Production Planner

Prime Appointments Recruitment Agency; Braintree; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 32,000; Full time

Job summary

Prime Appointments Recruitment Agency is seeking a skilled Production Planner to join a busy engineering and manufacturing environment in Braintree, Essex. The role focuses on coordinating production to meet customer requirements, developing routes, and ensuring ERP data accuracy.

Key duties include material usage estimation, labour and machine capacity planning, and collaboration with Production, Customer Services and Sales to maintain smooth operations.

Qualifications

• Experience in an engineering/manufacturing environment is required.
• Hands-on production planning and scheduling experience.
• Understanding of labour and machine planning processes.
• Strong communication and collaboration across departments.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Good problem-solving ability and proactive approach.
• High computer literacy, especially Excel and Word.
• Familiarity with ERP/MRP systems is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Plan and coordinate manufacturing activity to meet customer reqs.
• Develop and review manufacturing routes and production requirements.
• Estimate material usage and procure subcontract services as needed.
• Schedule labour and machine capacity; maintain ERP data and route cards.
• Support month-end processing and ERP data maintenance.
• Collaborate across departments to resolve production issues.
• Monitor plans to ensure on-time delivery and continuous improvement.

Skills

Manufacturing/engineering experience

Production planning & scheduling

ERP knowledge

Excel & Word proficiency

Strong communication

Organisational skills

Problem solving

Cross‑department collaboration

Attention to detail

Tools

ERP systems (Sage)

ERP systems (Syspro)

ERP systems (Microsoft Dynamics 365 BC)

ERP systems (SAP)

MS Excel (tool)

MS Word (tool)

Job description

Permanent

£28,000 - £32,000 p/a

Braintree, Essex

On-site

Production Planner

We are looking for an experienced and organised Production Planner to join an established engineering and manufacturing environment.

Working closely with Production, Customer Services and Sales, you will play an important role in ensuring manufacturing activity is effectively planned and coordinated to meet customer requirements.

You will be responsible for developing and reviewing manufacturing routes, estimating material and production requirements, planning labour and machine capacity, and ensuring the correct documentation and ERP information is in place to support efficient production.

This is a hands‑on planning role suited to someone who understands how an engineering manufacturing environment operates and enjoys working across multiple departments to keep production moving.

Key Responsibilities

• Liaise closely with Production, Customer Services and Sales to understand requirements and priorities.
• Estimate material usage and coordinate the procurement of required subcontract engineering services.
• Review and implement appropriate routes of manufacture.
• Estimate machining and manufacturing times for individual production operations.
• Support production scheduling and ensure manufacturing activities are planned to achieve customer delivery requirements.
• Plan production labour and machine capacity effectively.
• Produce and maintain route cards, works orders and requisitions required for manufacture.
• Monitor production plans and proactively identify potential issues that could affect delivery.
• Develop a strong understanding of the organisation’s structure, policies and processes and recommend appropriate solutions and improvements.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of ERP processes.
• Support ERP frequency‑based activities, including month‑end processing, annual reporting and data maintenance.
• Work collaboratively across departments to resolve planning, material and production issues.

Key Skills & Experience

• Experience working within a manufacturing or engineering environment.
• Experience of production or manufacturing planning and scheduling.
• Understanding of production labour and machine planning.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to liaise effectively with multiple departments.
• Strong organisational skills and attention to detail.
• Good problem‑solving ability and a proactive approach.
• High level of computer literacy.
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Excel and Word.

Desirable

• Experience using an ERP/MRP system.
• Experience with ERP systems such as Sage/Syspro, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central or SAP.
• Experience of production and sales order scheduling.
• Experience estimating manufacturing or machining times.
• Experience supporting ERP process improvements.

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