Interim Production Planning Specialist for Danish Food Production Company

Nextt & Mason AB; Tulsa (OK); On-site; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Nextt & Mason AB is seeking an Interim Production Planning Specialist to support a Danish food producer operating 24/6 with a four-shift system. The role focuses on stabilizing daily material availability for the next 24-48 hours while mapping and improving underlying planning processes and workflows.

You will work closely with production, warehouse, procurement, R&D and IT to reduce firefighting and overtime.

Qualifications

• Solid experience with production planning and supply chain in manufacturing (food/process industry preferred).
• Experience identifying root causes of operational challenges and translating into improved processes and systems.
• Good understanding of IT systems and strong Excel skills; macros a plus.
• Operationally strong, able to handle day-to-day work while driving improvements.
• Clear, proactive communication to collaborate across functions.

Responsibilities

• Map current processes and workflows between planning, production, procurement and forecasting to identify optimization opportunities.
• Design and implement improved processes for stable, predictable operations in collaboration with IT.
• Ensure daily availability of meat and dry-matter ingredients for the next 24-48 hours.
• Prepare and continuously update daily plans, reconcile inventory figures and orders from external warehouse.
• Establish tools to measure actual consumption vs. plan to detect deviations early.
• Contribute strong IT understanding to support and simplify daily workflows.
• Collaborate with shift management to align expectations and improve daily communication.
• Leave behind documented, lasting improvements for the department.

Skills

Production planning

Supply chain

Excel

Process improvement

Root cause analysis

IT systems

Team collaboration

Communication

Tools

ERP systems

MS Excel

Job description

Our client is a Danish food production company that manufactures animal feed on a large scale with continuous production - 24 hours a day, 6 days a week, across four shifts. The company has a complex supply chain with a complex product and bill-of-materials universe, as well as its own remote warehouse and external suppliers of meat and dry-matter ingredients.

The need for an interim profile arises from an extended parental leave period as well as the need for an experienced resource for daily operations, optimization, and process improvements. The assignment is therefore urgent.

The Interim Production Planning Specialist will have a dual mandate: on one hand, to ensure stable daily operations with correct material availability for production over the coming 24-48 hours, and on the other, to map and improve the underlying processes and workflows so that the department can, going forward, avoid daily firefighting, urgent stock orders, and unplanned overtime.

The position reports to the Procurement & Planning Manager and is part of a three-person planning team consisting of a daily planner, a long-term master planner (10-week horizon), and this role. Close collaboration takes place with production (shift management), warehouse, procurement, R&D, and finance, as well as with the company's IT specialists on system support.

Responsibilities:

Map current processes and workflows between planning, production, procurement, and forecasting to identify where material flow can be optimized.

Design and implement improved processes that ensure stable and predictable operations, in collaboration with the company's IT specialists.

Ensure daily availability of meat and dry-matter ingredients for production needs over the coming 24-48 hours.

Prepare and continuously update the daily plans for meat and dry matter, including reconciliation of inventory figures and ordering from the external warehouse.

Handle and __?

Establish tools to measure actual consumption against plan, so that deviations can be detected and addressed early.

Contribute strong IT understanding to support and simplify the department's daily workflows.

Collaborate closely with shift management to align expectations and improve daily communication.

Leave behind documented, lasting improvements that the department can carry forward after the assignment ends.

Profile:

Solid experience with production planning and supply chain from a manufacturing company - preferably from the food or process industry.

Experience identifying root causes of operational challenges, as well as describing and improving processes and workflows that can be translated into systems.

Good understanding of IT systems and strong Excel skills (functions, lookups; knowledge of macros is an advantage).

Operationally strong and comfortable handling day-to-day operations while working in a structured way on improvements.

Clear and proactive communication style that fosters good collaboration across production, warehouse, procurement, and management.

Experience from similar interim or change management assignments is an advantage, but not a requirement.

Contact

We screen, evaluate and interview candidates on an ongoing basis.

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