement initiatives. Support commercial and supplier discussions with delivery metrics, forecasts, risk information, and performance data. Quality Assurance / Quality Control Capture and document supplier quality feedback from Engineering, Construction, and Field Operations. Track supplier quality issues, trends, and non-conformance concerns. Provide QA/QC observations and data to support supplier performance management. Participate in root-cause analysis and corrective action activities related to material quality.

Coordinate with Engineering, Procurement, and suppliers to resolve quality issues that could impact project schedules or field execution. Process Governance & Continuous Improvement Support the development and maintenance of material management processes, procedures, and standards. Assist with the development and maintenance of Responsibility Assignment Matrices (RACI) across internal departments and supplier workflows. Identify opportunities to improve material visibility, supplier collaboration, forecasting, and project readiness.

Recommend process improvements that reduce risk,…