Production Planning Manager

Production Planning Manager – Immediate Start

Plant-Ex Ingredients – Avonmouth  Pay: £40,000-43,000 per annum  Job Type: Full-time, Permanent

Quick Overview

• Hours: Monday to Friday, 40 hours per week
• Location: In person (Avonmouth)

Why Join Us?

• Time Off: 25 days annual leave + Bank Holidays & Christmas shutdown.
• Financials: Annual Bonus, Sick Pay, and Company Pension.
• Perks: Healthshield, Cycle to Work scheme, and Company events.
• Support: Full Induction, PPE/Uniform provided, Free On-site parking, and free Tea/Coffee/Fruit.

What You’ll Be Doing

The Planning Manager is responsible for scheduling, coordinating, and monitoring production processes to ensure efficiency, timely delivery, and cost-effectiveness. This role involves liaising between various departments, including procurement, manufacturing, logistics, customer services and sales, to align production activities with business goals. The Planning Manager will work very closely with the two factory managers to ensure the plan is aligned for efficiency and expected output. The Planning Manager will also track & report key performance indicators (KPIs) related to production planning, factory output and plan conformance.

• Develop and maintain production schedules to meet customer demands and inventory goals.
• Plan material and resource requirements to optimise efficiency.
• Adjust schedules as needed to accommodate changes in demand, material availability, or production capacity.
• Coordinate with procurement to ensure raw materials and components are available for production.
• Act as a liaison between production, procurement, sales, and quality teams.
• Communicate production schedules and updates to relevant stakeholders.
• Work with team leads to resolve bottlenecks and production delays.
• Monitor inventory levels to prevent shortages or overstock situations.
• Ensure optimal use of machinery, labour, and materials.
• Assist in forecasting demand to align production with sales projections.
• Ensure production processes align with quality standards and compliance regulations.
• Identify inefficiencies and recommend process improvements.
• Maintain accurate records of production schedules, changes, and performance metrics.
• Generate reports on production output, efficiency, and potential issues.
• Track & Report Key performance indicators (KPIs) related to production planning

The Ideal Candidate

This opportunity would perfectly suit a candidate from a food manufacturing background with prior planning and scheduling experience.

• Computer literate with experience of CRM databases
• Prior experience in a production planning or scheduling role
• Knowledge of manufacturing processes, supply chain logistics and stock management
• Ability to prioritise work & meet deadlines
• Experience of planning within a food ingredients business
• First hand experience of food ingredient production processes
• Management experience of leading a small team.
• Excellent communication and organisational skills

The candidate will be expected, in the interview, to demonstrate a clear understanding of production planning within a food ingredient environment and to outline what they would bring to Plant-Ex from their previous experience.

About Plant-Ex Ingredients

Based in Avonmouth, we are an international company specializing in Natural Food Ingredient Solutions. We manufacture and supply food colours, flavours, and extracts to customers across the globe.