Lead Maintenance Planner / Scheduler

About Kaneka North America

Kaneka North America is part of Kaneka Corporation, a global specialty chemicals and materials company headquartered in Osaka, Japan. With a history spanning more than 75 years, Kaneka is known for developing highquality products that support everyday life across industries such as chemicals, polymers, health care, nutrition, and advanced materials. Our work is guided by a longterm commitment to innovation, safety, and responsible manufacturing.

In North America, Kaneka operates manufacturing and business facilities that play a key role in serving customers across the region and globally. Our teams work collaboratively to produce materials and solutions used in a wide range of applications-from industrial and construction products to health and wellnessfocused innovations. We take pride in maintaining high standards for quality, environmental responsibility, and workplace safety.

At Kaneka North America, we believe our people make the difference. We strive to create a workplace where employees are supported, encouraged to grow, and empowered to contribute meaningfully. If you're looking for an opportunity to build your career with a company that values teamwork, integrity, and continuous improvement, we invite you to explore a future with Kaneka.

Why Work at Kaneka North America?

Working at Kaneka North America means being part of a company with a longterm perspective and a strong sense of purpose. We offer employees the opportunity to contribute to meaningful work while building a stable and rewarding career.

What you can expect:

• A safetyfocused, peoplefirst workplace
• Meaningful work that supports essential industries and products
• Opportunities to learn, grow, and expand your skills
• Collaboration across teams, functions, and regions
• A company that values quality, responsibility, and continuous improvement

Whether you're early in your career or bringing years of experience, Kaneka North America offers an environment where your contributions matter and your growth is supported.

Our Culture & Values:

At Kaneka North America, our culture is built on respect, collaboration, and a shared commitment to doing things the right way. Safety, quality, and integrity guide how we work every day-whether we're supporting our manufacturing operations, serving customers, or developing new solutions. We value open communication, thoughtful problemsolving, and learning from one another, and we believe strong teams are created when people feel heard, supported, and trusted.

We also recognize that longterm success comes from investing in our people. Kaneka encourages continuous improvement, professional development, and knowledgesharing across teams and disciplines. Our employees are empowered to take ownership of their work, contribute ideas, and grow their skills in an environment that values both accountability and respect.

Description:

* Identify and implement continuous improvement opportunities within the planning and scheduling group.
* Monitor and effectively mentor planners and schedulers.
* Provide backup support for planners and schedulers as needed.
* Facilitate scheduling update meetings for maintenance projects and outage work.
* Identify, coordinate, and schedule contractors as needed to safely and efficiently execute outage work.
* Serve as contractor job representative as needed, including permitting, field auditing, and managing discovery/change orders.
* Identify and resolve issues that may delay routine maintenance, outage, and maintenance project activities.
* Order and manage inventory of parts and supplies required for maintenance tasks.
* Analyze maintenance data and prepare actionable reports; utilize SAP to record, track, and analyze maintenance work.
* Develop effective monitoring and tracking processes for the site planning and scheduling team; publish timely KPIs to support continuous improvement.
* Ensure compliance with safety and environmental regulations within the planning and scheduling team.
* Review and interpret equipment and machinery manuals to determine standard operating procedures.
* Coordinate with external vendors to schedule routine maintenance, outage, and project work activities.
* Estimate time and resources required for routine maintenance, project, and outage work.
* Track spare parts inventory and ensure availability to support routine maintenance.
* Inspect the workplace for potential safety hazards and implement safety protocols for routine maintenance work.
* Collaborate with vendors and suppliers to procure necessary tools, equipment, and parts; track and communicate status for routine maintenance needs.
* Train maintenance planning and scheduling staff on new procedures, policies, and protocols as needed.
* Manage costs and logistics from requisition through purchase order closure for all routine maintenance, maintenance projects, and outage work.
* Track and publish key performance indicators for outage and project schedules.

* Must demonstrate the following emotional intelligence skills:
o Emotional Empathy
o Positive Attitude
o Excellent Communication Skills
o Flexibility / Adaptability
o Interpersonal Skills

Bachelors of Business Administration (preferred)
High School (required)

3 - 5 years: Primavera (other scheduling software) (required)
3 - 5 years: SAP PM and MM modules (required)
7 - 10 years: Chemical, refining or manufacturing (required)
2 - 3 years: Technical lead, mentoring, or process leadership in maintenance and reliability operations (required)

Skills