Material Planning & Supplier Performance Specialist

The successful candidate will create clear visibility into material status, identify risks before they affect construction, hold suppliers accountable to commitments, and ensure the right materials are available at the right place and the right time to support safe and efficient project execution. * While an hourly range is posted for this position, an eventual hourly rate is determined by a comprehensive salary analysis which considers multiple factors including but not limited to: job-related knowledge, skills and qualifications, education and experience as compared to others in the organization doing substantially similar work, if applicable, and market and business considerations.

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: NGGJP00017938

Required Experience
Material planning / materials management experience
Supplier/vendor coordination and expediting
SAP, particularly SAP MM
Experience supporting capital projects, construction, manufacturing, energy, or infrastructure
Strong Excel and reporting skills

Strongly Preferred
Electric utility experience
Transmission, distribution, or substation project experience
Ariba experience
Supplier performance / KPI management experience

Preferred
Power BI / Tableau

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, improve efficiency, and minimize material-related project delays.
• Support implementation of material management and supplier performance best practices.

Analytics & Reporting
Develop and maintain dashboards, reports, and KPIs covering areas such as:

• Material availability and readiness
• Supplier on-time delivery
• Supplier milestone performance
• Forecast accuracy
• Material shortages and constraints
• Supplier quality
• Project material risks
• Issue resolution
• Overall project support performance

Analyze material and supplier performance data to identify trends, emerging risks, and opportunities for improvement.
Prepare reporting and performance information for both operational teams and leadership.

Required Qualifications
Education

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Engineering, Business, Operations Management, Construction Management, or a related discipline.
• Relevant utility or industry experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.

Experience

• 3–7 years of experience in material planning, materials management, supply chain, procurement, supplier management, project support, engineering support, or utility operations.
• Experience supporting capital projects within electric utilities, energy, construction, manufacturing, or other infrastructure-intensive environments.
• Demonstrated experience coordinating suppliers, material requirements, delivery schedules, inventory, and/or material planning activities.
• Experience identifying material risks and working cross-functionally to resolve supplier or delivery issues.

Technical Skills

• Advanced SAP experience required.
• Strong knowledge of SAP Materials Management (MM) processes.
• Experience with Ariba procurement and supplier management tools.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills.
• Experience developing operational reports, dashboards, and performance metrics.
• Power BI, Tableau, or similar data visualization experience preferred.

Preferred Qualifications

• Electric utility industry experience supporting Transmission, Distribution, and/or Substation projects.
• Knowledge of utility material categories such as:
  • Transformers
  • Switchgear
  • Cable and conductors
  • Electrical equipment
  • Protection and control equipment
  • Substation equipment
  • Construction materials
• Experience supporting supplier performance management programs.
• Understanding of warehouse, logistics, inventory, and field material management operations.
• Experience working with long-lead or engineered equipment.
• Experience participating in supplier audits, quality reviews, root-cause analysis, or corrective action programs.
• Experience supporting large-scale capital construction programs.

Core Competencies

• Material Planning & Forecasting
• Supplier Relationship Management
• Supplier Performance Management
• Project Coordination
• Procurement & Supply Chain Operations
• Data Analysis & Reporting
• Problem Resolution & Escalation
• Risk Identification & Mitigation
• Process Improvement
• Quality Management
• Stakeholder Communication
• Cross-Functional Collaboration

Key Performance Indicators
Success in this position will be measured through:

• Material readiness against construction milestones
• Supplier on-time delivery performance
• Forecast accuracy
• Reduction in material-related project delays
• Supplier commitment adherence
• Material issue resolution cycle time
• Supplier quality performance
• Material visibility and reporting accuracy
• Effectiveness and adoption of dashboards and reporting
• Internal stakeholder satisfaction

What Success Looks Like
This role acts as the operational quarterback for project materials, connecting Engineering, Project Management, Procurement, Suppliers, Inventory Management, Warehousing, Supplier Performance, and Field Operations.
The successful candidate will create clear visibility into material status, identify risks before they affect construction, hold suppliers accountable to commitments, and ensure the right materials are available at the right place and the right time to support safe and efficient project execution.

Equal opportunity employer as to all protected groups, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities

* While an hourly range is posted for this position, an eventual hourly rate is determined by a comprehensive salary analysis which considers multiple factors including but not limited to: job-related knowledge, skills and qualifications, education and experience as compared to others in the organization doing substantially similar work, if applicable, and market and business considerations. Benefits offered include medical, dental and vision benefits; dependent care flexible spending account; 401(k) plan; voluntary life/short term disability/whole life/term life/accident and critical illness coverage; employee assistance program; sick leave in accordance with regulation. Benefits may be subject to generally applicable eligibility, waiting period, contribution, and other requirements and conditions. Benefits offered are in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws and subject to change at TCM's discretion.

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