Sr. Manager, S&OP & Network Planning

Location: Vadnais Heights, MN | Hybrid

What is IP Corporation?

IP Corporation is a privately held, family-owned chemical manufacturing organization with more than 70 years of stability, innovation, and growth. Headquartered in Minnesota, IP Corporation supports a portfolio of operating companies that manufacture and distribute resins, gel coats, composite materials, and specialty polymer solutions used across a wide range of industrial applications.

Our operating companies—Interplastic Corporation, North American Composites, HK Research, and Molding Products—work together to deliver technical expertise, high-quality products, and long-term partnerships to customers around the world. We are known for our customer-first mindset, strong technical capabilities, and collaborative culture built on trust, accountability, and continuous improvement.

What is a Senior Manager, S&OP & Network Planning?

The Senior Manager, S&OP & Network Planning is responsible for building, leading, and continuously improving the enterprise Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) process across our manufacturing network. This highly visible leadership role serves as the central integrator between commercial, operations, finance, procurement, and supply chain teams to ensure demand, supply, inventory, capacity, and financial objectives remain aligned.

In addition to owning the S&OP process, this role provides strategic oversight of network planning while supporting production scheduling activities when needed. Success in this position requires a strategic mindset, strong analytical skills, and the ability to influence cross-functional teams across multiple operating companies.

What You'll Do as a Senior Manager, S&OP & Network Planning:

Lead Enterprise Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP)

• Design, implement, and continuously improve the end-to-end S&OP process across eight manufacturing locations and multiple operating companies.
• Establish governance, planning calendars, standard work, and decision-making frameworks that drive consistency across the organization.
• Facilitate executive-level S&OP meetings while driving alignment between commercial, operations, finance, and supply chain leadership.
• Integrate demand, supply, inventory, capacity, and financial objectives into a unified operating plan.
• Lead scenario planning and "what-if" analyses to support strategic business decisions.
• Translate business strategy into actionable supply, inventory, and capacity plans.
• Identify operational risks, capacity constraints, and business tradeoffs while developing mitigation strategies.
• Measure performance against S&OP plans and drive accountability across the enterprise.

Drive Demand & Supply Integration

• Partner with demand planning, procurement, manufacturing, and operations teams to develop feasible production plans.
• Balance customer demand with manufacturing capacity, inventory levels, and material availability.
• Develop contingency plans for supply, labor, or capacity constraints.
• Promote planning consistency across operating companies while accounting for site-specific operational needs.
• Oversee Network Planning & Production Scheduling
• Provide strategic oversight of production planning across the manufacturing network.
• Develop and maintain enterprise-level master production schedules aligned with S&OP outputs.
• Support and mentor plant schedulers to ensure local execution aligns with corporate priorities.
• Provide hands-on scheduling support during critical business needs or staffing gaps.
• Monitor capacity utilization and manufacturing constraints while communicating impacts to business leadership.

Leverage Data to Drive Better Decisions

• Develop dashboards and reporting that provide visibility into planning performance across the organization.
• Monitor key planning metrics including service levels, forecast accuracy, capacity utilization, inventory performance, and plan adherence.
• Deliver actionable insights around demand variability, operational performance, and supply chain risks.
• Support ongoing development of planning systems, reporting tools, and analytics capabilities.
• Champion Continuous Improvement
• Standardize planning processes across operating companies.
• Identify opportunities to improve forecasting accuracy, planning discipline, and overall S&OP maturity.
• Support implementation and optimization of ERP, planning, and digital supply chain tools.
• Build organizational capability through coaching, collaboration, and best-practice development.

What We're Looking For in a Senior Manager, S&OP & Network Planning:

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Operations Management, Engineering, Business, or a related field.
• 7+ years of progressive experience in Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP), Integrated Business Planning (IBP), supply chain planning, network planning, or production scheduling.
• Experience designing and leading enterprise S&OP processes across multiple manufacturing locations or business units.
• Strong background facilitating executive-level planning discussions and driving cross-functional alignment.
• Experience balancing demand planning, supply planning, forecasting, inventory management, and production scheduling.

Preferred Skills

• Deep knowledge of Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) and Integrated Business Planning (IBP).
• Strong understanding of manufacturing operations and supply chain strategy.
• Advanced analytical and problem-solving skills with experience in scenario planning and tradeoff analysis.
• Experience using ERP/MRP systems such as Infor M3, SAP, Oracle, or similar platforms.
• Advanced Excel skills along with experience using Power BI, Tableau, or similar reporting tools.
• Experience leading planning transformation or continuous improvement initiatives is highly preferred.
• Leadership Competencies
• Executive presence with exceptional communication and facilitation skills.
• Ability to influence stakeholders across multiple functions without direct authority.
• Strategic thinker who can effectively transition between long-term planning and day-to-day execution.
• Strong organizational, leadership, and decision-making skills.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, complex manufacturing environment.

Why Join IP Corporation?

• Be part of a stable, privately held organization with long-term market presence
• Competitive benefits including medical, dental, vision, generous PTO, and 401(k) with company match
• Opportunity to make an impact in a collaborative, values-driven organization

IP Corporation is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic in accordance with applicable laws.

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