Production Planner

Protea Recruitment Ltd | Food | Drinks | FMCG Recruitment Partner; Craigavon; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 36,000; Full time

Job summary

Protea Recruitment Ltd is supporting a well-established food manufacturer in the Craigavon area by appointing an experienced Production Planner. Build and maintain production schedules to meet customer demand while maximising efficiency and minimising downtime.

The role suits someone with production planning or scheduling experience in a fast-paced manufacturing environment, ideally in food or FMCG, with exposure to ERP/MRP systems and strong organisational skills.

Qualifications

• At least 2 years' experience in production planning or scheduling.
• Experience in food, FMCG or fast-paced manufacturing environment.
• Exposure to ERP, MRP or planning systems.
• Strong organisational and planning skills.
• Excellent attention to detail and analytical ability.
• Good communication across departments.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain production schedules across manufacturing lines.
• Import and review forecasts to support planning decisions.
• Use ERP/MRP planning systems to create and manage schedules.
• Monitor stock levels and product availability.
• Analyse forecast vs actual sales and flag issues.
• Coordinate with Production, Supply Chain, Purchasing and other teams.
• Optimize schedules to minimise downtime and changeovers.
• Consider allergen requirements in sequencing production.
• Maintain and update capacity plans.
• Monitor raw materials and packaging availability for plans.
• Ensure materials are available for planned works orders.
• Maintain BOM data for packaging and raw materials.
• Track customer service levels and support corrective actions.
• Manage shelf-life considerations within the production plan.
• Produce regular planning, stock and operations reports.

Skills

Production planning

Forecasting

Stock management

Production scheduling

Cross-functional collaboration

Attention to detail

Analytical mindset

Communication

Tools

ERP/MRP systems

Job description

We are supporting a well-established and growing food manufacturing business in the Craigavon area with the appointment of an experienced Production Planner.

This is a key role within the operation, responsible for building and maintaining efficient production schedules, ensuring customer demand is achieved while maximising production efficiency, managing stock availability and reducing unnecessary downtime and changeovers.

The role would suit someone with previous production planning or scheduling experience within a fast-paced manufacturing environment, ideally food or FMCG.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain production schedules across manufacturing lines
• Import and review forecasts to support production planning decisions
• Use ERP/MRP planning systems to create and manage production schedules
• Monitor stock levels and product availability
• Analyse forecast versus actual sales and highlight potential issues
• Work closely with Production, Supply Chain, Purchasing and other departments to ensure smooth production flow
• Optimise production schedules to minimise downtime and unnecessary changeovers
• Consider allergen requirements when planning production sequences
• Maintain and update capacity plans
• Monitor raw material and packaging availability against production requirements
• Ensure materials are available for planned works orders
• Maintain BOM information for packaging and raw material requirements
• Monitor customer service levels and support corrective actions where required
• Manage shelf-life and BBE considerations within the production plan
• Produce regular planning, stock and operational reports

About You

You will ideally have:

• At least 2 years' experience within production planning or production scheduling
• Experience working within food, FMCG or another fast-paced manufacturing environment
• Previous exposure to ERP, MRP or production planning systems
• Strong organisational and planning skills
• Excellent attention to detail
• Good analytical and problem-solving ability
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills
• The ability to work effectively across multiple departments
• Confidence working with production data, forecasts, stock levels and capacity information

Experience of food manufacturing, allergen management, shelf-life planning or high-volume SKU environments would be particularly advantageous.