Manufacturing Planning & Customer Care Manager

Carfair Composites is a leader in fibre-reinforced plastic design and composite technologies. Carfair Composites is a subsidiary of NFI Group, a leader in propulsion agnostic bus and coach mobility solutions, operating in five manufacturing and distribution centers across North America, including Winnipeg, MB, St. Cloud, MN, Anniston, AL, Wausaukee, WI, and Gillett, WI. As a comprehensive manufacturer of engineered composite products, Carfair Composites supplies quality fiberglass components to the original equipment manufacturers operating in agriculture, automotive, construction, transportation, commercial, food processing, and medical industries.

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Manufacturing Planning and Customer Care Manager leads the Manufacturing Planning and Customer Care teams responsible for connecting production requirements and the needs of Carfair’s internal and external customers, including New Flyer and MCI, with effective manufacturing execution. This role provides leadership across manufacturing planning, ERP and master data quality, capacity and operational alignment, customer order execution, and issue resolution. Working closely with Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Planning, Production, Sales, Business Systems, and Master Scheduling, the Manager ensures manufacturing and customer requirements are translated into accurate, actionable plans while driving strong data-quality practices, process standardization, continuous improvement, and reliable service.

WHY JOIN US:

• Be part of a team leading the world’s electrification of mass mobility
• Competitive Wages and comprehensive benefit package with Immediate benefit eligibility
• Paid holidays and vacation
• Registered pension plan with generous company match
• Passionate about creating a better product, a better workplace, and a better world
• Inclusive workplace culture that values and empowers team members.
• On-the-job training in a continuous learning environment (we invested $15.9 million in 2024)
• Advancement opportunities within our family of companies
• We are proudly named one of Manitoba’s Top 25 employers.

WHAT YOU WILL DO:

Manufacturing Planning & Data Quality:

• Lead the Manufacturing Planning team responsible for the creation, maintenance, and governance of manufacturing master data, including routings, bills of material, product attributes, and related ERP structures.
• Ensure manufacturing data is accurate, consistent, and aligned with engineering requirements, production capabilities, operational processes, and customer commitments.
• Establish and uphold data-quality standards, validation practices, and change-control processes that protect ERP integrity and support reliable manufacturing planning and execution.
• Partner with Operations, Manufacturing Engineering, Planning, and Supply Chain, Business Systems, and Master Scheduling to understand production capacity, manufacturing capabilities, constraints, and resource requirements.
• Support product transfers and manufacturing changes between facilities, ensuring required planning, master data, and ERP updates are completed accurately and on time.

Customer Care & Order Execution:

• Lead the Customer Care function and oversee customer order execution from order entry through shipment across Carfair operations.
• Ensure internal customer requirements, pricing agreements, product changes, and delivery expectations are accurately translated into internal actions and ERP requirements, with clear communication of priorities, risks, and changes.
• Serve as a key escalation point for customer-related issues, coordinating timely resolution across internal teams while driving improvements in responsiveness, order accuracy, and service delivery.

Cross-Functional Planning & Operational Alignment:

• Act as a key connection point between Customer Care, Sales, Engineering, Operations, Planning, Supply Chain, and Production to align customer requirements with manufacturing execution.
• Support production and sourcing decisions by assessing manufacturing capabilities, capacity constraints, bottlenecks, data gaps, and other execution risks, and coordinating actions to protect production and customer delivery.
• Support weekly and monthly operational planning, pre-production readiness, and master scheduling activities, ensuring critical actions and risks are appropriately tracked and communicated.

Leadership, Continuous Improvement & Performance:

• Lead, coach, and develop the Manufacturing Planning and Customer Care teams, establishing clear expectations, accountability, and quality standards while driving continuous improvement and standardization across team processes and ERP-related activities.
• Develop and strengthen procedures, controls, and workflows while identifying opportunities for automation and process simplification to improve consistency, accuracy, efficiency, and data flow across Carfair operations.
• Use operational and manufacturing data to identify trends, investigate root causes, and provide leadership with risks, insights, and improvement recommendations.

WHAT YOU NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL:

• 5+ years of experience in manufacturing planning, process planning, manufacturing engineering, or a related manufacturing function.
• Demonstrated ability to drive data quality and best practices within manufacturing planning, identifying inaccurate or inconsistent inputs and improving the reliability of information used to support production decisions.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes, production capacity, operational constraints, routings, bills of material, and ERP data used to support manufacturing execution.
• Experience using an ERP system in a manufacturing environment to support planning, production, order execution, or master data. Experience with Oracle is preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to identify operational or process constraints, evaluate options, and work cross-functionally to implement practical solutions.
• Previous experience leading and developing a team, including setting priorities, managing performance, and driving accountability.
• Experience leading continuous improvement, process standardization, or operational change initiatives.
• Strong analytical and Excel skills, with the ability to translate manufacturing and operational data into clear actions and recommendations.
• Strong communication and stakeholder-management skills, with the ability to coordinate priorities across multiple functions and locations.
• Post-secondary education in Manufacturing Engineering, Engineering Technology, Supply Chain, Operations Management, Business, or a related field is preferred. Equivalent relevant experience will be considered.
• Lean Six Sigma, continuous improvement, or project management training is considered an asset.

Ability to travel approximately 10% as required.

OUR WHY: We exist to move people. Our mission is to design, deliver, and support market-leading bus and motorcoach solutions that are safe, accessible, efficient, and reliable. Our values—safety, quality, integrity, accountability, teamwork, and sustainability—are at the core of everything we do. NFI Group | We Move People - YouTube

Leveraging 450 years of combined experience, NFI offers a wide range of propulsion-agnostic bus and coach platforms, including market leading electric models. Through its low- and zero-emission buses and coaches, infrastructure, and technology, NFI meets today’s urban demands for scalable smart mobility solutions. Together, NFI is enabling more livable cities through connected, clean, and sustainable transportation. News and information is available at www.nfigroup.com, www.newflyer.com, www.mcicoach.com, nfi.parts, www.alexander-dennis.com, arbocsv.com, and carfaircomposites.com.

Carfair is committed to administering all employment matters in accordance with the value we place on fostering an inclusive and welcoming workplace that values the contributions of all team members. We ensure that all employment decisions are based upon merit and comply with applicable employment