Master Scheduler

Drake Trailers; Brisbane; On-site; AUD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

The Drake Group is seeking an experienced Production Scheduler to own the master production schedule for our Wacol operations, coordinating Sales, Engineering, Procurement and production to translate orders into a feasible plan.

You will schedule trailer builds, balance labour, materials and capacity, track progress and report delivery risks to ensure on-time, on-budget delivery for our customers.

Qualifications

• Experience in production planning or scheduling within heavy industrial manufacturing.
• Experience developing and managing capacity-based production schedules.
• Strong labour and resource planning across multiple work centres.
• Experience establishing budget hours and analysing actual-versus-budget performance.
• Ability to identify scheduling, labour and material constraints before they affect production.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving and organisational skills.
• Clear written and verbal communication with the ability to challenge dates and priorities.
• Experience using production planning, scheduling and ERP systems (Monday, Pronto or SAP).
• Trade background or understanding of trailer/heavy vehicle fabrication is advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Own and maintain the master production schedule for all new trailer builds.
• Allocate confirmed orders to production slots based on customer requirements, capacity and material availability.
• Provide Sales with realistic build-slot and delivery-date information.
• Develop weekly and monthly labour plans across production areas.
• Balance workloads to maximise labour utilisation and minimise bottlenecks or downtime.
• Identify future capacity constraints and propose practical solutions (overtime, labour hire, recruitment or rescheduling).
• Establish and maintain budgeted labour hours for trailer models, options and production areas.
• Track actual hours against budget and investigate significant variances.
• Communicate schedule changes and delivery risks promptly.
• Coordinate completion, pre-delivery and dispatch with Sales and Production.
• Drive continuous improvement in planning and scheduling systems.

Skills

Production scheduling

Capacity planning

Labour planning

ERP systems

Cross-functional coordination

Analytical skills

Communication

Monday

Pronto

SAP

Education

Certificate IV/ Diploma in Production Planning

Tools

Monday

Pronto

SAP

Job description

Take ownership of production planning for Australia’s leading heavy trailer manufacturer.

The Drake Group is seeking an experiencedProduction Scheduler to take ownership of the master production schedule for our new trailer manufacturing operations at Wacol.

This is a pivotal position at the centre of our production process. You will connect Sales, Engineering, Procurement and the production floor, translating confirmed customer orders into a realistic, capacity-based manufacturing plan.

The focus of the position: schedule every trailer effectively, maximise labour utilisation, ensure jobs are ready for production and help us deliver to customers on time and within budget.

About the role

Reporting to the Production Manager, you will manage the end-to-end production schedule for new trailer builds, from order confirmation and build-slot allocation through to production tracking and final delivery.

You will work closely with operational leaders to balance customer demand against available labour, skills, materials and manufacturing capacity. You will also maintain budgeted build hours, monitor actual performance and identify scheduling or capacity risks before they affect delivery commitments.

This role will suit someone who enjoys taking ownership, working across multiple departments and turning complex production requirements into a clear and achievable plan.

Key responsibilities

Own and maintain the master production schedule for all new trailer builds.

Allocate confirmed orders to production slots based on customer requirements, sales priorities, capacity and material availability.

Provide Sales with realistic build-slot and delivery-date information.

Develop weekly and monthly labour plans across production areas.

Balance workloads to maximise labour utilisation and minimise bottlenecks or downtime.

Identify future capacity constraints and recommend practical solutions, including overtime, labour hire, recruitment, resequencing or bringing work forward.

Establish and maintain budgeted labour hours for trailer models, options and production areas.

Track actual hours against budget and investigate significant variances.

Communicate schedule changes, delivery risks and emerging issues promptly.

Coordinate completion, pre-delivery and dispatch requirements with Sales and Production.

Identify recurring bottlenecks and drive continuous improvement in planning and scheduling systems.

About you

You are a practical and highly organised production planning professional who understands the realities of a make-to-order manufacturing environment.

You can balance customer commitments with available capacity and are confident working with managers, supervisors, engineers, sales teams and procurement personnel to resolve competing priorities.

To be successful, you will bring:

At leastthree to five years’ experiencein production planning or scheduling within a heavy industrial, mechanical or manufacturing environment.

Demonstrated experience developing and managing capacity-based production schedules.

Strong labour and resource planning capability across multiple production areas or work centres.

Experience establishing budget hours and analysing actual-versus-budget performance.

The ability to identify scheduling, labour and material constraints before they affect production.

Strong analytical, problem-solving and organisational skills.

Clear written and verbal communication, with the confidence to challenge dates and negotiate priorities where required.

Experience using production planning, scheduling and ERP systems. Experience with Monday, Pronto or SAP will be well regarded.

A Certificate IV or Diploma in Production Planning, Operations or Manufacturing Management would be advantageous but is not essential where you have strong equivalent experience.

A trade background, or a sound understanding of trailer, heavy vehicle or fabrication processes will also be highly regarded.

Why join The Drake Group?

At The Drake Group, you will be part of an established Australian manufacturing business known for delivering innovative and practical transport solutions.

This is an opportunity to:

Take genuine ownership of a critical manufacturing function.

Influence production performance, delivery outcomes and labour utilisation.

Work closely with experienced operational, engineering and commercial leaders.

Contribute directly to the successful delivery of highly specialised, Australian-manufactured trailers.

Join a business guided by the values of Quality, Excellence, Adaptability and Service.