Production Planner

Our client isn''t currently looking to recruit a Production Planner on a permanent basis.
  
Production Planner
Chesterfield
£40,000 - £45,000
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Production Planner to join an established engineering business.

The Role
The Production Planner will be responsible for developing, managing and maintaining short-, medium- and long-term production schedules to meet customer demand while maximising production efficiency, capacity utilisation and material availability.
Working closely with Production, Engineering, Procurement, Quality and Sales, you will translate customer orders and forecasts into achievable production plans. You will play a key role in ensuring schedules remain accurate, realistic and aligned with material availability, resource capacity and customer delivery commitments.
The successful candidate will take ownership of planning activities, identify potential risks and constraints, and drive continuous improvements across production planning processes.
Key Responsibilities

• Develop, maintain and communicate daily and weekly production schedules based on customer orders, forecasts and material availability.
• Manage production jobs through the ERP system, ensuring planning parameters, bills of materials (BOMs) and routings are accurate.
• Proactively adjust production schedules in response to material shortages, engineering changes, equipment breakdowns and changing customer priorities.
• Maintain accurate planning data, including lead times, lot sizes, resource availability and production calendars.
• Support medium- and long-term capacity planning based on forecast demand and resource utilisation.
• Work closely with Procurement to ensure materials are available in line with planned production requirements.
• Identify and escalate material shortages, supplier delays and long-lead-time risks.
• Monitor schedule adherence and analyse production job start and completion performance.
• Support inventory accuracy through effective scheduling, material demand planning and work order maintenance.
• Prepare and present planning performance updates, highlighting trends, risks and required actions.
• Contribute to Sales, Inventory and Operations Planning (SIOP) activities by providing accurate planning data, capacity constraints and demand projections.
• Participate in operational meetings, audits, internal reviews and cross-functional improvement initiatives.
• Promote lean manufacturing principles, including 5S, standard work and visual management.
• Lead and support continuous improvement initiatives to enhance planning accuracy, communication and schedule stability.

Skills and Experience
The ideal candidate will have:

• Previous experience in production planning or scheduling within a manufacturing or engineering environment.
• Experience using an ERP system.
• A good understanding of production processes, bills of materials, routings and work orders.
• Knowledge of material requirements planning, inventory control and capacity planning.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to interpret production data and identify potential issues.
• Excellent organisational skills and the ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to work effectively across multiple departments.
• A proactive approach to identifying risks, resolving issues and driving continuous improvement.
• The ability to work independently while contributing effectively to a wider operational team.

This is a fantastic opportunity to join an established organisation with potential to develop and progress.

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