McLaren Automotive Ltd
Material Control & Supply Planning Manager
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What to Expect
McLaren Automotive is seeking an experienced and inspirational Material Control & Supply Planning Manager to lead a high-performing team responsible for ensuring the seamless flow of materials across our manufacturing operations.
Reporting to the Head of Material Control & Planning, you will play a key leadership role within the Logistics Leadership Team, driving operational excellence across material planning, inventory management and supplier scheduling. You will ensure the right materials are available at the right time while optimising inventory levels and supporting world-class manufacturing performance.
Leading a team of material planners and controllers, you will champion continuous improvement, develop strategic supplier relationships, and build a culture focused on delivering our mission:
Right part. Right place. Right time. Every time.
What You'll Do
Leadership & People Development
- Lead, inspire and develop the Material Control & Planning team, fostering a high-performance culture that embraces accountability, collaboration and continuous improvement.
- Drive effective hybrid working practices, ensuring productivity, engagement and strong team connectivity.
- Promote a “One Team” culture by building strong relationships across the wider Logistics function.
- Oversee recruitment, onboarding, coaching, performance management and succession planning, ensuring individuals are empowered to make informed decisions and achieve their full potential.
Material Planning & Supply Chain Operations
- Lead the planning and control of production materials to ensure uninterrupted manufacturing operations.
- Manage supplier schedules to optimise material availability while minimising inventory and associated costs.
- Ensure parts are available at the Point of Fit (PPoF), supporting build stability and first-time-through manufacturing targets.
- Monitor inventory levels, balancing customer demand, operational requirements and cash flow objectives while minimising obsolete and excess stock.
New Model Launch
- Represent Material Control & Planning within cross-functional New Model Launch activities.
- Collaborate closely with Engineering, Manufacturing and Programme teams to ensure material readiness for new vehicle introductions.
- Provide regular cross-functional reporting on launch readiness, risks and recovery actions.
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Supplier Relationship Management
- Build and maintain strong strategic relationships with suppliers across short, medium and long-term planning horizons.
- Act as the senior escalation point for supplier performance, capacity constraints and delivery issues.
- Drive supplier performance improvement through robust KPI management, business reviews and corrective action plans where required.
Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement
- Foster a culture of innovation by challenging existing processes and identifying opportunities to improve efficiency, resilience and service performance.
- Lead improvement initiatives from concept through implementation, ensuring measurable business benefits are delivered.
- Utilise operational metrics and KPIs to monitor performance, identify trends and support informed decision-making.
Issue Resolution & Risk Management
- Lead the resolution of critical supply chain issues including line stops, supplier shortages, freight disruptions, system constraints and scheduling challenges.
- Conduct structured root cause analysis to identify underlying issues and implement sustainable corrective actions that prevent recurrence.
- Support commercial discussions relating to supply risk, contracts and recovery planning where required.
Business Partnership
- Develop strong working relationships with key internal stakeholders including Purchasing, Quality, Manufacturing, Legal, Aftersales and McLaren Special Operations (MSO).
- Ensure Material Control & Planning requirements are represented throughout business planning and operational decision-making.
Strategic Planning & Financial Management
- Develop and implement long-term material planning strategies aligned to future business growth and product plans.
- Ensure the function has the appropriate systems, processes, resources and capability to support future operational requirements.
- Analyse complex operational and financial data to support forecasting, investment decisions and cost optimisation initiatives.
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What You'll Bring
We’re looking for a highly capable supply chain leader who combines strategic thinking with strong operational execution.
You will ideally have:
- Degree-level qualification or equivalent relevant industry experience.
- Significant experience in Supply Chain, Material Planning or Logistics within a manufacturing environment (automotive experience desirable).
- Proven leadership experience, including leading teams through organisational change and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Demonstrated experience managing complex, end-to-end global supply chains.
- Strong analytical capability with experience interpreting operational and financial data to drive decision-making.
- Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to influence across all levels of the organisation.
- Strong commercial awareness and negotiation capability.
- High proficiency in ERP systems (SAP preferred) and Microsoft Office applications.
What We'll Do for You
We offer a wide – ranging benefits package, which includes:
- Structured career development framework
- 25 days’ holiday, plus bank holiday. Annual buy & sell up to five days
- Enhanced company pension scheme
- Discretionary annual bonus award
- Private medical insurance and health cash plan
- Life assurance benefit
- Ability to apply for a sabbatical of up to one year after only two years’ service
- Benefits you can adapt to your lifestyle, such as discounted shopping
- Generous parental leave policies
- A range of wellbeing initiatives, such as employee assistance programme and free financial & mortgage advice
Who Are We?
No restraints. No limitations. We don’t simply push boundaries. We completely rethink them. McLaren Automotive exists to create breath-taking performance road cars.
It takes a community to do what we do. A diverse group of people with many areas of expertise, united by their passion to deliver visionary products and set new benchmarks.
McLaren Automotive commits to equal opportunity for all. Diversity, Equality and Inclusion is at the heart of our impact, it drives our innovation and enables us to truly create something special. Join us on our journey.
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