Lead Supply Planner

Birstall West Yorkshire
35000 - 41000 DOE
Performance Bonus & Exceptional Benefits

37.5 Hrs per week Mon Fri

Fixed Term Contract 12 Months (With potential for extension)

Why Join Us

At Mars we are a family-owned business driven by our Five Principles: Quality Responsibility Mutuality Efficiency and Freedom. The world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today.

At our Birstall site we produce some of the worlds most beloved Petcare and Care & Treats brands. Joining us as a Lead Supply Planner means you are the heartbeat of our on-site supply chain ensuring our production lines run smoothly and our products reach millions of pets worldwide.

We are committed to your personal and professional growth offering world-class training through Mars University and a highly supportive team environment.

The Role

As the Lead Supply Planner you will play a pivotal role in bridging the gap between demand site operations and inventory execution. You will own and drive the short-term 02 week planning operating window optimising our production schedules using PDLS and Kinaxis to consistently meet Birstalls critical site tonnage commitments.

In this role you will be the absolute authority on immediate execution working together with site production teams and Line Managers. For planning horizons beyond the 2-week window you will actively partner with and support our Central Planning team to ensure seamless alignment from mid-term strategy to daily execution.

Alongside our dedicated Material Planners (who manage raw material Silo and packaging flows within SAP) you will collaborate closely with system Key Users to drive data integrity and work with Outbound Planners to guarantee a synchronised flow from the factory floor all the way to finished goods distribution to UK & EU markets.

Whats in it for you

• Structured Development: Direct access to Mars University structured career paths and tailored professional training.
• Health & Wellness: Onsite gym private healthcare equal parental leave and access to on-site wellness specialists (nurse osteopath podiatrist).
• Financial Security: Generous pension scheme (up to 9% company contribution) performance bonus and life assurance (4x salary).
• Life Balance: Annual leave starting at 24 days (rising to 32 with service) hybrid work options and standard Mon - Fri hours.
• On-Site Perks: Free parking a subsidised hot food restaurant and plenty of pet-friendly perks!

What Were Looking For

• Relevant Experience: Solid background in factory scheduling production planning or detailed supply planning within a fast-moving manufacturing environment (FMCG experience is a major plus).
• Technical Expertise: Strong working knowledge of scheduling systems - ideally PDLS and Kinaxis. Exposure to SAP is highly beneficial as you will coordinate daily with our Material Planners.
• Agile Execution: Proven ability to thrive in a rapid-response short-term (02 week) operating horizon where quick problem-solving and decision-making are required.
• Collaborative Leadership: Excellent communication skills with a track record of building trusted relationships with on-site Line Managers production teams system Key Users Outbound Planners and central capacity planning teams.
• People Developer: A passion for coaching and developing team members helping them step up into Logistics Champions across continuous improvement L&D and health & safety.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop maintain and optimise weekly production schedules to ensure efficient site operations capacity utilisation and customer service delivery.
• Monitor daily tonnage and production metrics making real-time scheduling adjustments to support operational performance.
• Lead and participate in cross-functional planning meetings including Capacity Planning logistics crewing and factory operations forums to ensure alignment across the site.
• Manage production running orders labour planning and scheduling priorities ensuring resources are aligned with operational and customer demands.
• Conduct weekly plant and planning reviews analysing key performance indicators including Customer Service Levels (CSL) tonnage waste and case fill to drive continuous improvement.
• Support forward capacity planning forecast maintenance outage management packaging requirements and implementation of operational change initiatives to maintain production efficiency and service levels.

What You Can Expect from Mars

• Work alongside 130000 Associates worldwide guided by our Five Principles
• Be part of a purpose-driven company shaping the world we want tomorrow
• Access world-class training & development from day one
• Join a company with an industry-leading salary and benefits package