Manufacturing Planner

Mane Contract Services; Ampthill; On-site; GBP 38,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

Mane Contract Services in Ampthill is seeking an experienced Manufacturing Planner to develop and maintain production plans for defence programmes. You will manage SAP demand planning, raise production orders, and coordinate material requirements across multiple programmes.

This role requires strong SAP and Excel skills, ability to analyse IMS, and proactive stakeholder engagement. On-site role with a flexible 4-day week and security clearances in scope.

Qualifications

• SAP Production Planning and Material Control knowledge is essential.
• Experience in production planning, capacity planning and resource management.
• Advanced Excel skills including Pivot Tables and VLOOKUPs.
• Experience interpreting and managing Integrated Master Schedules (IMS).
• Strong stakeholder engagement and communication abilities.
• Ability to analyse data and proactively manage planning risks.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain daily, weekly and fortnightly production plans.
• Manage SAP demand planning activities from cradle to grave for development projects.
• Raise and manage production orders within SAP.
• Plan and manage material requirements across programmes.
• Monitor machine and labour capacity to meet requirements.
• Provide capacity forecasts and planning information for delivery and bids.
• Manage Lines of Balance and Areas of Operation across projects.
• Coordinate with Manufacturing Eng., Production Ops and Team Leads.
• Analyse IMS to keep plans aligned with milestones.
• Identify planning risks and implement effective solutions.

Skills

SAP PP

Production planning

Excel

IMS interpretation

Stakeholder management

Tools

Microsoft Project

Job description

Are you an experienced Manufacturing Planner with strong SAP and production planning experience? Do you enjoy working in a fast-paced engineering environment where your planning expertise directly contributes to the successful delivery of cutting-edge defence programmes?

We are currently recruiting for a Manufacturing Planner to join a leading defence engineering organisation based in Ampthill. Working within the Special Projects business area, you'll play a key role in developing and maintaining robust production plans that support the manufacture of hardware for innovative development programmes.

This is an exciting opportunity to work at the forefront of defence manufacturing, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams to ensure production schedules, materials and resources are aligned to programme requirements.

The Role

• Developing and maintaining daily, weekly and fortnightly production plans to support manufacturing operations.
• Managing SAP demand planning activities from cradle to grave for development projects.
• Raising and managing production orders within SAP.
• Planning and managing material requirements across multiple programmes.
• Monitoring machine and labour capacity to ensure manufacturing requirements can be met.
• Supporting project teams by providing capacity forecasts and planning information during programme delivery and bid activities.
• Managing Lines of Balance (LOB) and Areas of Operation (AOL) across assigned projects.
• Working closely with Manufacturing Engineering, Production Operations and Team Leads to coordinate resource availability.
• Analysing Integrated Master Schedules (IMS) to ensure production plans remain aligned with programme milestones.
• Identifying planning risks and implementing effective solutions to maintain delivery schedules.
• Collaborating with stakeholders across manufacturing, projects and supply chain functions to ensure successful programme execution.

Essential Skills & Experience

• Strong knowledge and experience of SAP Production Planning and Material Control processes.
• Proven experience in production planning, capacity planning and resource management within a manufacturing environment.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including Pivot Tables and VLOOKUPs.
• Experience interpreting and managing Integrated Master Schedules (IMS).
• Strong stakeholder engagement and communication skills.
• Ability to analyse data and proactively manage production planning risks.
• Experience working closely with manufacturing and production teams.

Desirable Skills & Experience

• Experience managing subcontractor orders and external manufacturing suppliers.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Project.
• Experience supporting development, prototype or low-volume/high-complexity manufacturing programmes.
• Knowledge of aerospace, defence or advanced engineering manufacturing environments.
• Understanding of Line of Balance (LOB) planning methodologies.

Working Arrangements

• Based on-site in Ampthill, Bedfordshire.
• Flexible 4-day working week (Monday to Thursday).
• Working within a collaborative production planning team supporting complex defence programmes.

Security Requirements

• BPSS clearance is required to commence employment.
• Candidates must be eligible to obtain Security Clearance (SC)