Planner Buyer
Location: St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex
Salary: £30,000 – £35,000
Working Hours: Monday–Thursday 08:00–17:00, Friday 08:00–13:00 (39 hours)
A well-established engineering and manufacturing business is seeking a Planner Buyer to join its Operations team. This Planner Buyer role is central to ensuring production efficiency, material availability, and on-time delivery performance across a busy manufacturing environment.
The Planner Buyer will be responsible for coordinating production schedules, managing supplier relationships, and ensuring materials and subcontract processes are aligned with operational demand. This role suits someone with strong planning experience in a manufacturing setting who understands how to balance capacity, supply chain, and customer deadlines.
As a Planner Buyer, you will work closely with production, suppliers, and internal stakeholders to drive performance, improve scheduling accuracy, and support continuous improvement initiatives.
Key Responsibilities:
- Manage purchasing of materials, components, tooling, and subcontract services
- Maintain and update production schedules across multiple machines and assembly operations
- Control MRP systems and ensure material availability aligns with production plans
- Monitor supplier performance, including on-time delivery metrics
- Communicate schedule changes, risks, and delays to internal teams and stakeholders
- Manage ERP data including supplier details, MOQ/MOC, and stock levels
- Support forecasting, demand planning, and customer order requirements
- Maintain KANBAN levels and ensure stock aligns with production needs
Candidate Requirements:
- Experience in a Planner Buyer or similar role within manufacturing
- Strong understanding of production scheduling and MRP systems
- Good Excel and ERP system knowledge
- Strong organisational and prioritisation skills
- High attention to detail and problem-solving ability
- Effective communication skills across departments
Why Apply:
- Stable engineering environment with structured production
- Early Friday finish (13:00)
- Opportunity to influence planning and supply chain efficiency
- Collaborative and improvement-focused culture
TPA Recruit is a specialist recruitment agency acting on behalf of our client to source and assess suitable candidates for this position. All applications will be reviewed and processed by our team, who will liaise directly with shortlisted individuals throughout the hiring process
- Production planning and purchasing responsibility
- Early finish on Fridays
- Engineering/manufacturing environment