Sr Lead, Supply Chain Planning

Job ID: 16597 

Alternate Locations: United States-Georgia-Atlanta; United States-Tennessee-Maryville-Tennessee; United States-Tennessee-Shelbyville 

Newell Brands is a leading consumer products company with a portfolio of iconic brands like Graco®, Coleman®, Oster®, Rubbermaid®, Sharpie® and Yankee Candle® - and 24,000 talented teammates around the world. Our culture is built on values in action: Integrity, Teamwork, Passion for Winning, Ownership, and Leadership. We work together to win, grow, and make a real impact—supported by a high-performing, inclusive, and collaborative environment where you can be your best, every day.

Job Summary:

The Sr. Lead, Supply Planning – Writing Systems (L&D) is a central, capability-focused role responsible for driving integration and synergy of the Writing Systems manufacturing capability across Newell’s plants – the high-speed assembly, ink and filling, tip/point technology, molding and decoration that produce writing instruments (pens, markers, highlighters and related L&D products). Traveling across plants, the SPI harmonizes writing-systems standards, process and automation practices, drives cross-plant synergies (common components, inks and tips, assembly and decoration standards, tooling and automation), and feeds capability intelligence back into the MDC / NPC and ERA / DFM organizations.

This is an influence-and-integration role: the SPI does not hold change-control authority, but instead aligns, recommends and coordinates to keep the Writing Systems capability consistent, modern and cost-effective across sites. Reporting in the MDC Director, the SPI acts as the connective tissue between plants, NPC design, ERA / DFM and tooling / automation / sourcing, capturing synergy opportunities and ensuring that standards, technology and learnings flow across the network.

Job Duties:

Cross-Plant Writing Systems Integration & Synergy

•  Drive synergy of the Writing Systems capability across plants – common components (barrels, caps, tips, inks), assembly and automation standards, decoration and suppliers.

•  Identify, quantify and champion synergy and cost-reduction opportunities (component commonality, ink/tip harmonization, automation, scrap and OEE improvement).

•  Harmonize writing-systems standards, specifications and process practices across sites.

•  Share and scale best practices, lessons learned and proven solutions across the network.

Writing Systems Standards & Process Consistency

•  Ensure writing-systems standards, specs and process / writing-quality requirements are consistently understood and applied across plants – without owning change control.

•  Provide writing-instrument manufacturing expertise (assembly, ink and filling, tip technology, decoration) to plant teams.

•  Flag process gaps, quality risks and deviations to the relevant owners (plant / NPI / ERA-DFM) and support resolution.

Assembly Automation, Ink & Decoration Technology

•  Support harmonization of high-speed assembly automation, ink / filling and decoration technology across plants.

•  Promote adoption of advanced automation, process control and writing-quality improvements.

•  Partner with equipment builders and ink / tip / component suppliers on standards, feasibility and cost.

Capability Intelligence & DFM Linkage

•  Capture writing-systems capability intelligence (OEE, scrap, writing quality, line performance) and feed it back into NPC design and ERA / DFM.

•  Ensure new product designs leverage the network’s writing-systems capabilities and standards (design for high-speed assembly and molding).

•  Maintain a capability-level view of writing systems across the network.

Cost & VAVE Synergy Support

•  Support cost analyses and VAVE by surfacing writing-systems commonality and synergy (components, inks and tips, automation).

•  Partner with Cost Engineering, sourcing and the laboratory on should-cost, benchmarking and cost-reduction that scales across sites.

Key Deliverables:

•  Cross-plant Writing Systems synergy and commonality pipeline

•  Harmonized writing-systems standards, specifications and process practices

•  Writing-systems capability intelligence feedback to NPC / DFM

•  Best-practice and lessons-learned playbooks

•  Synergy / cost-reduction results (influenced across the network)

Minimum Qualifications:

•  Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Manufacturing, Chemical / Materials or related).

•  Strong experience in writing-instrument or high-speed / high-volume assembly manufacturing (or closely related precision automated production).

•  Understanding of assembly automation, ink / filling or decoration processes, molding and product / writing-quality.

•  Proven ability to influence and drive alignment across teams and plants without direct authority.

•  Advanced English (written and spoken).

•  Willingness and ability to travel extensively across plants.

Preferred Qualifications:

•  Experience working across multiple plants, sites or regions.

•  Writing Systems / writing-instruments experience (pens, markers, highlighters), including inks, tips / nibs and decoration.

•  Knowledge of high-speed automation, DFM, VAVE and tooling cost / should-cost.

•  Lean Six Sigma and/or project management background.

•  Spanish and/or Portuguese.

Skills & Abilities:

•  Deep writing-systems / high-speed assembly manufacturing expertise.

•  Strong influence, collaboration and stakeholder management across sites and cultures.

•  Ability to see the big picture across a capability and connect the dots between plants.

•  Comfortable operating without formal authority – leading through expertise and relationships.

•  Self-directed and mobile; analytical, cost-aware problem solver.

Travel:

•  Extensive travel across plants, with periodic global travel, is a core requirement of this role.

Newell Brands (NASDAQ: NWL) is a leading global consumer goods company with a strong portfolio of well-known brands, including Rubbermaid, Sharpie, Graco, Coleman, Rubbermaid Commercial Products, Yankee Candle, Paper Mate, FoodSaver, Dymo, EXPO, Elmer’s, Oster, NUK, Spontex and Campingaz. We are focused on delighting consumers by lighting up everyday moments. Newell Brands and its subsidiaries are Equal Opportunity Employers and comply with applicable employment laws. EOE/M/F/Vet/Disabled are encouraged to apply.