Planning Manager

Planning Manager

Virgin Galactic is seeking a talented and motivated Planning Manager to be a part of our Supply Chain team to support our mission. Guided by our values, "Safety above All", we proactively manage the risks inherent in human spaceflight through our daily actions in the design, developing and testing efforts. Establish and share the vision towards a common goal while holding self and others accountable.

This role oversees all materials planning, generation, and monitoring of the production and material schedule by using the tools and programs within all Virgin Galactic systems. The Planning Manager controls and drives the demand that builds space ships and rocket motor systems, aligns and executes the make and buy supply signal to the business, and keeps stakeholders informed, while evaluating the feasibility of those recommended changes. You will lead the production planning and production control teams and collaborate with other cross-functional teams such as Project Management, Production, Engineering, Purchasing, and Materials to ensure the production and materials schedule conformance is maintained. Maintain focus on timeliness and execution of tasks and deliverables every day. Support the company strategy by holding ourselves and one another accountable for getting the work done.

Responsibilities

• Executes the Integrated Master Schedule for each of the component projects in collaboration with the build managers.
• Manages and controls the top level demand schedule for the business unit they are supporting.
• Utilizes demand forecasting and has a very strong understanding of ERP / MRP systems that run demand plans that inform the entire business of make and buy status and schedules.
• Accounts for the scope of work, procured part status, and reporting status to all related functions aligned to the established Work Breakdown Structure.
• Ensures that the configuration management controls of engineering release, BOM updates, ECO's and job order controls meet company standards.
• Aligns planners and production control team members to the programs they will support and resolves bottlenecks, material shortages and job order management.
• Conducts reporting reviews and measures performance of all critical factors to ensure compliance to the production plans including publishing Key Performance Indicators (KPI's).
• Assigns and prioritizes build projects in partnership with other related work teams and makes changes to schedules to ensure that production deadlines are met.
• Activates approved build plans with accountability for cost, scope, and schedule against the program baseline and provide program updates as required.
• Reports regularly to leadership, internal and external customers, and the wider organization of the team's performance in the areas of quality, scope, cost, and schedule.
• Communicates with company leaders in other disciplines across the organization to gather valuable information to better plan projects and guide team members.
• Assigns and prioritizes build projects in partnership with other related work teams.
• Synchronizes the production operations in accordance with material, labor, and equipment availability.
• Work collaboratively to achieve goals and/or complete assigned tasks.

You may be asked to perform other related duties and projects as business needs require at direction of management.

Required Skills and Experience

• Bachelor's Degree in related field; and/or combination of education and work experience is required.
• Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification, preferred.
• American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS) Certification, preferred.
• 8+ years or more of industry experience in progressive technical and leadership roles.
• Experience with complex supply chain management and materials systems.
• Experience with Integrated Master Plan/Integrated Master Schedule (IMP)/(IMS), risk management, configuration management, requirements management processes.
• Prior Planning and Scheduling experience required.
• Hands on and active experience working with Manufacturing Resource Planning/Enterprise Resource Planning (MRP)/(ERP) systems. ORACLE experience is preferred.
• Strong ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing.
• Competency using MS Office suite of tools.
• Excellent planning and problem-solving skills, and the ability to resolve issues effectively and efficiently.
• Strong Emotional Intelligence and a Growth Mindset.
• Ability to prioritize tasks, apply good interpersonal skills and utilize available resources to accomplish company goals.
• Strategic thinking and analytical skills.
• Strong ability to communicate clear objectives and milestones.
• Focuses on timeliness and execution of tasks and deliverables.
• Continuous Improvement (Lean Six Sigma) experience preferred.
• Demonstrate willingness to adjust thinking and behavior.
• Ability to communicate in a manner that is timely, respectful, and open to other ideas

Physical Requirements

• Ability to remain in a stationary position – 8 hours minimum.
• Physically able to handle items weighing up to five (5) pounds (unassisted).
• Travel 5% or more of the time.