Production Planner

PRODUCTION PLANNER DIP1, Dubai Position Purpose The 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 → Installation The 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. Experience 5 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 Expectation This 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 Competence Strong 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 manufacturing Experience with Odoo or a comparable ERP system is preferred. 4. Leadership & Behavioural Profile Experienced – 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. The ultimate objective: Convert Revenue commitments into realistic factory commitments and ensure those commitments are executed with discipline, visibility and speed.