Supply Chain, Procurement & Planning Recruiters
Manufacturing Headhunters recruits manufacturing professionals nationwide.
This is what we do all day: recruit manufacturing professionals.
No postings. No stacks of resumes. No chasing. You interview a short list.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
Need someone now? Call 305-306-4829.
Supply chain titles are slippery because the same word can describe a buyer placing orders or an executive designing a network. This family covers the chief supply chain officer, the VP and director of supply chain, the supply chain manager, procurement and purchasing leaders, strategic sourcing and commodity managers, category managers, buyers, supplier development, materials management, S&OP and demand planning, supply planning, master scheduling and inventory control. A plant that loses its materials manager during a supplier crunch learns quickly how different these roles are. We map the vacancy to the actual decisions: who chooses suppliers, who sets the production plan, who owns inventory accuracy, and who gets blamed when a truck is late. No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
- No upfront fee
- Pay only if you hire
- Manufacturing only
- We reach people who aren't on job boards
- Replacement guarantee on standard searches
What should you know about positions we recruit in Supply Chain, Procurement & Planning?
VP of Supply Chain / Director of Supply ChainCheck End-to-end S&OP/IBP. Supply Chain ManagerCheck Planning, purchasing and logistics under one role. Purchasing ManagerCheck Direct materials spend. Strategic Sourcing ManagerCheck Commodity knowledge (resins, steel, electronic components, ingredients). Supplier Development EngineerCheck Supplier lean and quality improvement.
- VP of Supply Chain / Director of Supply ChainCheck End-to-end S&OP/IBP.
- Supply Chain ManagerCheck Planning, purchasing and logistics under one role.
- Purchasing ManagerCheck Direct materials spend.
- Strategic Sourcing ManagerCheck Commodity knowledge (resins, steel, electronic components, ingredients).
- Supplier Development EngineerCheck Supplier lean and quality improvement.
- Materials ManagerCheck MRP.
- Production Planner / Master SchedulerCheck MRP in the client's ERP.
- S&OP ManagerCheck Forecast accuracy improvement.
- Procurement ManagerCheck We test negotiation, category knowledge and savings validation..
- Chief Supply Chain OfficerOwns enterprise supply decisions connecting commercial demand with operating capacity.
- Director of ProcurementOwns procurement leaders and purchasing governance for manufacturing spend.
- Commodity ManagerOwns supplier strategy for a defined material or component category.
- Category Manager (Direct Materials)Owns a direct-material category's supplier decisions and specifications.
- Buyer / Senior BuyerOwns purchase orders and supplier follow-through against production need.
- Supplier Development ManagerOwns supplier improvement work and the engineers executing it.
- Director of PlanningOwns planning standards and planners coordinating demand with capacity.
- Demand PlannerOwns demand assumptions and forecast changes used by the supply plan.
- Supply PlannerOwns supply plans connecting inventory targets with constrained availability.
- Production SchedulerOwns daily production sequencing within actual line and material constraints.
- Inventory Control ManagerOwns inventory accuracy and the controls behind reliable material records.
- Senior Production PlannerOwns difficult production planning across constrained materials and capacity.
- Senior BuyerOwns independent buying decisions and difficult supplier follow-through.
Combined supply chain, procurement & planning titles share a page where the work is the same; each link opens the relevant hiring brief.
What should you know about matching the responsibility, not only the title?
Master schedulers and planners live inside MRP. We confirm they have worked in a comparable system, handled exception messages and understood why the plan drifts from reality. A person who only used reports will struggle with a system they must tune.
Spend and commodity knowledge
A sourcing manager who bought resin does not automatically understand steel, electronic components or food ingredients. We ask what commodity they managed, how they built should-cost views, and where they were outmaneuvered by a supplier.
Planning discipline in your ERP
Master schedulers and planners live inside MRP. We confirm they have worked in a comparable system, handled exception messages and understood why the plan drifts from reality. A person who only used reports will struggle with a system they must tune.
S&OP that people actually attend
Some S&OP processes are monthly slide decks. Others change decisions. We look for candidates who improved forecast accuracy, got sales and operations in the same room, and can describe the uncomfortable trade-offs.
Supplier development as engineering
A supplier development engineer walks a supplier's floor, finds the quality and delivery problem, and fixes it with them. That is closer to manufacturing engineering than to purchasing. PPAP knowledge and travel tolerance matter here.
Inventory accuracy and materials control
Cycle counting, bin accuracy and ASCM-aligned practices sound dull until a plant stops for a missing part. We ask about accuracy before and after their work, and who their counters answered to.
Ready to start? Tell us the seat.
Where we find this experience?
We source supply chain leaders from plants whose complexity matches yours, not from the biggest names. A high-mix assembly plant needs planners who survive constant schedule changes. A food or chemical plant needs people who understand shelf life, lot control and batch yield. Auto and aerospace suppliers produce supplier development engineers and sourcing managers comfortable with documentation and audits.
We also approach commodity managers at original equipment manufacturers, plant-level materials and planning teams, and logistics-adjacent leaders ready to take wider ownership. Directors often come from multi-site companies where they already run planning or sourcing across plants. Association communities for purchasing and supply management give us another way to find professionals who are credentialed and visible.
Planners and buyers also surface from the quiet side of larger operations, such as inventory control leads who rebuilt cycle counting and schedulers who kept a plant running through a shortage. We ask their current colleagues, with permission, what happened when supply broke, because the real test of a supply chain professional is the week the plan failed.
How this manufacturing search runs?
We then approach people privately and test each for the right commodity or process fit. You receive a short list with notes on ERP depth, supplier experience and how each person handled disruption, so interviews focus on judgment rather than résumé language.
We begin with what hurts: shortages, excess inventory, supplier concentration, missed forecasts or buyers who cannot negotiate. That determines whether you need a planner, a negotiator, a systems thinker or a leader who can rebuild the team.
We then approach people privately and test each for the right commodity or process fit. You receive a short list with notes on ERP depth, supplier experience and how each person handled disruption, so interviews focus on judgment rather than résumé language.
Interviews for these seats go better when each candidate walks through a real shortage, a real supplier failure or a real forecast miss. We give you those prompts, along with the likely answers from strong and weak candidates, so you can separate people who ran the system from people who watched it. We also flag where the title on paper overstates the scope, which happens often in planning and buying.
Ready to start? Tell us the seat.
What should you know about questions about Supply Chain, Procurement & Planning searches?
How is your fee structured?
Our fee is a percentage of the first-year base salary, and the percentage is agreed in writing before we start. There is no upfront fee, no retainer and no charge for the search itself.
When is payment due?
You pay only if you hire someone we introduced. If you interview people and hire none of them, or hire someone we never presented, you owe us nothing.
Can you keep our search confidential?
Yes: Supplier relationships are sensitive, so we avoid naming your company or your suppliers until a candidate is vetted and willing to talk. We also respect any need to avoid tipping off the current incumbent.
Do you recruit people who are not looking?
Yes: Many strong planners and sourcing managers are deeply embedded and never apply. We reach them directly and explain the opportunity honestly.
How do you handle relocation?
We discuss location in the first conversation. Planning and materials roles are usually on site, while sourcing and supplier development may travel more or allow flexibility. We tell you what the market will bear before the search narrows.
Can a buyer step into a manager role, or a planner into S&OP?
Sometimes: We look for evidence of influence beyond the desk, such as negotiating use, team leadership or cross-functional planning. We explain the stretch openly so you can judge the risk.
What replacement guarantee applies?
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
What should you know about start your Supply Chain, Procurement & Planning search?
Ready to start? Tell us the seat.
What should you know about related role families?
- Executive & General Management
- Plant & Production Management
- Manufacturing, Process & Industrial Engineering
- Automation, Controls & Electrical
- Product Design, R&D & Program Management
- Quality, Food Safety & Regulatory
- Maintenance, Reliability & Facilities
- EHS & Sustainability
- Continuous Improvement & Operational Excellence
- Logistics, Distribution & Warehouse
- Technical Sales, Applications & Field Service
- Manufacturing Finance & Accounting
- Machining & Toolroom
- Welding, Fabrication & Metal Finishing
- Industrial Maintenance & Plant Technicians
- Production Operators, Setup & Line Leads
- Assembly, Electronics & Composites
- Process Operators & Process Technicians
- Quality Inspection, Metrology & Lab Technicians
- Packaging Line & Sanitation Technicians
- Warehouse, Materials & Shipping
What should you know about hiring guidance for this work?
What should you know about open jobs?
Ready to start? Tell us the seat.
The Six-Step Search
What do you get before interviewing?
1. Search CalibrationYou get a hiring brief that separates the work, reporting authority and non-negotiable requirements. We agree what would make a candidate worth an interview before contacting anyone. 2. Market MappingYou get a defined search pool, not a reposted vacancy.
1. Search Calibration
You get a hiring brief that separates the work, reporting authority and non-negotiable requirements. We agree what would make a candidate worth an interview before contacting anyone.
2. Market Mapping
You get a defined search pool, not a reposted vacancy. We identify the kinds of plants and teams where people already handle comparable equipment, processes and operating demands.
3. Professional Contact Intelligence
You get a way to reach working people directly. We check professional contact routes and approach candidates discreetly, without making your plant or vacancy public unless you approve.
4. Persistent Personalized Outreach
You get individual conversations about the actual opening. We explain the work, shift and location, ask whether a move makes sense, and follow up without pretending every person is interested.
5. Live Candidate Qualification
You get evidence of fit before spending interview time. We talk through decisions, equipment, results and reasons for moving, then distinguish direct experience from skills that would need support.
6. Candidate Intelligence and Process Support
You get a focused short list with the information behind it. We explain motivation, practical constraints and concerns, support interviews, and keep offer decisions with your hiring team.
What should we discuss first?
What should we settle first about Supply Chain, Procurement & Planning?
Supply chain titles are slippery because the same word can describe a buyer placing orders or an executive designing a network. This family covers the chief supply chain officer, the VP and director of supply chain, the supply chain manager, procurement and purchasing leaders, strategic sourcing and commodity managers, category managers, buyers, supplier development, materials management, S&OP and demand planning, supply planning, master scheduling and inventory control. A plant that loses its materials manager during a supplier crunch learns quickly how different these roles are. We map the vacancy to the actual decisions: who chooses suppliers, who sets the production plan, who owns inventory accuracy, and who gets blamed when a truck is late.
Ready to start? Tell us the seat.
What should you know before sending supply chain, procurement & planning?
When do you pay a recruiting fee?
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. The signed recruiting agreement sets the fee basis and payment terms. Sending an opening does not itself commit you to a fee or an exclusive arrangement.
How long does it take to see a short list?
We discuss the search conditions before describing a realistic next step. Shift, location, equipment match and the candidate's reasons for moving all matter. We do not promise a shortlist date before understanding the opening.
How do you handle counteroffers?
We ask what is driving the move before introducing a candidate. We discuss what might change if the current employer offers more money or a different job. Your team still decides whether that person's motivation fits the opening.
What replacement terms apply?
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
What do you not do?
We do not bill hourly for a standard permanent search, repost a job-board ad as a search, or supply high-volume general labor. Retainers are not the default. Any different arrangement must be agreed in writing.
Read the contingency fee terms · Review Supply Chain, Procurement & Planning
What did the last empty seat cost you?
How long did your last search take? How much did the empty seat cost while you waited?
Put your own cover costs and lost production into the Cost-of-Vacancy calculator. It uses your numbers, not a claim about what another plant loses.