Production Planner

First Base; Tewkesbury; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

First Base is seeking an experienced Master Planner to join a well-established manufacturing business in Tewkesbury. You will create and manage production plans that balance demand, capacity, and material availability while ensuring delivery commitments.

The role requires strong analytical capability, attention to detail and the ability to operate in a fast-paced environment, working with Production, Supply Chain and Customer Services to communicate schedules and recovery actions.

Qualifications

• 3+ years in production planning or scheduling within manufacturing.
• Experience using ERP systems for planning.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent organizational and communication abilities.

Responsibilities

• Create and manage production plans and manufacturing orders in line with demand, capacity, material availability and service requirements.
• Implement and maintain capacity planning and finite scheduling processes across agreed production areas.
• Monitor production progress, schedule adherence and planning performance metrics.
• Produce reports and dashboards to support operational decision-making and provide actionable planning insights.
• Identify bottlenecks, shortages, capacity constraints and delivery risks, escalating issues with clear recovery or reprioritisation options.

Skills

Production planning

Scheduling

ERP systems

Tools

SAP

Job description

Master Planner

Location: Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire

Salary: Competitive

Job Type: Full-time, Permanent

The Role

We are recruiting for an experienced Master Planner to join a well-established manufacturing business based in Tewkesbury. This is a key position responsible for creating and managing production plans that balance customer demand, manufacturing capacity, material availability, quality standards and service commitments.

The successful candidate will work closely with Production, Supply Chain, Customer Services and other internal stakeholders to ensure accurate planning, effective scheduling and clear communication regarding delivery commitments, delays and recovery actions. The role requires strong analytical capability, attention to detail and the ability to operate effectively within a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Create and manage production plans and manufacturing orders in line with demand, capacity, material availability and service requirements.
• Implement and maintain capacity planning and finite scheduling processes across agreed production areas.
• Monitor production progress, schedule adherence and planning performance metrics.
• Produce reports and dashboards to support operational decision-making and provide actionable planning insights.
• Identify bottlenecks, shortages, capacity constraints and delivery risks, escalating issues with clear recovery or reprioritisation options.
• Provide timely updates to Customer Services and customer-facing stakeholders regarding order status, delivery dates, delays and recovery plans.
• Support Sales and Operations Planning activities and maintain accurate ERP planning data.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of planning tools, scheduling processes and reporting methods.

About You

• A minimum of 3 years’ experience in production planning, capacity planning, supply chain planning or production scheduling within a manufacturing environment.
• Experience using an ERP system for planning activities.
• Experience supporting the implementation or improvement of capacity planning, production scheduling or finite scheduling processes.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to interpret planning data and performance metrics.
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft 365 applications, particularly Excel.
• Excellent organisational skills and strong attention to detail.
• The ability to work independently and collaboratively as part of a wider operational team.
• Confident communication skills with the ability to liaise effectively with both internal stakeholders and customer-facing teams.
• A proactive and self-motivated approach with the ability to perform well under pressure.
• An understanding of lean manufacturing principles and structured problem-solving techniques.

Desirable Experience

• SAP experience would be advantageous.
• Experience communicating production plans, delivery risks and recovery actions directly to customers or customer-facing teams would be beneficial.

What We’re Looking For

• Strong production planning and scheduling capability
• Excellent analytical and reporting skills
• Effective stakeholder management and communication
• Structured and disciplined approach to systems and processes
• Resilience, initiative and a collaborative working style