Production Planner

PRODUCTION PLANNERDIP1, DubaiPosition PurposeThe Production Planner is responsible for converting customer demand and business priorities into a realistic, optimized and executable production plan, ensuring that capacity, materials, manpower, machines and production sequences are aligned with delivery and installation commitments.This is a key operational role connecting:Sales → Customer Fulfillment → Planning → Procurement → Warehouse → Production → Delivery → InstallationThe Production Planner owns the production plan, planning discipline, visibility and early identification of risks.The role is expected to actively challenge unrealistic commitments, identify constraints before they become problems, and drive recovery actions across functions.Experience5 to 10 years of relevant professional experience, with a strong track record in production planning, manufacturing planning, supply chain planning or a similar operational planning role.The candidate should have:

• Minimum 5 years of hands-on production planning experience.
• Experience in a manufacturing environment with high product variety, customer-specific orders and multiple production processes.
• Experience managing production plans across multiple work centers, lines or production areas.
• Proven experience in capacity planning and constraint management.
• Strong experience working with ERP/MRP systems.
• Experience coordinating Production, Procurement, Warehouse, Quality and Customer/Delivery functions.
• Demonstrated experience improving planning accuracy, production performance and delivery reliability.Experience in doors, furniture, cabinetry, closets, kitchens, joinery, woodworking, interior products or similar engineered-to-order manufacturing would be strongly preferred.Seniority ExpectationThis is not an entry-level planning position.We are looking for someone who has already experienced the realities of manufacturing planning and understands that a production plan is only valuable if the factory can actually execute it.The candidate should be confident enough to:
• Challenge Production when execution deviates from the agreed plan.
• Challenge Sales/Customer Fulfillment when commitments are not supported by capacity.
• Challenge Procurement when material availability puts production at risk.
• Escalate issues early rather than explain them after the deadline.
• Make decisions based on facts, priorities and business impact.
• Drive cross-functional recovery without waiting for management intervention.3. Technical CompetenceStrong knowledge of:
• Production planning and scheduling
• MRP / ERP
• Capacity planning
• Material requirements planning
• BOMs and routings
• Lead-time management
• Production sequencing
• Work-center planning
• Inventory and WIP management
• Bottleneck identification
• Production KPI management
• Excel and data analysis
• Root-cause analysis
• Continuous improvement / Lean manufacturingExperience with Odoo or a comparable ERP system is preferred.4. Leadership & Behavioural ProfileExperienced – understands manufacturing realities and does not rely purely on theoretical planning.Analytical – converts data into decisions and priorities.Structured – maintains discipline around planning, priorities and deadlines.Proactive – identifies risks before they become delivery problems.Assertive – comfortable challenging other functions when facts require it.Persistent – follows actions through to completion.Commercially aware – understands the direct relationship between production performance, Revenue and customer commitments.Transparent – never hides a problem to make the plan look better.Hands-on – spends time on the shop floor and understands what is really happening.Results-oriented – measures success through production output, delivery reliability and plan adherence rather than the number of reports produced.5. Position AgreementThe Production Planner agrees to:Own the PlanMaintain one clear, accurate and visible production plan covering the required planning horizon.Plan Reality, Not ExpectationsAny risk to production or customer commitment must be identified before the deadline is missed.Control Daily ExecutionReview Planned vs. Actual production every day and immediately identify deviations.Drive RecoveryEvery significant deviation must have: Root Cause → Action → Owner → Deadline → Recovery DateProtect Customer CommitmentsProduction planning must be directly connected to delivery and installation requirements.Continuously ImproveThe planner is expected to continuously improve:Planning accuracyProduction flowCapacity utilizationPlan adherenceWIPLead timeProduction stability6. Planning Discipline & Change ControlThe Production Planner is responsible for maintaining one clear, accurate and agreed production plan.Once the production plan is frozen for the agreed short-term planning horizon, changes must be controlled and visible.Any significant change to the agreed plan must have:Clear reasonBusiness or customer priorityImpact on other orders and production capacityRevised commitment where requiredAppropriate approval where requiredThe planner must actively protect the factory from uncontrolled priority changes and unnecessary schedule disruption.Constantly changing the plan is not planning.The objective is to create a stable production rhythm while maintaining the flexibility required to respond to genuine business priorities.7. Planning Authority & EscalationThe Production Planner owns the accuracy, integrity and visibility of the production plan.The planner does not independently own commercial commitments, manpower decisions or production resources. However, the planner has the responsibility and authority to clearly identify when a commitment is not supported by:Available capacityMaterial availabilityManpowerMachine availabilityProduction constraintsRequired lead timeThe planner is expected to challenge unrealistic commitments with facts and escalate unresolved risks before they become missed deadlines.Where a critical risk cannot be resolved at working level, the planner must escalate it with:Issue → Business Impact → Root Cause → Options → Recommended Action → Required Decision → DeadlineThe planner must never allow a known critical risk to remain hidden because of functional disagreement.The planner owns the truth of the plan; functional leaders own the decisions and resources required to make the plan achievable.management and execution tool.8. Final Definition of the RoleThe Production Planner is successful when production becomes predictable.The factory should know:What to produce.When to produce it.Why it has priority.Whether it is achievable.What resources are required.Where the bottlenecks are.What is going off plan.What recovery is required.Who owns the recovery.When the commitment will be delivered.The ultimate objective: Convert Revenue commitments into realistic factory commitments and ensure those commitments are executed with discipline, visibility and speed.