Production Coordinator/Scheduler

Job Description

Grace, a Standard Industries company, is a leading global supplier of catalysts, engineered materials and fine chemicals. We provide innovative products, technologies and services which our customers use to manufacture everyday products like renewable fuels, pharmaceuticals, toothpaste, cosmetics, food packaging, beer, edible oils and more. Our thousands of employees help shape a better future at our global headquarters in Columbia, MD and locations worldwide.

Built on talent, technology, and trust, Grace is a leading global supplier of catalysts and engineered materials. The company’s two industry-leading business segments—Catalysts Technologies and Materials Technologies—provide innovative products, technologies, and services that enhance the products and processes of our customers around the world. Grace employs approximately 4,300 people in over 30 countries.

W.R. Grace is seeking a Production Coordinator / Plant Scheduler to serve as the primary scheduling and material and production coordinator for a chemical manufacturing facility at our Curtis Bay manufacturing complex. The Plant Scheduler will be responsible for one or more operating plants within the overall site. The Plant Scheduler will translate the  master production plans into daily actionable scheduling itineraries while managing the logistics and staged movement of chemical products (raw materials, intermediates, bulk liquids, packaging materials, and finished goods). Success in this role directly impacts plant schedule adherence, chemical inventory accuracy, and uninterrupted batch and continuous manufacturing operations.

The Production Coordinator is responsible for daily plant-level production scheduling, capacity sequence planning, and coordinating the physical and systematic movement of chemical products across the facility. Serving as a vital link between Supply Chain, Operations, Logistics, and EHS, this role creates actionable work plans, resolves operational scheduling bottlenecks, and monitors bulk/packaged material movement to maintain continuous production.

Reporting directly to an operations manager, this position has no direct reports but collaborates closely with plant supervisors, process operators, logistics teams, warehouse staff, and central supply chain planners across site operations. This role will also have exposure to the broader Supply Chain organization and be a key linkage between the site and supply planning.

Responsibilities

• Develop, publish, and maintain daily and weekly plant production schedules for batch and continuous chemical processes.
• Translate master production plans into sequence-optimized daily operational work targets, equipment allocations, and operator execution schedules.
• Monitor and coordinate real-time production throughput against the schedule, identifying constraints, downtime risks, or batch delays, and adjust schedules dynamically.
• Facilitate and support daily morning scheduling alignment meetings with Operations, Maintenance, Quality, and Logistics to establish operational priorities.
• Direct and track the staging, transfer, and movement of raw chemicals, liquid intermediates, additives, packaging, and finished goods across tanks, silos, and storage units.
• Develop and maintain daily game plans that translate to production schedules into actionable work assignments and resource & execution priorities.
• Coordinate with site logistics, rail, and trucking personnel to ensure timely load/unload operations and off-site/on-site transport of chemical inventory.
• Monitor chemical tank levels, silo capacities, and bulk storage limits to prevent production outages or storage overflows.
• Work in SAP (or equivalent ERP) to execute material movements, production backflushes, cycle counts, and inventory reconciliations accurately.
• Comply with all site Environmental, Health, Safety (EHS), and Process Safety Management (PSM) protocols governing chemical handling and movement.
• Coordinate schedule adjustments during unit turnarounds, equipment maintenance outages, or raw material supply delays.
• Support monthly inventory close processes, data validation, and tracking of core KPIs, including Schedule Adherence, Material Availability, and Inventory Accuracy.
• Report risks to production, safety hazards, deviations, and incidents in a timely manner.
• Monitor production progress throughout the shift and escalate issues that may impact schedule attainment, customer commitments or operational efficiency.
• Measure and report on shift, daily and weekly schedule adherence and other scheduling KPIs.
• Participate in continuous improvement initiatives focused on production execution, inventory accuracy, material flow and operational effectiveness.

Physical Requirements and Environment

Required Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED equivalent
• 3+ years of experience in production scheduling, material control, or logistics execution within a chemical, petro-chemical, process manufacturing, or industrial plant environment.
• Training and experience in production scheduling for batch or continuous chemical manufacturing processes, cycle counting, inventory reconciliation, and inventory accuracy programs.
• Hands-on experience with SAP (or similar enterprise ERP system) for production tracking, scheduling, and inventory movement transactions. Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and time-management skills; ability to cross-functionally influence production supervisors, operators, and supply chain partners without direct line authority.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in supply chain management, Operations Management, Chemical Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• APICS CPIM or CSCP certificate
• Familiarity with bulk material transfer, hazardous material movement guidelines, and chemical inventory reconciliation practices.

To be considered for this position, candidates must be authorized to work in the United States without the need for current or future employer-sponsored work authorization. This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship or visa transfer.

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Benefits

• Medical, Dental, Vision Insurance
• Life Insurance and Disability 
• Grace Wellness Program
• Flexible Workplace 
• Retirement Plans  
• 401(k) Company Match
• Paid Vacation and Holidays
• Parental Leave 
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Company Donation Match Program
• U.S. Employee Benefits Summary (grace.com)