Manufacturing Planner in London

Planner – Manufacturing / Production

Location:

Peterborough

Salary:

£45,000 per annum

Hours:

Monday to Friday

Type:

Permanent

Working Pattern:

Office based The Role

This is a planning role for someone who likes making sure all the moving parts actually move in the right order. You'll take customer sales orders and turn them into a practical, realistic plan — making sure the materials are available, production is scheduled, fit-out is organised, logistics are lined up and everything comes together when it needs to. Simple in theory. In reality, there are suppliers, lead times, production capacity, changing priorities, customer expectations, stock levels and the occasional curveball thrown in for good measure. That's where you come in. You'll sit right in the middle of the operation, working across Sales, Procurement, Production, Operations and Logistics to make sure customer demand can actually be delivered. This role needs someone who understands manufacturing and knows that planning is not just putting dates into a system. It's about understanding what needs to happen, when it needs to happen, what could stop it happening and getting ahead of problems before they become expensive ones. What You'll Be Doing

Reviewing incoming sales orders and translating them into detailed production and delivery plans

Planning material requirements against customer demand

Ensuring the correct materials are available at the right time to support production

Liaising with suppliers and procurement teams around availability, lead times and potential shortages

Raising or supporting purchase requirements where necessary

Planning production schedules around capacity, materials, labour and customer deadlines

Coordinating fit-out activity and making sure it is sequenced correctly within the wider production plan

Planning logistics and delivery requirements to ensure finished products reach customers on time

Monitoring live orders from initial order through to completion and dispatch

Keeping a close eye on lead times and flagging potential delays early

Reviewing production capacity and adjusting schedules when priorities change

Working with Production Managers to understand what is realistically achievable

Liaising with Sales teams to manage customer expectations and provide accurate delivery information

Identifying bottlenecks before they cause bigger problems

Replanning quickly when materials are delayed, customer orders change or production priorities shift

Maintaining accurate planning and scheduling information within internal systems

Monitoring stock levels and material availability

Helping balance customer demand against production capability

Supporting procurement activity and supplier communication where required

Coordinating across multiple departments so everyone is working from the same plan

Producing planning reports and highlighting risks, shortages or capacity issues

Supporting continuous improvement around planning, scheduling and operational efficiency

What You'll Need

This is the non-negotiable bit: You MUST have previous experience working within a manufacturing or production environment. You need to understand how production actually works. That means understanding lead times, materials, capacity, priorities, production schedules and the knock-on effect when one thing changes. We're ideally looking for someone with experience in: Manufacturing or production planning

Production scheduling

Material planning

Demand planning

Sales order planning

Capacity planning

Coordinating production against customer deadlines

Working closely with Procurement, Production and Logistics teams

Managing changing priorities in a fast-moving environment

Using ERP / MRP systems

Communicating with suppliers and internal teams

Identifying shortages, delays and potential planning issues

Working with production lead times and customer delivery dates

Procurement experience would definitely be beneficial. If you've had responsibility for ordering materials, dealing with suppliers, monitoring lead times or managing shortages, even better. What Will Make You Good At This

You'll need to be organised. Properly organised. Not “I have a nice notebook and three different coloured highlighters” organised. You need to be able to look at multiple live orders, competing priorities, material availability and production capacity and still know what needs attention first. Strong communication skills are also a must. You'll be speaking to Sales, Production, Procurement, Logistics, suppliers and management — and quite often you'll be the person joining all those conversations together. You'll need to be confident enough to ask questions, chase information and push back when timelines are unrealistic. You'll also need to stay calm when the plan changes. Because it will. What You Might Not Like

If you need every day to go exactly as planned, this role may test your patience. Manufacturing has a habit of throwing things at you. A supplier misses a delivery. A customer changes an order. Production capacity suddenly changes. Something needs to be expedited. Someone wants an answer immediately. And apparently everything was needed yesterday. You'll need to be comfortable juggling priorities without losing sight of the bigger picture. This is also an

office-based role in Peterborough , so it won't suit someone looking for fully remote or heavily hybrid working. You'll be close to the operation, close to the teams and close to the detail. That's exactly how the business wants it. What To Do Next

If you have solid

planning and scheduling experience within manufacturing or production

and you enjoy being the person who keeps everything moving, I'd like to speak to you. I'm particularly interested in hearing from people who can talk confidently about: How you've planned production around customer demand

How you've managed material availability and shortages

How you've worked with Procurement and Production teams

How you've handled changing priorities

How you've kept customers or internal teams updated when plans change

If that sounds like you,

apply NOW and let's chat.

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