Planning Manager

Planning Manager 6706

Location:

Bridgwater
Salary:
Competitive (DOE)

Hours:

08:00-16:30 Mon-Thu, 08:00-13:00 Fri

Job Description
An established and highly regarded manufacturing business is seeking a Planning Manager to join its operations leadership team at its Bridgwater site. This is a key role within the wider operations function, responsible for bridging commercial demand with production capability while leading and developing a dedicated planning team.
You’ll play a central role in external collaboration, stakeholder engagement, and production planning, ensuring orders flow smoothly through the business and customers receive a consistently high level of service. If you thrive in a fast-paced manufacturing environment and enjoy combining people leadership with operational problem-solving, this role offers genuine scope to make an impact.

Key Responsibilities
 
* Leading and developing a team of MPS Planners, managing workloads, performance, and development.
 
* Acting as a key interface between customer-facing teams, supply chain, and site operations.
 
* Ensuring accurate and timely processing of commercial enquiries and customer orders through the ERP system.
 
* Identifying capacity constraints, supply risks, and potential delivery issues, providing early visibility to stakeholders.
 
* Supporting production teams with order release, expediting, and demand prioritisation.
 
* Monitoring on-time delivery, backlog, arrears, and lead times, driving continuous improvement.
 
* Overseeing freight forwarder performance and cost control.
 
* Maintaining accurate documentation and records to meet audit and compliance requirements.
 
* Contributing to operational excellence and process improvement initiatives across the site.
Key Skills
 
* Experience in planning within manufacturing.
 
* Proven leadership or supervisory experience.
 
* Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to influence and negotiate.
 
* A solid understanding of production processes, order flow, and dispatch activities.
 
* Strong analytical skills and a high level of attention to detail.
 
* Confidence working with ERP systems and Microsoft Office (SAP or similar systems desirable)