Manufacturing Planner

TXM Recruit; Houghton Conquest; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

TXM Recruit is seeking an experienced Manufacturing Planner to support the manufacture and delivery of complex, high-value products within a leading defence and advanced-engineering environment in Ampthill, Bedfordshire. You will create and maintain detailed production schedules and six-week capacity forecasts using SAP to optimise labour, machinery and materials.

Working with Production, Engineering and Supply Chain teams, you will identify constraints, maintain material readiness and ensure

Qualifications

• Experience in production planning within a complex manufacturing environment.
• Strong SAP Production Planning and Material Control knowledge.
• Experience with capacity planning and production scheduling.
• Ability to interpret Integrated Master Schedules into achievable plans.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Structured, proactive approach to competing programme priorities.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain detailed production schedules across programmes.
• Identify planning risks and capacity constraints; escalate as needed.
• Produce six-week capacity plans for labour, machinery and skills.
• Collaborate with Production and Engineering to improve throughput.
• Coordinate schedules with machine maintenance and availability.
• Interpret IMS to align capability with requirements.
• Lead LO BiM reviews and engage stakeholders to improve delivery.
• Support daily/weekly planning reviews and track progress.
• Manage SAP demand and planning activities through projects.
• Monitor material availability and readiness for delivery.
• Provide data to bids and Basis of Estimate development.
• Maintain accurate planning data and reporting.

Skills

Production planning

SAP PP

Material control

Capacity planning

Resource management

Production scheduling

MS Excel

Stakeholder management

Communication

Problem-solving

Organisational skills

Tools

SAP Production Planning

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Project

Job description

Manufacturing Planner

Complex Systems | Defence Manufacturing | Production Planning | SAP

Location: Ampthill, Bedfordshire | Permanent

The Opportunity

We are recruiting an experienced Manufacturing Planner to support the manufacture and delivery of complex, high-value products within a leading defence and advanced-engineering environment.
This is a key operational role responsible for developing and maintaining robust production plans across multiple programmes.
You will create detailed short-term schedules, produce six-week capacity forecasts and use SAP to ensure the effective utilisation of labour, machinery, materials and specialist skills.
Working closely with Production, Engineering, Supply Chain and Programme teams, you will identify potential constraints, maintain material readiness and ensure manufacturing activities remain aligned with customer commitments and programme milestones.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain detailed production schedules across multiple manufacturing programmes.
• Identify planning risks, capacity constraints and potential delivery issues, ensuring these are escalated appropriately.
• Produce and maintain six-week capacity plans covering labour, machinery and specialist skills.
• Work collaboratively with Production and Engineering teams to improve resource utilisation and manufacturing throughput.
• Coordinate production schedules with planned machine maintenance and equipment availability.
• Interpret Integrated Master Schedules to align manufacturing capability with programme requirements.
• Lead Line of Balance reviews and engage cross-functional stakeholders to improve delivery performance.
• Ensure production plans support customer requirements, contractual milestones and programme priorities.
• Support daily and weekly production-planning reviews, monitoring performance against agreed schedules.
• Manage SAP demand and production-planning activities throughout the project lifecycle.
• Monitor material availability and maintain readiness to support on-time production and delivery.
• Provide planning and capacity information to support bids, forecasts and Basis of Estimate development.
• Maintain accurate planning data and provide clear reporting on progress, risks and resource requirements.

Skills and Experience

• Previous experience in production planning, manufacturing planning or scheduling within a complex manufacturing environment.
• Strong working knowledge of SAP Production Planning and Material Control.
• Proven experience in capacity planning, resource management and production scheduling.
• The ability to interpret Integrated Master Schedules and translate programme requirements into achievable production plans.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills.
• Strong analytical, organisational and problem-solving abilities.
• Excellent stakeholder-management and communication skills.
• The confidence to challenge plans, highlight risks and influence cross-functional teams.
• A structured and proactive approach to managing competing programme priorities.

Desirable Experience

• Aerospace, defence, engineering or another highly regulated manufacturing sector.
• Subcontract order management.
• Microsoft Project.
• Manufacturing engineering or production operations.
• Supporting bids, forecasts and Basis of Estimate development.
• Planning the manufacture of complex, low-volume and high-value products.

Why Apply?

This is an excellent opportunity to play an important role in the delivery of complex engineering programmes within a highly regulated manufacturing environment.
You will work with a broad range of technical and operational stakeholders while directly influencing production performance, resource utilisation and customer delivery.