Materials Planner

JR United Kingdom; Grantham; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading food production company in Grantham is seeking a proactive materials planner. In this role, you will be responsible for ensuring raw materials arrive on time, managing supplier relations, and optimizing stock levels across sites. Candidates should have experience in stock/material planning, strong Excel skills, and excellent communication abilities. This position offers opportunities for career development and the chance to step into senior roles when needed.

Qualifications

• Experience in stock/materials planning.
• Actual Excel skills.
• Strong priority sorting abilities.
• Effective communication with all levels.
• Solutions-first attitude.

Responsibilities

• Ensure timely delivery of raw materials.
• Manage supplier relationships and negotiations.
• Participate actively in planning meetings.
• Reorganize stock to prevent expiration.
• Handle import paperwork and invoices.

Job description

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Factories only work if they’ve got the right ingredients.

If they don’t, everything grinds to a halt.

And guess who gets the blame? Not the CEO. Not the production line. You.

This job is about making sure that never happens.

You’ll be the one ordering, chasing, shifting and reconciling raw materials so production doesn’t stop. Think of it as being the person who makes sure the wheels stay on. Because when they don’t, it’s ugly.

And before you ask – no, this isn’t just about pressing “raise PO” in some system and going for a brew. It’s about spotting problems before they explode, keeping suppliers on side, juggling stock across sites, and deputising for your manager or the planner when they’re off.

Basically, you’ll need to be switched on, organised, and the type of person who doesn’t panic when things go sideways.

You’ll be doing things like:

• Making sure raw materials turn up when they should.
• Getting suppliers to play nicely (some of them will need more chasing than others).
• Sitting in planning meetings and actually saying something useful.
• Shuffling stock around sites before it expires.
• Wrestling with import paperwork and making sure Finance don’t hunt you down over dodgy invoices.

You’ll need to bring:

• Experience in stock/materials planning (if it’s in food, even better).
• Actual Excel skills – not just “I know how to colour the cells in”.
• A brain that can sort priorities without waiting for someone else to tell you.
• Communication skills that work on everyone from forklift drivers to suppliers.
• A solutions-first attitude. If you like pointing out problems but not fixing them, this job will eat you alive.

Why bother applying?

Because you’ll be working in a business where what you do actually matters. Without you, the factory stops. With you, it doesn’t. Simple as that.

You’ll also get to step into senior shoes when they’re off – which is code for “career development without the corporate training buzzwords”.