Lead Production Planner: Drive Scheduling Excellence

James Fisher and Sons plc; Westhill; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 58,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Early finish on Fridays

Private Medical Insurance

Life Assurance

Cycle to work scheme

Company Pension

Job summary

James Fisher and Sons plc in Westhill/Aberdeen is seeking a Lead Production Planner to optimise production performance, lead the planning team, and balance demand, capacity and priorities to deliver on-time results.

The role requires extensive production planning experience in a complex manufacturing environment, strong analytical skills, and deep ERP/MRP knowledge, along with leadership and stakeholder management abilities. Security checks are part of the process.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in production planning within a complex manufacturing environment.
• Strong analytical skills to interpret data and forecast trends.
• Expert knowledge of ERP/MRP systems and master data management.
• Advanced Excel skills and forecasting/capacity planning experience.
• Proven leadership and stakeholder management abilities.

Responsibilities

• Lead the UK Production Planning team, driving planning excellence and optimising scheduling performance across sites.
• Act as the escalation point for planning-related challenges, resolving issues quickly to minimise disruption.
• Own planning KPIs and continuously improve delivery performance and operational maturity.
• Develop and maintain robust production schedules using MRP outputs to balance demand and capacity.
• Collaborate with Production, Procurement, Engineering and other stakeholders to ensure schedule adherence and manage risks.
• Monitor production performance, identify bottlenecks and implement corrective actions to improve efficiency and on-time delivery.
• Analyse planning data to improve forecast accuracy and capacity planning capabilities.
• Create, release and manage complex works orders with high accuracy and traceability.
• Maintain and improve MRP master data to keep planning systems reliable.
• Produce KPI reporting and capacity analyses to inform operational decisions.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives to standardise ways of working and boost performance.
• Build relationships with internal and external customers, providing timely updates and support.
• Coach and develop planners and colleagues to foster capability and continuous improvement.

Skills

Production planning

Analytics

ERP/MRP knowledge

Excel proficiency

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Capacity planning

End-to-end supply chain

Job description

James Fisher and Sons plc in Westhill/Aberdeen is seeking a Lead Production Planner to optimise production performance, lead the planning team, and balance demand, capacity and priorities to deliver on-time results.

The role requires extensive production planning experience in a complex manufacturing environment, strong analytical skills, and deep ERP/MRP knowledge, along with leadership and stakeholder management abilities. Security checks are part of the process.