Production Planning Manager

Description

About Us
G&H is a world leader in optical designing, testing and manufacturing. As experts in the technology of light, G&H works with customers to provide optical systems, assemblies, and components for demanding applications.

Headquartered in Ilminster Somerset, UK with primary operations in the USA and Europe, G&H is recognized for the breadth of their acousto-optic, electro-optic, crystal-optic, fiber optic, and precision optic products. G&H is recognized as the preferred source for OEMs in the life sciences, industrial, and aerospace and defense industries, with a history of quality and excellence that dates back over seventy-five years.

G&H offers exciting and rewarding opportunities for motivated and talented people to join a team of like-minded, highly skilled colleagues who want to grow and succeed with our company.

Hiring talent to complement and grow our current teams’ skills and capabilities is a strategic priority to enable our plans for growth.

Our seven business locations in the United States and four UK-based businesses employ across a broad range of functions including engineering and process, manufacturing, product management, supply chain and customer services, quality assurance, continuous improvement, compliance and finance.

The Role

We are seeking a Manager, Production Planning to lead the production planning function and partner closely with Operations to build and maintain a realistic, executable production plan that supports customer delivery, improves throughput, and stabilizes day-to-day operations in a high-mix, low-volume manufacturing environment.

This role is responsible for translating demand into actionable production schedules, aligning manufacturing capacity and material availability, and ensuring clear visibility to production priorities across the shop floor. The Manager, Production Planning will also provide day-to-day leadership for the production planning team while driving planning discipline, process improvements, and cross-functional collaboration.

The ideal candidate is hands-on, detail-oriented, and comfortable operating in a fast-paced manufacturing environment where planning plays a critical role in operational performance.

Key Responsibilities

Production Planning & Scheduling

• Lead the development, execution, and maintenance of production schedules to support customer delivery commitments and manufacturing priorities. 
• Develop and maintain the Master Production Schedule (MPS), ensuring alignment between demand, manufacturing capacity, and material availability. 
• Monitor schedule performance and adjust production priorities to address changing customer requirements or operational constraints. 

Capacity & Material Planning

• Perform rough-cut capacity planning and material requirements planning to support efficient manufacturing execution. 
• Identify capacity constraints and work closely with Operations to develop practical solutions. 
• Maintain planning parameters and support inventory optimization while minimizing production disruptions. 

Team Leadership

• Provide day-to-day leadership, coaching, and development for the production planning team. 
• Establish priorities, monitor workload, and promote planning best practices across the department. 
• Foster collaboration and accountability within the planning function. 

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with Operations, Procurement, Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, Customer Service, and Logistics to resolve planning challenges and align production priorities. 
• Lead regular planning meetings to communicate schedules, risks, and recovery plans. 
• Support Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) activities by providing production planning input. 

Performance & Continuous Improvement

• Monitor key planning metrics including schedule adherence, on-time delivery, throughput, work-in-process, and inventory performance. 
• Identify opportunities to improve planning accuracy, scheduling efficiency, and manufacturing performance. 
• Support continuous improvement initiatives and drive adoption of standardized planning processes. 

Issue Resolution

• Respond to production disruptions, material shortages, and changing customer priorities by adjusting production plans and coordinating cross-functional solutions. 
• Escalate significant planning risks and recommend corrective actions to Operations leadership. 

Performance Measures

• Schedule Adherence / Plan Attainment 
• On-Time Delivery (OTD) 
• Work Order Throughput 
• Capacity Utilization 
• Backlog Management 
• Work-in-Process (WIP) 
• Inventory Turns 
• Planning Accuracy 

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, Business, or a related field. 
• 7+ years of production planning, manufacturing planning, or supply chain experience within a manufacturing environment. 
• Previous experience leading or supervising a production planning team preferred. 
• Experience in high-mix, low-volume manufacturing (optics, aerospace, medical devices, defense, or similar) strongly preferred. 
• Experience with ERP/MRP systems such as SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, or equivalent. 
• Strong understanding of production scheduling, capacity planning, material planning, and manufacturing operations. 

Skills & Competencies

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills. 
• Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration. 
• Leadership experience with the ability to coach and develop team members. 
• Advanced ERP/MRP and Microsoft Excel proficiency. 
• Knowledge of Lean Manufacturing and continuous improvement methodologies. 
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage competing priorities. 

Personal Attributes

• Hands-on leader who enjoys working closely with Operations. 
• Strong sense of ownership and accountability. 
• Collaborative and relationship-focused. 
• Calm under pressure and adaptable in a dynamic manufacturing environment. 
• Results-oriented with a continuous improvement mindset.

ADDITIONAL NOTES
 

This job description is not intended to be exhaustive in every respect, but rather to clearly define the fundamental purpose, responsibilities and dimensions for the role. Therefore, this job description does not describe any individual role holder. In addition to the contents of this job description, employees are expected to undertake all other reasonable and related tasks allocated by their line manager

The Company is committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all employees and applicants for employment. The Company does not discriminate in employment opportunity or practices on the grounds of gender, race, religion or belief, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by national laws under which the Company operates.

Please note that this position will involve having access to items and technical data that may be controlled under U.S. export laws and regulations ("U.S. Export Control Laws"), including but not limited to the Export Administration Regulations ("EAR") and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations ("ITAR"). To comply with the U.S. Export Control Laws, G&H must assess whether candidates are "U.S. persons" as defined under the EAR (15 C.F.R. Part 772) and the ITAR (22 C.F.R.  § 120.15).  Certain questions asked during the application process are intended to assess this and will be used for compliance purposes only.