Materials Manager

Materials Manager

Job Type
Full-Time Permanent Work

Location:
Wallenstein, ON (On Site) Compensation: $85,000
- $95,000 At Earthscape Play, we create beautiful, innovative custom playground sculptures and structures that inspire children and adults to creatively play. By partnering with some of the most prestigious Landscape Architecture firms in North America, we bring brilliant playground concepts to life. Our award-winning design-build firm is located just outside of Elmira, Ontario in Waterloo Region. Together, our ambitious team designs, engineers, builds, and installs state-of-the-art timber playgrounds that become iconic and well-loved destination spaces. The work environment we've created is positive, productive, fun, and rewarding. To see our one-of-a-kind projects, visit www.earthscapeplay.com. Summary of the Role The Materials Manager is a strategic and operational leader responsible for the end-to-end lifecycle, data integrity, and spatial efficiency of all physical assets at Earthscape Play. Reporting to the Supply Chain Manager, this role has accountability over the material control ecosystem, overseeing the warehouse, yard operations, inventory accuracy, and logistics. We are looking for a system-minded leader who thrives on process optimization and bridges the gap between sophisticated digital supply chain data (ERP) and physical execution. You will directly manage the receiving, kitting, shipping, and material handling teams, as well as the Fleet Coordinator, ensuring our production workshop and site installers have exactly what they need, when they need it. This role requires a high degree of emotional intelligence and professional maturity to handle shifting priorities in a fast-paced environment. This is not primarily a warehouse or distribution role. The successful candidate will have direct experience in a manufacturing environment, including material planning, purchasing/procurement, production scheduling, supplier management and resolving material shortages that could impact production.

Key Responsibilities
Team Leadership & Operations
- Provide direct leadership, accountability, and professional development to the shipping, receiving, kitting, and material handling teams.
- Supervise the safe and efficient operation of heavy material handling equipment (telehandlers, forklifts, skid steers) supporting daily production.
- Champion an elite culture of occupational health and safety across the entire physical footprint, ensuring strict compliance with regulations.
- Maintain a calm, professional, and solution-oriented demeanor during peak production and high-stress delivery windows, serving as a stabilizing presence for the team.
- Collaborate with neighboring business units (e.g., Landscape) to coordinate and maximize shared property utilization. Warehouse & Materials Management
- Oversee the entire lifecycle of custom project materials, including receiving, staging, kitting, storage, and shipping.
- Optimize warehouse and yard layout designs, continuously refining workflows to maximize spatial efficiency and material accessibility.
- Govern physical inventory control, implementing rigorous data-to-shelf tracking, flagging variances, and partnering with purchasing to align on material availability.
- Standardize consistent, high-quality packaging and presentation protocols so materials leave the facility looking professional and organized.
- Synchronize the digital-to-physical picking process, tracking how information flows across engineering, purchasing, and production teams. Logistics & Fleet Management
- Manage and support the Fleet Coordinator to ensure efficient dispatching, optimized delivery schedules, and the timely, cost-effective transport of custom playground components to project sites.
- Oversee the compliance and reliability of all company vehicles, trailers, and transport equipment, ensuring the Fleet Coordinator maintains strict adherence to Ministry of Transportation (MTO) regulations and preventative maintenance schedules.
- Provide high-level escalation support for transport capacity challenges, helping balance production deadlines with driver and fleet availability. Ideal candidates will have the following

qualifications:
- 4-6 years of progressive experience in materials management, warehouse operations, or supply chain logistics— with at least 2 years in a direct people-management role.
- Proven experience working within a custom-manufacturing, project-based, or construction environment.
- Strong competency in inventory control systems, kitting workflows, and proficiency with ERP/digital supply chain information flows.
- Experience managing both floor staff (handlers, pickers) and specialized administrative or coordinating roles (like fleet or logistics personnel).
- Solid knowledge of heavy equipment operations (forklift certification is an asset) and a high-level familiarity with MTO fleet compliance and safety standards.
- Except