Production Planner

Production Planner – Manufacturing - Cannock
We are looking for an experienced Production Planner to take overall responsibility for manufacturing planning, shop-floor performance and Health & Safety within a busy manufacturing environment.
This is a hands-on management position responsible for ensuring customer schedules and production targets are achieved while maintaining high standards across quality, efficiency, safety and continuous improvement.
Key Responsibilities
* Plan and manage production across the shop floor to ensure customer delivery schedules and monthly targets are achieved.
* Work closely with department supervisors to effectively plan labour, machinery and production capacity.
* Manage and support Shop Floor Supervisors, Welding Supervisors, Lead Welders, Toolmakers and associated production teams.
* Assist with the recruitment and resourcing of direct labour in line with manufacturing requirements.
* Monitor and improve manufacturing KPIs including operator efficiency, machine capacity, changeover times, attendance and productivity.
* Lead weekly production meetings, identifying potential issues and escalating concerns where required.
* Provide production and KPI updates at management meetings.
* Work closely with the Quality team to resolve internal and external quality concerns and support first-off/last-off inspections.
* Identify and implement opportunities for continuous improvement, productivity improvements and operational efficiencies.
* Support the NPI team with new product introductions and engineering changes.
* Ensure compliance with company Health & Safety requirements.
* Support Environmental Management System requirements and environmental compliance.
* Maintain manufacturing operations in accordance with IATF 16949 quality requirements.
About You
We are looking for someone with strong experience managing production within a manufacturing or engineering environment.
You will ideally have:
* Previous experience as a Production Manager, Manufacturing Manager, Production Supervisor or similar.
* Strong production planning and shop-floor management experience.
* Experience managing and developing production teams.
* A good understanding of manufacturing KPIs and performance management.
* Experience driving continuous improvement and improving productivity.
* Strong Health & Safety awareness.
* Experience working within a quality-driven manufacturing environment.
* Knowledge of IATF 16949 would be highly advantageous, particularly within automotive or automotive supply-chain manufacturing.
* Strong communication, leadership and problem-solving skills.
* The ability to work closely with Operations, Quality, Engineering and NPI teams.
The Opportunity
This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced manufacturing professional to take ownership of day-to-day production performance and play a key role in improving operational efficiency