GateGroup

Head Material Management, Europe

Zurich, CH Full time

We’re looking for motivated, engaged people to help make everyone’s journeys better.

Position Location: This is a regional role, and applications are welcome for the following gategroup locations: Amsterdam, London, Frankfurt and Zurich. The final work location will be determined based on the location of the successful candidate.

Application Requirements: Please submit your application with a CV in English, as English is the working language for this role.

Internal Applicants: In line with internal guidelines, internal candidates are requested to inform their current line manager prior to applying.

Job Summary:

As a Specialist for Material Management, you ensure operational excellence and compliance across multiple European units by overseeing adherence to GG material handling processes, inventory controls, and procurement standards. In this role, you conduct audits and on-site assessments to verify that material flows, storage practices, system transactions, and purchasing activities align with corporate policies and regulatory requirements and drive corrective actions to ensure sustainable improvements.
 

You act as a subject matter expert in Material Management processes, advising sites on best practices related to inventory accuracy, cycle counting, warehouse controls, goods receipt and issuance, supplier compliance, and procurement governance. You collaborate closely with Supply Chain, Operations, Finance, Quality, and Procurement teams to align standards, improve cross-functional workflows, and strengthen internal controls.
 

A key focus of the role is continuous improvement - benchmarking performance, implementing standardized practices, and supporting training initiatives to enhance efficiency and mitigate risk. The position reports to the Director OPM, Europe, and works closely with stakeholders across the region.


Main Duties and Responsibilities:
 

Material Management

  • Work with the operating units to further develop operations management in terms of consistent material management systems (MIB) across the Business units.

  • Lead the MMAT (Material Management) audits in the unit.

  • Assure a consistent reporting of the KPI’s and establish a process to conduct ongoing data and root cause analysis to identify and prioritize opportunity areas for continual improvement.

  • Lead weekly/monthly performance review meetings with Operating Units to identify material consumption opportunities, variances and gaps.

  • Work directly with Operating Units to develop, deploy and control optimum processes for material handling

  • Develop and use data management tools that allow for deep dive analysis of material consumption vs. theoretical consumption.

  • Liaise, support and train key personnel in Operating Units in the optimum way of material processing and analysis.

  • Align closer with procurement KPIs and optimizes order and purchasing processes.

  • Assures cross regional best practice processes on warehouse and inventories.

Performance Monitoring & Optimization

  • Regularly review and optimize existing reports and dashboards to improve performance and usability.

  • Ensure data refreshes are properly scheduled and executed in a timely manner.

Core Competencies and Requirement:
 

Education

  • Educated to degree level preferably on master data management, supply chain management, business administration, engineering or equivalent.

  • Very good knowledge of Microsoft products (Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint). Power BI is a plus.

  • Understanding of business controlling mechanisms.

Work Experience

  • At least a total of 5 years’ work experience related to operations, Material management, planning, operational controlling activities. Airline Catering business is a plus.

  • ERP or equivalent system implementation experience would be a plus.

  • Previous experience as business analyst is preferred.

  • Multi-year experience in labor heavy environments such as manufacturing, food service, supply chain management, staffing agency, airline and/or airline catering experience preferred.

Technical Skills

  • Good communication and influencing skills, working across different levels within the organization and with people from a range of backgrounds.

  • Knowledge of ERP systems and processes.

Language / Communication Skills

  • Fluent English and German is a plus.
     

Core Competencies Required

  • Structured and data driven personality with an analytical mindset.

  • Passionate about excellence and committed to continuous improvement.

  • Self-motivated & Proactive.

  • Flexibility to travel up to 30% within Europe.
     

If you want to be part of a team that helps make travel and culinary memories, join us!