Lead, Materials Supply Planner

Role overview

The Lead Materials Supply Planner is responsible for creating and managing material plans for apparel and accessories across a broad sport and material-class scope. The position turns business demand into practical supply plans that support readiness, alignment, and risk reduction across both medium- and long-term planning timelines.

The role keeps planning in good shape by identifying the factors that affect forecast completeness, accuracy, and reliability, while coordinating actions and communication that help drive on-time delivery.

As a key link between Planning, Product Supply Chain, and other cross-functional partners, this person highlights risks and opportunities, aligns stakeholders, and helps put in place capabilities that improve responsiveness, resilience, delivery performance, and overall supply chain efficiency.

The right candidate combines strategic thinking with strong attention to detail. They use data, business context, and partner input to make sound recommendations, anticipate issues, and create alignment across teams. They are accountable to important metrics, communicate clearly, and help teams operate with speed and confidence.

This leader is comfortable in a fast-moving environment that is constantly changing. Curiosity, good judgment, and a practical problem-solving approach are essential for turning uncertainty into action and finding better ways to plan, prioritize, and deliver materials.

Leadership capabilities

• Focuses on outcomes and delivers results
• Acts decisively and courageously
• Supports and leads change
• Builds effective collaboration
• Uses strategic thinking
• Encourages innovation
• Creates clarity and accountability
• Communicates direction and purpose

Key responsibilities

In this role, you will lead cross-functional work to identify, prioritize, and resolve risks and opportunities within the materials plan so finished goods can be delivered successfully.

• Create and maintain sport-level material forecasts by combining input from multiple partners and converting finished goods demand into clear material supply needs.
• Track plan health, identify gaps in the forecast, and take action early to reduce risk across the seasonal cycle, with responsibility for forecast completeness, accuracy, and reliability.
• Set planning service levels and determine material and action priorities through segmentation, balancing business value, feasibility, and delivery risk.
• Design and activate strategies for material lead times, commitments, and staging that improve flexibility, reduce long lead-time exposure, and support demand fluctuations.
• Work with Materials Sourcing, Supplier Management, and Material Development to advise on sourcing options, capacity solutions, and material substitutes.
• Drive seasonal readiness for your sport alignment, aligned to major planning milestones from long-range planning through execution.
• Represent Materials Planning as a subject matter expert in cross-functional discussions, stakeholder meetings, and strategic programs.
• Build capabilities that make the materials supply chain more responsive and adaptable.
• Own strategic initiatives as a program lead and change driver, ensuring alignment and adoption.
• Review performance data, generate insights, and lead continuous improvement efforts.
• Partner with Technology & Analytics teams to improve planning tools, capabilities, and data visibility.

Reporting and collaboration

This position reports to the Materials Planning Director for Apparel & Accessories. It acts as a central connector across planning, sourcing, manufacturing, and product creation teams, supporting decisions across long-, mid-, and short-range planning horizons.

Key stakeholder groups include Partner and Supplier Manufacturing Management, Materials Sourcing, Materials Costing, GLAM, Global Supply Planning, Global Merch Planning, Technology & Analytics, and Tier 2 Materials Partners.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Planning (such as supply, demand, or materials), Manufacturing, Logistics, or a related field; a suitable mix of education, experience, or training may also be considered.
• At least 6 years of directly relevant professional experience.
• Working knowledge of Materials Requirements Planning (MRP), demand translation, production and capacity management, along with related metrics and corrective-action processes.
• Ability to assess plan health, interpret forecast drivers, and maintain accountability for forecast completeness, accuracy, and reliability.
• Experience prioritizing work using segmentation, service levels, risk evaluation, and operational feasibility.
• Understanding of manufacturing best practices and performance metrics, with the ability to assess and suggest improvements in capacity, sourcing, or lead-time approaches.
• A continuous-improvement mindset and willingness to question existing methods and apply new solutions.
• Strong communication and stakeholder-management skills, including the ability to influence and align cross-functional groups.
• Strong presentation skills, both written/visual and verbal.
• Experience using tools and analytics to support business performance and decision-making.
• Experience working in diverse, cross-functional environments and helping foster inclusion.
• Ability to manage priorities well, work through ambiguity, and deliver results.
• Genuine interest in Nike products and sport.

Preferred qualifications

• Familiarity with manufacturing processes, even if not specifically in footwear or apparel.
• Experience coordinating cross-cultural, virtual teams.
• Exposure to materials-planning enablers or capabilities such as materials segmentation, Critical Materials Tracking, O9 Materials Forecast, or seasonal readiness processes.

Accessibility and accommodations

Reasonable accommodations are available for the interview process, including screen readers, sign-language interpreters, accessible or single-location in-person interviews, closed captioning, and other appropriate modifications where needed. If you need support due to a disability while navigating the application process, a candidate accommodation request can be submitted.