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).