Production Scheduler

Production Scheduler

Location: Hailsham, East Sussex (BN27 4EL)
Salary: Competitive, depending on experience
Contract: Full Time, Permanent
Benefits include: 25 days’ holiday, Private medical insurance, Salary sacrifice company pension, Life insurance, State-of-the-art manufacturing environment and Ongoing opportunities to develop your career within a growing engineering business

Great manufacturing needs a great plan. That’s where you come in.

What does it take to make sure precision-engineered technology for organisations like NASA, CERN and the European Space Agency gets manufactured and delivered when it should?

A seriously well-organised production schedule.

At VACGEN, we’ve spent more than 60 years designing and manufacturing ultra-high vacuum technology used in some of the world’s most advanced scientific and technological applications.

Behind those products is a busy manufacturing operation, and we’re looking for an experienced Production Scheduler to help keep everything moving.

If you’re naturally organised, good with numbers and systems, and the kind of person who can see a potential problem coming and do something about it, you could be exactly who we’re looking for.

What will you be doing?

You'll be right at the centre of our manufacturing operation, turning customer demand into an achievable production plan.

Working closely with Sales, Engineering, Manufacturing and Supply Chain, you'll make sure everyone has visibility of what's coming, what needs to happen next and where potential challenges might arise.

This is much more than updating a spreadsheet.

You'll need to understand capacity, workload, priorities and delivery commitments, balancing all four to create realistic schedules that help us deliver for our customers.

Day to day, you'll be:

• Taking ownership of production scheduling across our Manufacturing Cells.
• Working with Sales to review orders and agree realistic customer delivery dates before orders are entered.
• Planning products through manufacturing and keeping a close eye on progress against schedule.
• Working with Cell Leaders to keep production on track and achieve On-Time Delivery targets.
• Acting as an important link between Sales, Engineering, Manufacturing and Supply Chain.
• Using our order management and ERP systems to maintain accurate, visible production information.
• Reviewing available capacity against current and future workload.
• Identifying critical parts, bottlenecks and potential delays before they impact delivery.
• Working with colleagues to resolve scheduling and production issues when priorities change.
• Monitoring shipping performance and helping drive improvements in On-Time Delivery.
• Producing and publishing key production metrics and performance information.
• Supporting colleagues across Production and Purchasing during periods of absence.

Ultimately, you’ll be the person helping everyone understand what needs to happen, when it needs to happen and what could prevent us from getting there.

What are we looking for?

We’re looking for someone who enjoys bringing order to a busy manufacturing environment.

You'll be comfortable juggling competing priorities without losing sight of the bigger picture, and confident making decisions rather than waiting for somebody else to make them for you.

When plans change, you remain calm, work through the information and find the best way forward.

You’ll need:

• Previous experience in a production planning, scheduling, manufacturing planning or similar role.
• Excellent organisational skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Strong communication skills and the confidence to work with people across different departments.
• Good analytical and numerical skills.
• Strong systems knowledge and good Excel skills.
• The ability to assess information, make decisions within agreed guidelines and take ownership of them.
• The confidence to work under pressure and keep things moving when priorities change.
• A degree-level qualification or equivalent experience.
• Even better if you have:
• Previous ERP/MRP planning experience.
• Knowledge of Microsoft Dynamics AX.
• Experience working within a manufacturing, engineering or assembly environment.
• Experience with capacity planning and load-versus-capacity analysis.
• A strong understanding of production lead times and On-Time Delivery.
• Experience working across Manufacturing, Sales and Supply Chain teams.

For us, the right person is someone who can look beyond today's production schedule and think ahead. You'll spot potential pressure points early, ask the right questions and help the wider team stay one step ahead.

Why VACGEN?

Because you're not planning the production of everyday products.

The schedules you create will ultimately support the manufacture of precision technology used in space exploration, particle physics, semiconductor technology and advanced scientific research.

That makes production planning at VACGEN genuinely interesting.

You'll be joining a modern manufacturing business where your role has visibility across the operation and where a good Production Scheduler can make a noticeable difference.

You'll work closely with people across Sales, Engineering, Manufacturing and Supply Chain, giving you a real understanding of the complete journey from customer order through to finished product.

And as VACGEN continues to grow and invest in its manufacturing capabilities, you'll have the opportunity to help improve how we plan, schedule and deliver, rather than simply maintaining the status quo.

Are you the person who can keep it all moving?

If you're an experienced Production Scheduler or Planner who enjoys solving problems, balancing priorities and making sure the right things happen at the right time, we'd love to hear from you.

Apply today and help keep world-class engineering moving from order to delivery.

Occasional travel to customer or other business locations may be required. Reasonable notice will be provided and authorised travel expenses will be reimbursed.

VACGEN is committed to creating an inclusive and diverse workplace and is an equal opportunities employer.

No agencies please.