WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR
The Lead Material Planner drives material planning for Apparel and Accessories across a large sport and material class alignment. This role translates business needs into clear, actionable material supply plans that enable readiness, alignment, and risk mitigation across mid- and long-range planning horizons.
This role maintains plan health by understanding the drivers impacting material forecast completeness, accuracy, and fidelity, and by coordinating and communicating strategies that support on-time delivery.
This individual serves as a critical connector between Planning, Product Supply Chain, and cross-functional partners. They surface risks and opportunities, align stakeholders, and help operationalize capabilities that improve responsiveness, resiliency, on-time delivery, and efficiency across the end-to-end supply chain.
The ideal candidate balances strategic perspective with attention to detail. They use data, business context, and stakeholder input to make informed recommendations, anticipate risk, and build alignment across functions. They demonstrate accountability to key metrics, communicate with clarity, and enable teams to move with speed and confidence.
This leader thrives in a fast-paced, evolving environment. They bring curiosity, sound judgment, and a solutions-oriented mindset—turning ambiguity into action and unlocking new ways to plan, prioritize, and deliver materials.
Leadership Capabilities are as follows:
- Achieves Results
- Acts with Courage
- Embraces and Leads Change
- Fosters Effective Teamwork
- Thinks Strategically
- Cultivates Innovation
- Drives Clarity and Accountability
- Communicates Vision and Purpose
WHAT YOU WILL WORK ON
You will lead and coordinate cross-functional efforts to identify, prioritize, and resolve risks and opportunities across the materials plan in support of finished goods delivery.
- Develop and manage sport-level material forecasts by integrating cross-functional inputs and translating finished goods demand into clear, actionable material supply requirements.
- Monitor plan health, identify forecast gaps, and proactively mitigate risk across the seasonal cadence, with accountability for forecast completeness, accuracy, and fidelity.
- Establish planning service levels and prioritize materials and actions through segmentation, balancing strategic value, feasibility, and delivery risk.
- Define and operationalize material lead-time, commitment, and staging strategies that improve agility, mitigate long lead-time risk, and support demand variability.
- Partner with Materials Sourcing, Supplier Management, and Material Development to recommend sourcing strategies, capacity solutions, or material alternatives.
- Lead seasonal readiness across your sport alignment, anchored in key planning milestones from long-range planning through execution.
- Represent Materials Planning as a subject matter expert in cross-functional forums, stakeholder engagements, and strategic initiatives.
You will partner with leadership and cross-functional teams to build capabilities and strengthen performance discipline:
- Develop strategies that enable a more responsive and flexible materials supply chain.
- Lead strategic initiatives as a program owner and change agent, driving alignment and adoption.
- Monitor performance metrics, generate insights, and drive continuous improvement.
- Partner with Technology & Analytics teams to advance planning capabilities, tools, and data transparency.
WHO YOU WILL WORK WITH
This role reports to the Materials Planning Director, Apparel & Accessories. The role serves as a central connector across planning, sourcing, manufacturing, and product creation partners, aligning decisions across long-, mid-, and short-range horizons.
Key stakeholders:
- Partner and Supplier Manufacturing Management
- Materials Sourcing
- Materials Costing
- GLAM
- Global Supply Planning
- Global Merch Planning
- Technology & Analytics
- Tier 2 Materials Partners
WHAT YOU BRING
- Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Planning (Supply, Demand, Materials, etc.), Manufacturing and/or Logistics functions or related field. Will accept any suitable combination of education, experience or training
- A minimum of 6 years directly relevant work experience
- Understanding of Materials Requirements Planning (MRP), demand translation, production and capacity management, including key metrics and corrective action processes
- Ability to analyze plan health, interpret forecast drivers, and manage accountability for forecast completeness, accuracy, and fidelity
- Experience prioritizing work through segmentation, service levels, risk assessment, and operational feasibility
- Understanding of manufacturing best practices and key metrics, with ability to evaluate and recommend improvements in capacity, sourcing, or lead-time strategies
- Continuous improvement mindset with a willingness to challenge the status quo and apply innovative solutions
- Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with ability to influence and align cross-functional teams
- Effective presentation skills, both visual and verbal
- Experience using tools and analytics to support business performance and decision-making
- Experience working in a diverse, cross-functional environment and fostering a culture of inclusion
- Ability to prioritize effectively, navigate ambiguity, and deliver results
- Passion for Nike products and sport
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Understanding of manufacturing processes (not necessarily Footwear or Apparel)
- Experience aligning cross-cultural, virtual teams
- Experience with materials planning enablers or capabilities such as materials segmentation, Critical Materials Tracking, O9 Materials Forecast, or seasonal readiness processes
We offer a number of accommodations to complete our interview process including screen readers, sign language interpreters, accessible and single location for in-person interviews, closed captioning, and other reasonable modifications as needed. If you discover, as you navigate our application process, that you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please complete the Candidate Accommodation Request Form.
