Planning Manager

Ontic; Bishop's Cleeve; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

Ontic is seeking a Planning Manager at Bishop's Cleeve to innovate and lead our Planning department, ensuring robust execution of production schedules and management of customer demands. Your role will involve leading the Planning teams, enhancing collaboration across functions, and promoting a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.

The successful candidate will possess strong planning and operational expertise, with a background within manufacturing and the ability to influence efficiently in a complex, fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• Strong background in planning, master scheduling, production planning or supply chain within a manufacturing environment.
• Experience leading and developing teams.
• Ability to translate customer demand into clear, executable plans.

Responsibilities

• Lead, support and develop the Planning team, including Master Scheduling and Production Planning.
• Ensure customer requirements are aligned to master schedules and production plans.
• Monitor, measure and improve conformance to plan, ensuring risks and deviations are identified.

Skills

Planning expertise

Leadership capability

Operational understanding

Analytical capability

Education

Relevant qualification in supply chain, planning, operations, engineering or business management

Tools

ERP/MRP systems

Job description

Ontic, a leading licensor and manufacturer of complex engineering parts for the global aerospace and defence industries, is now recruiting for a Planning Manager to lead our Planning department at Bishop Cleeve, including the Master Scheduling and Production Planning teams.

This is a pivotal role responsible for ensuring customer demand is translated into robust, achievable and executable plans. As the key planning focal point for the business, you will drive the plan through Operations, ensuring conformance to plan is maintained, measured and continually improved.

Ontic is more than just a business, we’re a community of innovators who pride ourselves on fostering a culture where talent thrives, ideas flourish, and careers are built. We’re committed to excellence, continuously improving and adapting to remain at the forefront of our industry.

The Role

Reporting to the Operations Director, the Planning Manager will lead the Planning function, providing the rhythm, visibility and control needed to align customer requirements, S&OP outputs, capacity, material availability and production execution. You will lead, support and develop the Master Scheduling and Production Planning teams, ensuring the plan is understood, owned and delivered across the business. You will act as the planning focal point for the site, providing clear priorities, visibility and direction across functions.

Working closely with Operations, Supply Chain, Customer Services, Engineering, Quality, Finance and Programme teams, you will ensure business-wide alignment between demand, supply, capacity, inventory and delivery performance.

Key to success in this role is the ability to combine strong planning expertise with practical leadership, cross-functional influence and a continuous improvement mindset. You will be an enabler across the organisation, identifying opportunities, challenging where needed, and improving our planning processes, tools and ways of working.

In This Role, You Will

• Lead, support and develop the Planning team, including Master Scheduling and Production Planning.
• Act as the planning focal point for the business, providing clear priorities, visibility and direction across functions.
• Ensure customer requirements are aligned to master schedules, production plans, capacity and material availability.
• Drive the agreed plan through Operations, ensuring production execution is aligned to schedule.
• Monitor, measure and improve conformance to plan, ensuring risks, constraints and deviations are identified and acted upon.
• Collaborate closely with the S&OP process to ensure demand, supply, capacity and inventory plans are aligned and executable.
• Engage cross-functionally with Operations, Supply Chain, Customer Services, Engineering, Quality, Finance and Programme teams to ensure business-wide alignment.
• Work closely with Operations to support schedule adherence, recovery planning, capacity planning and delivery performance.
• Use planning data and operational insight to support clear, practical and timely decision-making.
• Identify opportunities to improve planning processes, tools, visibility and ways of working.
• Promote a culture of ownership, accountability, continuous improvement and delivery focus across the Planning team and wider business.

About You

At Ontic, our culture is key to how we deliver success. We’re looking for someone who brings strong planning capability alongside confident leadership, operational understanding and the ability to influence across a complex, fast-paced environment.

To Be Successful In This Role, You Will Bring

• A strong background in planning, master scheduling, production planning or supply chain within a manufacturing environment.
• Experience leading and developing teams.
• A strong understanding of ERP/MRP systems, capacity planning, material availability, production schedule adherence and conformance to plan.
• The ability to translate customer demand into clear, executable plans.
• Experience working cross-functionally with Operations, Supply Chain, Customer Services, Engineering, Quality, Finance and Programme teams.
• Strong analytical capability, with the ability to use planning data and operational insight to support decision-making.
• A structured, detail-oriented approach, combined with pragmatic problem-solving skills.
• The confidence to challenge, influence and engage stakeholders across the business.
• The ability to operate effectively in a complex, fast-paced and regulated environment.

You Will Also Ideally Have

• Experience within aerospace, defence or another heavily regulated manufacturing environment.
• A relevant qualification in supply chain, planning, operations, engineering or business management.
• APICS/CPIM, Lean, Six Sigma or equivalent continuous improvement qualifications.
• Experience supporting S&OP or similar business planning processes.
• Experience improving planning processes, tools, visibility and ways of working.

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role will be measured by improved customer plan alignment, stronger conformance to plan, effective planning team leadership, successful engagement with S&OP, improved schedule adherence, and a Planning function that is recognised as a key enabler for the wider business.