Materials Planner

Summary:

A Material Planner is required for our client, a biopharmaceutical company based in Cork. The successful candidate will be responsible for ensuring the availability of raw material components to support Drug Substance, Drug Product, and Finished Goods Packaging operations. This role will focus on planning, purchasing, and releasing materials in SAP in line with the Master Production Schedule, while supporting product launches and ensuring optimal material coverage.

Responsibilities:

• Manage Material Requirements Planning (MRP) in SAP to ensure raw material availability in line with the Master Production Schedule
• Convert purchase requisitions into purchase orders and manage supplier invoicing processes
• Monitor material release status to ensure alignment with production schedules
• Maintain and ensure the accuracy of material master data within SAP
• Manage inventory end-to-end, including pricing, PPV, expiry, safety stock, lead times, FIFO/FEFO and reserve processes
• Generate and communicate material readiness reports and heatmaps to site stakeholders
• Issue and manage supplier forecasts and ensure alignment of supplier open order books with SAP
• Support supplier performance management, including the development of KPIs such as OTIF
• Identify and resolve material supply issues, including ageing receipts and root cause analysis
• Support Short Term Exception Management (STEM) and proactively resolve scheduling conflicts
• Participate in daily and weekly cross-functional meetings to ensure adherence to schedule (ATS) and plan (ATP)
• Contribute to Supply Chain Review (SCR) meetings and other cross-functional planning forums
• Support change control activities, CAPAs, deviations, and supplier change notifications within the Quality Management System
• Participate in end-of-campaign reviews (Plan vs Actual) to improve future planning accuracy
• Contribute to operational readiness and product launch activities
• Support continuous improvement initiatives across safety, quality, SOPs, cost savings, and sourcing strategies
• Facilitate or contribute to functional team meetings and standard work activities as required

Qualifications & Experience:

• Degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, or a related discipline
• Minimum 2+ years’ experience in supply chain planning or purchasing roles
• Experience working within a pharmaceutical or GMP-regulated environment is desirable
• Strong experience using SAP is essential
• Understanding of end-to-end material planning and inventory management processes
• Experience with supplier engagement and performance monitoring
• Familiarity with data analysis tools such as Excel, with Power BI or similar tools desirable
• Knowledge of Lean, Six Sigma, or project management methodologies is advantageous
• Strong communication and organisational skills, with the ability to work effectively across cross-functional teams
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment