Position Title: Production Planner
Location: Al Quoz Industrial Area, Dubai, UAE
Department: Operations / Manufacturing
Reporting To: Production Manager / Operations Manager
Role Summary
As a Production Planner, you will be responsible for planning, scheduling, and coordinating production activities to ensure that manufacturing targets, delivery schedules, and quality standards are met. You will act as a bridge between various departments (sales, procurement, production, quality control, and logistics) to optimize resource usage, minimize lead times, and maintain smooth operations.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop and maintain the master production schedule (MPS) based on forecast, sales orders, and capacity constraints
- Translate the MPS into detailed shop-floor schedules (daily, weekly)
- Coordinate with procurement and materials planning teams to ensure timely availability of raw materials, components, and tooling
- Monitor inventory levels (raw materials, WIP, finished goods), and trigger replenishment when needed
- Plan and allocate machine time, labor, tooling, and fixtures optimally
- Monitor production progress in real time; track any deviations from plan and initiate corrective measures
- Work closely with maintenance, quality, and engineering teams to minimize downtime, resolve bottlenecks, and maintain on-time delivery
- Liaise with sales, customer service, and logistics to align production with delivery commitments and customer requirements
- Conduct regular production reviews, status meetings, and provide forecasts and updates to senior management
- Generate performance reports, KPIs, and metrics (e.g., schedule adherence, capacity utilization, on-time delivery, yield)
- Implement process improvements and continuous improvement initiatives to boost efficiency, reduce waste, and enhance throughput
- Ensure adherence to safety, quality, and regulatory standards in all production planning activities
- Assist in new product introduction (NPI) planning, tooling changeovers, ramp-up planning
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) & Metrics
- Schedule adherence / on-time production
- Capacity utilization (%)
- Production yield / wastage rate
- Lead time (order to delivery)
- Inventory turnover
- Downtime (planned vs unplanned)
- Number of schedule changes / disruptions
- Cost variances (labor, materials)
Working Conditions
- Close interaction with cross-functional teams (production, maintenance, QA, supply chain)
- Regular reporting to senior management
Skills
Qualifications & Experience
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical / Industrial / Chemical / Manufacturing Engineering, or equivalent
- Minimum 5 years of experience as a Production Planner or similar role, ideally in plastic packaging, moulds/dies, or manufacturing of rigid components
- Familiarity with injection moulding, blow moulding, extrusion, and other plastic processing techniques is a plus
- Strong understanding of lean manufacturing, capacity planning, MRP/ERP systems
- Proficiency in production planning tools, ERP (SAP, Oracle, or similar), MS Excel, and data analysis
- Good problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and ability to work under pressure
- Excellent communication and coordination skills (cross-functional)
- Ability to work in a fast-paced production environment with multiple product lines
- Fluent in English
- Strong organizational mindset and proactive attitude