Production Planner
Fareham, Hampshire | Permanent | Monday–Friday, On-Site | Salary up to £50,000
The Opportunity
We are currently supporting a well-established manufacturing business in Fareham, Hampshire, with the appointment of an experienced Production Planner.
This is an excellent opportunity for a manufacturing planning professional with proven experience in long-range production planning, finite capacity scheduling and MRP/ERP systems, who is looking to take ownership of production planning and play a key role in supporting operational performance and customer delivery.
We are particularly interested in candidates from engineering, aerospace, precision engineering or other fast-paced manufacturing environments, where effective resource planning, capacity management and production scheduling are essential to business performance.
The successful candidate will have the ability to look beyond the immediate production schedule, developing forward plans that balance customer demand, material availability, manufacturing capacity and operational resources.
The Role
As Production Planner, you will be responsible for developing, maintaining and continuously improving production plans, ensuring that materials, capacity, resources and customer demand remain aligned.
Working closely with Production, Purchasing, Customer Services and Finance, you will provide forward visibility of production requirements, identify potential constraints and take proactive action to minimise disruption to manufacturing schedules and customer delivery.
You will play an important role in translating business demand into achievable production plans, using your understanding of manufacturing processes, capacity constraints and ERP/MRP systems to make informed planning decisions.
You will be expected to interrogate and challenge ERP/MRP information rather than simply rely on system recommendations, applying your planning expertise and analytical skills to ensure production schedules are realistic, achievable and aligned with business priorities.
Key Responsibilities
Lead long-range production and resource planning, providing forward visibility of manufacturing requirements.
Develop and maintain the Master Production Schedule (MPS).
Balance supply, demand, materials, labour and manufacturing capacity.
Develop and manage finite capacity production schedules, taking account of operational constraints and resource availability.
Review MRP action messages and job creation recommendations, challenging system outputs where necessary.
Create and manage works orders in line with production requirements.
Monitor forward production loading and identify capacity constraints, bottlenecks and potential delivery risks.
Identify material, resource and supply risks at an early stage and implement appropriate actions.
Support finite production scheduling and ensure manufacturing priorities are clearly communicated.
Work closely with Production to achieve manufacturing schedules and On-Time Delivery (OTD) targets.
Liaise with Purchasing regarding material availability, supplier performance and supply constraints.
Coordinate with Customer Services to ensure planning remains aligned with the customer order book.
Support inventory management, including excess and obsolete stock reviews.
Work with Finance to investigate WIP variances.
Support New Product Introduction (NPI) activity and the integration of new products into manufacturing plans.
Contribute to continuous improvement, 5S and process development initiatives.
Support customer, BSI and regulatory audits when required.
The Ideal Candidate
We are looking for a proactive and experienced manufacturing planning professional who understands the importance of effective forward planning, finite scheduling and resource optimisation.
Ideally, you will have:
A minimum of 3 years' experience in Production, Resource or Manufacturing Planning.
Proven experience within a manufacturing environment, ideally engineering, aerospace, precision engineering or another fast-paced manufacturing industry.
Strong working knowledge of MRP and ERP systems.
Demonstrable experience in long-range production and resource planning.
Proven experience developing and managing finite capacity production schedules.
Experience with Advanced Planning & Scheduling (APS) systems would be advantageous.
A strong understanding of Master Production Scheduling, capacity planning and manufacturing constraints.
Experience balancing production demand, capacity, labour and material availability.
Strong Microsoft Excel skills.
Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities.
Strong attention to detail and data accuracy.
The confidence to challenge planning assumptions, interrogate system data and identify potential risks.
Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
The ability to work effectively in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.Knowledge of VAPS or similar planning systems, NPI, Lean Manufacturing or 5S would also be advantageous.
What We're Looking For
This role would suit a forward-thinking and commercially aware Production Planner who naturally looks ahead, anticipates potential issues and takes ownership of finding solutions.
You will be comfortable working with complex manufacturing requirements, understanding the relationship between customer demand, production capacity, material availability and operational performance.
You will need to be analytical, organised and resilient, with the ability to manage changing priorities and communicate effectively across multiple departments.
Most importantly, you will understand that successful production planning is about more than maintaining a schedule. It is about anticipating risk, optimising resources, managing constraints and ensuring the business is positioned to deliver for its customers.
Salary: Up to £50,000, depending on experience
Location: Fareham, Hampshire
Working Hours:
Monday–Thursday: 7.00am–4.30pm
Friday: 7.00am–11.00am
Working Arrangement: Fully site-based
Employment: Permanent
Interested?
If you are an experienced Production Planner, Senior Production Planner, Resource Planner, Manufacturing Planner, Production Planning Engineer or MRP Planner with a strong background in long-range planning, finite production scheduling and manufacturing ERP/MRP systems, we would be very interested in hearing from you.
Experience gained within engineering, aerospace, precision engineering or other complex manufacturing environments would be particularly relevant.
Apply today for a confidential discussion about this opportunity
