Production Planner with ref. J36300

Compass Point Recruitment is proud to be partnering with a fantastic manufacturing business, based in Bury St Edmunds, who are not only niche, but also world-renowned for their products.

We are actively looking for a Production Planner on an initial 6-month fixed-term contract, with the potential for the role to develop and become permanent.

You will be joining a fantastic company culture, with a positive workforce within a relatively small team.

Your role will be well supported, working closely with various managers and across the sales team to ensure the flow of production runs smoothly with accurate and efficient scheduling.

Your responsibilities will include, but are not limited too:

• Create and maintain production schedules to ensure timely completion of orders while optimising resources and minimizing costs.
• Collaborate with sales teams to understand demand forecasts and customer orders, ensuring alignment between production plans and market demand.
• Monitor inventory levels of raw materials, work-in-progress, and finished goods to prevent stockouts or overages, while minimising carrying costs and obsolescence.
• Assess production capacity and resource availability to determine the feasibility of production plans and make adjustments as needed to meet demand.
• Daily use of SAGE200 (experience is a must)
• Utilize MRP systems to plan and procure materials needed for production, considering lead times, supplier capabilities, and cost constraints.
• Identify opportunities to improve production efficiency, such as reducing setup times, optimizing production sequences, or implementing lean manufacturing principles.
• Collaborate with quality assurance teams to ensure that production processes meet quality standards and product specifications, minimizing defects and rework.
• Identify potential risks to production schedules, such as supplier delays, equipment breakdowns, or resource shortages, and develop contingency plans to mitigate these risks.
• Maintain open communication channels with cross-functional teams, including production, procurement, engineering, and logistics, to ensure alignment and facilitate problem-solving.
• Maintain accurate records of production activities, including production schedules, inventory levels, and performance metrics. Generate reports to track key performance indicators and provide insights for decision-making.
• Participate in continuous improvement initiatives to enhance production processes, reduce costs, and increase efficiency over time.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, industry standards, and company policies related to production planning, inventory management, and workplace safety.
• Provide training and support to production teams on new processes, systems, or tools implemented to improve production planning and execution.
• Adapt quickly to changing priorities, market conditions, or unforeseen events that may impact production schedules, demonstrating flexibility and problem-solving skills to keep operations running smoothly.

Your experience:

• Daily use of SAGE200 is essential for this role
• Manufacturing industry experience
• Happy to be a team player but also work individually
• Extensive production planning experience
• Strong attention to detail and organisational skills
• Good communicator and can communicate professionally internally and externally
• Demonstrated experience in production scheduling and capacity planning
• Strong understanding of inventory management principles
• Familiarity with Material Requirement Planning (MRP) processes

There is also scope for this role to pick up more responsibilities, based on your experience, as your role develops.

The working hours for this role are 9am-5pm, and the annual leave will be pro-rata dependent on when you start, but for context, their full-time entitlement is 26 days + bank holidays.

They are keen to have someone who can join their team ASAP, so short notice periods or immediate starts are preferred where possible.

For more information or to apply, please submit an updated CV to eleanor@compasspoint.co.uk.

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