Cost Inventory Manager Jobs in Rhode Island (NOW HIRING)

Department: Production

Reports To: VP Production & Operations

Direct Reports: Sr. Purchasing & Sourcing Specialist and Purchasing Clerk

Location: Warren, Rhode Island — on-site

Status: Full-time, exempt

Salary: $70,000 - $90,000 per year

The Inventory Manager is responsible for the accuracy, integrity, security, and traceability of inventory across the company, and for leading the purchasing function that supplies it. The role covers raw materials, precious metals, gemstones, findings, castings, work-in-process, and finished goods. Working alongside the VP of Production & Operations, this position serves as the central point of accountability for inventory standards across Production, Purchasing, Quality Control, Fulfillment, and Finance.

This role combines inventory control, cycle count program ownership, purchasing leadership, and inventory strategy. The Inventory Manager sets the standards for how inventory is counted, controlled, and recorded, holds every department to them, and publishes record accuracy by zone on a fixed schedule. The role directs sourcing, vendor management, and replenishment so that production stays supplied without carrying more inventory than the business needs. It is scoped as a manager rather than a specialist because it leads the purchasing team and owns the standard the rest of the organization follows. Success in this role requires strong analytical skills, exceptional attention to detail, the discipline to investigate a variance to root cause rather than adjust it away, and the directness to hold a standard with a department that finds it inconvenient.

• Own the accuracy and integrity of inventory transactions across the company, covering raw materials, precious metals, gemstones, findings, castings, work-in-process, and finished goods.
• Develop and enforce standardized inventory policies, procedures, and best practices, and hold every department to them.
• Investigate inventory discrepancies and determine root cause.
• Implement corrective and preventative actions to reduce recurring inventory issues, and verify they worked.
• Ensure inventory adjustments are properly documented, evidenced, and approved. This role recommends and evidences adjustments; those above the approval threshold are approved by the VP of Production & Operations.

• Design and run the cycle count program: count frequency by value class, variance tolerances, who counts what, and what happens when a count falls outside tolerance.
• Publish inventory record accuracy by zone and own the trend.
• Schedule and oversee physical inventories, and maintain the audit documentation behind them.
• Analyze count results for patterns rather than treating each variance as isolated.
• Ensure counts on the highest-value zones are performed by two people, or by someone who holds no custody of what is being counted.

• Establish standardized receiving, stocking, issuing, transfer, and inventory movement procedures across every department that handles material.
• Own the receiving-to-invoice chain: purchase order, certified packing slip, invoice. Maintain it as a documented procedure applied consistently at every receiving point, with a trained backup, and with the match holding as reliably on short shipments, substitutions, and partial receipts as it does on routine deliveries.
• Ensure materials are properly identified, labeled, and traceable through every stage.
• Oversee the standards for inventory storage locations, including how zones are defined, what is held where, and how movement between them is recorded.

• Develop secure handling procedures for high-value materials, written so they can be followed on the floor in both English and Spanish.
• Maintain chain-of-custody documentation: who holds what, how it moves, and what is recorded at each handoff.
• Ensure accountability for all inventory movements involving high-value materials, including material issued to and returned from the bench.
• Support compliance with internal security procedures, and ensure count evidence would satisfy an insurer on a claim.

• Manage inventory level and composition against a working target: what to carry, in what form, and at what quantity.
• Set and maintain reorder points, safety stock, and minimum component thresholds by product line, in consultation with Production.
• Analyze slow-moving, obsolete, and excess inventory, and recommend what to reduce, convert, or write off.
• Monitor inventory turnover and carrying cost, and report on the trade-off between coverage and cash.
• Plan to the demand signal owned by Commerce and buy within the cash envelope set by Finance.

• Lead the purchasing function. The Senior Purchasing & Sourcing Specialist and the Purchasing Clerk report to this role.
• Own the annual buying program within the approval controls set by Finance and the VP of Production & Operations.
• Run sourcing and vendor management: qualification, negotiation, terms, renewals, and performance review.
• Maintain the separation between committing, recording, and paying. Purchasing commits; Finance approves, pays, and reconciles vendor statements monthly.
• Report on on‑time component delivery and monthly forecast‑versus‑usage variance.
• Develop the purchasing team, set priorities and workload, and build depth so the function runs during absences.

• Serve as the owner of inventory data within the company's inventory system of record.
• Maintain item master data, including SKUs, units of measure, locations, reorder points, and inventory classifications.
• Ensure inventory transactions are recorded accurately and completely, and design the workflows that make correct entry the easy path.
• Eliminate manual workarounds and duplicate data entry. Fewer and simpler transactions is the most effective lever available on accuracy.
• Partner with Finance so that inventory valuation and costing remain accurate and reconcilable.
• Support system implementation and testing, process improvements, and adoption of new workflows on the floor.

• Partner with Production, Quality Control, Customer Service, Fulfillment, and Finance to improve inventory processes end to end.
• Develop Standard Operating Procedures for inventory processes and train employees on them. Procedures that reach the floor are written to be used on the floor: short, visual where possible, and available in both languages.
• Standardize processes across departments rather than maintaining a separate process in each one.
• Identify opportunities to improve inventory accuracy and operational efficiency.

• Publish inventory accuracy and count program performance to the VP of Production & Operations and the leadership team on a fixed schedule.
• Maintain the inventory dashboards leadership uses, and retire the ones it does not.
• Report inventory value and composition against target, with commentary on what changed and why.
• Report the figures as the system reports them. Where a number needs context, publish the context alongside it, not in place of it.

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Operations, Business, or equivalent work experience preferred.
• Minimum of 5 years of inventory management experience in a manufacturing environment, including responsibility for inventory accuracy as a measured outcome.
• Demonstrated experience building and running a cycle count program.
• People management experience. This role leads a team.
• Experience owning inventory master data and transaction integrity within an ERP; experience implementing or migrating one is a strong plus.
• Purchasing or sourcing experience, including vendor negotiation, terms, and supplier performance.
• Experience with high-value, small-format, or otherwise controlled inventory strongly preferred. Jewelry, precious metals, electronic components, and pharmaceuticals all transfer.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including formulas, filtering, sorting, pivot tables, and reporting.
• Demonstrated ability to build a report from system data, not only to maintain one built by someone else.
• Strong computer skills, including Microsoft Outlook, Word, Teams, and shared cloud-based spreadsheets.
• Excellent organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work on a production floor, in a secure environment, alongside people whose first language may not be English. Spanish is a strong plus.

• Inventory Control
• Cycle Counting
• ERP Systems
• Inventory Master Data
• Purchasing & Sourcing
• Vendor Management
• Data Analysis & Reporting
• Spreadsheet Management
• Process Standardization
• Attention to Detail
• Problem Solving
• Decision Making
• Independent Judgment
• Team Leadership
• Communication
• Accountability

• Ability to work in both an office and manufacturing environment.
• Ability to stand, walk, and move throughout the production floor as needed.
• Ability to lift up to 25 pounds occasionally.
• Ability to use computers and standard office equipment for extended periods.

Full-time employees, defined as 30 or more hours per week, are eligible for:

• Medical coverage through UnitedHealthcare, with multiple plan options and preventive care covered at 100% in network
• Dental coverage through Delta Dental of Rhode Island
• Vision coverage through VSP
• 401(k) through Guideline, with employer matching
• Employer-paid term life, AD&D, and long-term disability insurance through Unum
• A confidential Employee Assistance Program through Unum, covering mental health, financial, and legal support
• 50% employee discount on HAVERHILL jewelry, with payroll deduction available
• Optional voluntary coverage through Colonial Life and Pet Discount Plus at group rates

Full plan documents and coverage details are available during the interview process.

A stone returns light because it's cut from many angles, not one. The same is true of a team.

HAVERHILL is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, national or ancestral origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. This applies to every employment decision we make, including hiring, compensation, promotion, training, and termination.

If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in the application or interview process, contact careers@haverhill.com.