Scheduling and Planning Manager

Summary:

The Planning and Scheduling Manager is responsible for overseeing all production planning and scheduling activities across the organization. This role ensures that production plans are realistic, aligned with capacity and material availability, and executed effectively to meet customer delivery, cost, and quality targets.

The manager leads the planning team, drives consistency in planning processes, and ensures cross-functional alignment between engineering, materials, production, and customer service. This position plays a critical role in stabilizing production flow, improving on-time delivery, and reducing schedule disruptions.

Essential Duties, Responsibilities and Accountabilities:

(Include the following; however, other duties may apply.)

Team Leadership and Management

· Directly manage and develop the planning and scheduling team, including Master Planners.

· Set clear expectations for planning accuracy, schedule adherence, and communication.

· Conduct performance management, coaching, and development planning.

· Standardize planning practices across discrete and stock manufacturing workflows.

Production Planning Oversight

· Oversee creation and execution of all production schedules across departments.

· Ensure alignment between demand, capacity, and material availability.

· Review and approve priority plans, sequencing, and scheduling strategies.

· Ensure effective coordination of multi-operation job flow across departments.

Cross-Functional Alignment

· Partner with Engineering to validate routing, machining times, and program readiness.

· Collaborate with Materials Management to ensure material availability supports schedules.

· Align with Customer Service on delivery commitments, risks, and changes.

· Serve as the escalation point for schedule conflicts, bottlenecks, and delays.

Execution and Performance Management

· Monitor schedule adherence, on-time delivery, and production flow performance.

· Identify risks to production schedules and implement corrective actions.

· Drive consistent handling of expedited orders and priority changes.

· Ensure accurate communication of delays, impacts, and recovery plans.

Systems, Data, and Process Improvement

· Ensure effective use of ERP and planning tools (Epicor, Smartsheet, etc.).

· Establish and track key planning metrics (on-time delivery, schedule attainment, lead time).

· Analyze trends and identify opportunities to improve planning accuracy and efficiency.

· Improve planning processes, data integrity, and documentation standards.

Operational Leadership

· Maintain a strong presence on the production floor to stay connected to execution.

· Drive accountability for schedule adherence across production teams.

· Support continuous improvement efforts related to flow, throughput, and lead times.

· Ensure planning supports both high-mix, custom jobs and standard production work.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

· Direct supervision of planning and scheduling team members.

· Responsible for hiring, performance evaluations, coaching, and disciplinary actions.

· Provides direction to cross-functional teams regarding scheduling priorities and execution expectations.

Qualifications:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to carry out each essential duty with competence and professionalism. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Education and/or Experience: A bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Operations Management, or a related field is preferred. Equivalent experience in production planning, scheduling, or manufacturing operations may be considered. The ideal candidate will have at least five years of relevant experience in a high-mix, fast-paced manufacturing

environment, along with prior leadership experience managing or developing teams. Experience working with ERP systems and production planning tools is strongly preferred.

Language skills: Must be able to read, interpret, and communicate technical documents such as production orders, engineering prints, safety protocols, and scheduling guidelines. The ability to communicate clearly and effectively, both verbally and in writing, is essential for collaboration with cross-functional teams and for maintaining alignment across departments.

Mathematical Skills: Must be proficient in performing basic mathematical calculations and applying them to practical planning scenarios, including labor and material cost assessments, lead time calculations, and capacity planning. Familiarity with unit conversions (e.g., metric to imperial) is necessary, as is the ability to interpret quantitative data from planning and reporting tools.

Reasoning Ability: Must possess strong analytical and critical-thinking skills, with the ability to define problems, evaluate multiple variables, and make informed decisions under time constraints. The role requires interpreting complex technical inputs—such as process flows, capacity constraints, and engineering revisions—and applying sound judgment to ensure production continuity and schedule adherence.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.