The Role
Are you highly organised, enthusiastic, and looking to kick-start your career in a fast-paced manufacturing environment? Alpha Tanks is looking for a Production Planner / Co-ordinator to join our Operations team — a brilliant opportunity for a Business Graduate with technical curiosity, or a Graduate Engineer, to build a career at the heart of the business.
You don't need years of experience — you need a can-do attitude, a willingness to learn, and the drive to get stuck in. Full training and support will be provided.
The Production Planner / Co-ordinator is responsible for translating customer demand and sales forecasts into achievable production schedules, while taking ownership of material availability, material control, and stock accuracy across the operation. This is a hands-on, cross-functional role that sits at the intersection of Planning, Purchasing, Production, and Engineering, and is well suited to a graduate looking to build a career in operations.
The role requires someone who is highly organised, enthusiastic, and comfortable learning on the job — a genuine can-do attitude is more important than a finished skill-set on day one.
Key Responsibilities
Production Planning & Scheduling
- Develop and maintain the master production schedule in line with customer orders, sales forecasts, and available capacity.
- Create and issue work orders for planning production
- Plan individual work cells and machines to balance throughput against on-time delivery (OTD) targets.
- Adjust plans in response to unplanned events (breakdowns, absenteeism, late material, rush orders) while protecting the schedule as far as possible.
- Participate in daily planning / production meetings to align priorities across departments.
Material Management & Material Control
- Monitor and control material and component availability against the production schedule, flagging shortages before they impact the plan.
- Co-ordinate Purchasing/Procurement to ensure timely inflow of raw materials and bought-in parts.
- Play a key role in the implementation of the the Stock Management and Bill Of Materials Module in a new ERP system
- Maintain accurate stock and inventory records within the ERP system, including cycle count and stock reconciliation support.
- Monitor Work-in-Progress (WIP) and support traceability of materials through the production process.
- Investigate and resolve stock discrepancies, and support root-cause corrective actions.
- Support Bill of Materials (BOM) and routing accuracy, updating the master file for product or process changes (process times, work centre routings, etc.).
Co-ordination & Communication
- Act as a key liaison point between Engineering, Production, Materials and Quality, to keep the schedule realistic and achievable.
- Escalate any risk to meeting customer requirements promptly, internally and externally, and drive issues to resolution.
- Update customer portals and respond to customer planning queries where required.
Reporting & Continuous Improvement
- Prepare planning and material reports for management review.
- Track and report daily/weekly KPIs — OTD, schedule adherence, efficiency, and stock accuracy.
- Support data analysis to identify trends, bottlenecks, and opportunities for improvement.
- Contribute to continuous improvement and Lean initiatives affecting planning and material flow.
Requirements
- Degree (Level 7 or 8) Business, Supply Chain, Operations Management, or Engineering degree preferred.
- Graduate Engineers or Business Graduates with an interest in manufacturing/technical environments are strongly encouraged to apply.
- Direct experience is not essential — this role is well suited to a graduate or early-career candidate.
- Any exposure to a manufacturing, planning, materials, or office-based operations environment is an advantage.
- Familiarity with ERP/MRP systems is a plus but not required — full training will be provided on our new ERP system.
Skills & Attributes
- Highly organised, with strong attention to detail and the ability to manage competing priorities.
- Enthusiastic, proactive, and genuinely willing to learn on the job.
- A can-do attitude — this is the single most important quality for this role.
- Strong numerical and analytical ability; comfortable working with data and Excel.
- Clear communicator, confident working across departments and with customers.
- A practical, problem-solving mindset and the resilience to work well under pressure.
What Alpha Tanks Offers
- Structured mentoring and on-the-job training from experienced professionals
- Hands-on exposure to production management of projects across pressure vessels, tanks, and bespoke fabrication
- Supportive, team-based working environment
- Competitive graduate salary
How to Apply
Please submit your CV and a short cover letter outlining your interest in the role to [email protected] or apply here
Work Location: In person
