Planning Manager

Rotherham, South Yorkshire Permanent Salary + Benefits

We're looking for an experienced Planning Manager to lead the planning function within a busy manufacturing environment.

Reporting to the Operations Manager and managing a team of approximately 3, you'll be responsible for aligning customer demand, production capacity, materials and inventory to deliver strong customer service and efficient plant performance.

This is a key role working closely with Operations, Production, Customer Service, Sales, Procurement, Quality, Engineering and Finance.

• Lead production planning, scheduling and master production plans.
• Own the site S&OP process, balancing demand, capacity and inventory.
• Lead short-, medium- and long-term capacity planning.
• Drive On-Time Delivery, schedule adherence and production attainment.
• Identify capacity constraints, bottlenecks and material risks and develop recovery plans.
• Ensure material availability and work with Procurement to resolve shortages.
• Optimise inventory, including slow-moving and obsolete stock.
• Manage planning data, parameters, routings, lead times and capacity within ERP/MRP systems.
• Develop planning reports, dashboards and KPIs.
• Improve forecast accuracy, planning accuracy and schedule adherence.
• Lead continuous improvement, cost-saving and digitalisation initiatives.
• Lead, coach and develop the Planning team.
• Provide clear planning risks, opportunities and recommendations to site leadership.

You'll ideally have:

• 5+ years' experience in a manufacturing planning environment.
• Previous experience leading planning, scheduling or supply chain activities.
• Strong knowledge of production planning, capacity planning, inventory management and MRP/ERP systems.
• Strong analytical, numerical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent Excel skills.
• Strong communication, stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• Commercial awareness and sound business judgement.
• The ability to manage competing priorities and work effectively under pressure.
• A proactive, continuous-improvement mindset.
• A degree in Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Operations, Business or Engineering, or equivalent relevant experience.

• APICS / ASCM CPIM or CSCP.
• SAP and/or Power BI experience.
• Previous people-management experience.
• Experience in aerospace, engineering or advanced manufacturing.

You'll have a direct impact on:

Customer OTD Schedule Adherence Forecast Accuracy Production Attainment Capacity Utilisation Inventory Material Availability Backlog Manufacturing Throughput Working Capital Continuous Improvement

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced Planning Manager to take ownership of a critical manufacturing function and make a measurable impact across customer service, production efficiency, inventory and capacity.

The role is based in Rotherham, with occasional travel to suppliers, customers and other sites, typically less than 10%.

If you're an experienced manufacturing planner who enjoys using data to drive decisions, solving problems and developing teams, we'd like to hear from you.