Production Planning Manager Macfarlane Group UK Ltd in Grantham

Location: Alma Park Industrial Estate, Grantham, Lincolnshire

Sector: Bespoke Packaging Manufacturing

Package: Basic annual salary £40,000-£45,000 + bonus & benefits

Protecting what matters, together. At Macfarlane Packaging, we protect what matters most - our people, our customers, our communities, and the environment. With over 75 years of heritage, we combine the security of a long-established UK manufacturer with a progressive, continuous-improvement mindset. Our culture is collaborative, supportive and results driven. You will be encouraged to challenge, improve and influence - with genuine opportunities for development, progression, and long term career satisfaction.

Role: We are seeking an experienced Production Planning Manager to lead production planning and scheduling at our Grantham manufacturing site. Our Design & Manufacturing division specialises in bespoke protective packaging solutions, serving customers across Aerospace, Defence, Electronics, Industrial and Medical sectors throughout the UK. Reporting to the Operations Manager, you will ensure production is planned and delivered efficiently, cost effectively and in line with customer requirements, while driving continuous improvement across planning, resource utilisation, and output.

Key Responsibilities:

• Own end-to-end production planning and scheduling for the Grantham manufacturing operation.
• Balance demand, capacity, materials, and labour to meet OTIF, efficiency and cost targets.
• Lead daily production planning meetings and manage short-term schedule changes.
• Monitor performance data and KPIs, driving corrective action and continuous improvement.
• Line manage and develop the Planning Coordinator and Production Section Leaders.
• Work closely with Sales, Production, Transport and Senior Management to align plans and priorities.

What you will bring:

Essential:

• Excellent customer service is essential whilst optimising the production schedule for best efficiencies.
• Proven experience in production planning within a manufacturing environment, ideally at supervisory or management level.
• Strong working knowledge of capacity planning, scheduling, lead time management, and workflow control.
• Hands on experience using ERP/MRP systems to manage production plans, materials, and demand.
• Demonstrable ability to manage production costs, labour planning, and output against budget and KPI targets.
• Confident people manager with experience leading, developing, and coordinating planning/production teams.
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret production data and translate it into practical actions.
• Excellent communication skills, with a customer focused mindset and the confidence to challenge where needed.
• Comfortable working on site full time in Grantham - applicants should live within a sensible daily commute or be genuine relocators.

Desirable:

• Experience within bespoke, make to order or low volume/high mix manufacturing environments.
• Exposure to packaging manufacturing or similar engineered product environments.
• Formal or practical experience of Lean / Continuous Improvement tools (Lean, 5S, SMED, TQM, Six Sigma).
• Experience contributing to or managing planned preventative maintenance (PPM) programmes.
• Supply chain, operations or planning qualifications (e.g. APICS / CPIM) or equivalent experience.

What you will get:

• 23 days annual leave (rising with service) plus bank holidays.
• Contributory pension scheme.
• Bonus and incentive opportunities.
• Free on site parking.
• Employee assistance and wellbeing support.
• Extensive training, development, and progression opportunities.
• Employee discount schemes and mobile phone discounts.
• Health, dental and family-friendly benefits for qualifying roles.
• Long service awards and charitable giving options.

Macfarlane Group is committed to maximising every employee's potential, offering clear development pathways in an environment that supports growth and continuous improvement. We welcome applications from all backgrounds.