Production Scheduler

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.