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Production Scheduler

Job Reference: 240726/cj1

Manufacturing and Production
Ashford, Kent
£34000 - £37000 per annum
Permanent

Job Title: Production Scheduler
Location: Ashford (Must have own transport due to location)
Job Type: Full time/permanent
Salary: £34,000 - £37,000 per annum (dependent on experience)

Job Purpose:

Coordinate and control production planning and scheduling to meet customer delivery commitments, balancing capacity, labour and material availability.

Key Responsibilities:

Planning & Production Scheduling

  • Build, maintain and update the master production plan to support on time customer deliveries.

  • Convert confirmed demand into a workable schedule based on capacity, labour and material constraints.

  • Check and confirm customer orders before releasing them into the plan.

  • Lock orders into agreed production weeks and manage any subsequent changes.

  • Issue and distribute work orders across the relevant manufacturing areas.

  • Track jobs from schedule release through to completion and dispatch readiness.

  • Re-prioritise the plan for urgent requirements without compromising overall efficiency.

Capacity & Workload Management

  • Review available machine and labour capacity and flag resourcing gaps where required.

  • Work alongside department leads to smooth workload across lines/departments and prevent overloading.

  • Identify pinch points, bottlenecks and constraints, and propose practical solutions.

  • Support short, medium and longer term planning to improve utilisation and throughput.

Materials & Supplier Coordination

  • Partner with Procurement to ensure materials are in place before production start dates.

  • Keep visibility on shortages, supplier lead times and delivery promises.

  • Adjust production plans and coordinate revisions when materials are delayed or incomplete.

Dispatch & Customer Delivery

  • Prepare weekly dispatch plans aligned to customer due dates and production output.

  • Ensure export orders are scheduled, prepared and shipped within required timescales.

  • Align delivery priorities with Sales and Customer Service to manage expectations and commitments.

Communication, Meetings & Updates

  • Attend daily production meetings and provide clear status updates against the plan.

  • Maintain regular contact with Sales and Customer Service on lead times, progress and delivery risks.

  • Communicate schedule changes promptly to operational teams and stakeholders.

Documentation, Reporting & Continuous Improvement

  • Produce planning paperwork and supporting production documentation as required.

  • Measure adherence to the schedule, investigate variances and report exceptions.

  • Highlight opportunities to improve planning methods, information flow and cross-team coordination.

  • Contribute to initiatives that improve factory efficiency, service levels and internal communication.

What We're Looking For:

  • Previous experience in production planning, scheduling, or manufacturing coordination.

  • Background in a manufacturing/production environment (factory-based planning exposure)..

  • Clear communicator with a practical, solutions-focused approach to problems.

  • Good Microsoft Office skills, especially Excel (filters, formulas, pivots desirable).

  • Experience using ERP/MRP systems and working with live production data.

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