Senior Specialist – Production Planning at Defy Appliances

PURPOSE:

• The Senior Specialist – Production Planning is responsible for developing, maintaining, and optimizing the master production schedule to ensure manufacturing output meets demand requirements while balancing capacity, material availability, and inventory targets.
• The role acts as a key link between sales forecasting, materials management, and shop-floor operations to enable a smooth, cost-efficient production flow.

 KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Develop and maintain the Master Production Schedule (MPS) across product lines, aligning output with the demand plan and available capacity.
• Translate the sales and operations plan (S&OP) into executable weekly and daily production schedules.
• Monitor production capacity, identify constraints and bottlenecks, and propose corrective actions to protect schedule adherence.
• Coordinate closely with materials, imports, and steel planning teams to ensure component and raw-material availability supports the production plan.
• Manage finished-goods and work-in-progress inventory levels against agreed targets to avoid shortages and excess stock.
• Track and report key planning metrics — schedule adherence, plan attainment, on-time output, and inventory turns — and drive continuous improvement.
• Lead production-planning input into daily and weekly operations reviews, escalating risks to the Head – Materials.
• Support new product introductions (NPI) and engineering changes by integrating them into production schedules.
• Maintain accurate planning parameters in the ERP/MRP system (lead times, lot sizes, BOMs, routings).

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION & EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, or a related field.
• Minimum 5 years of production-planning or materials-planning experience, preferably in a manufacturing or appliances/FMCG environment.
• Strong working knowledge of ERP/MRP systems (e.g., SAP) and advanced proficiency in Excel.
• Solid understanding of S&OP, capacity planning, and inventory-management principles.
• APICS/CPIM certification is an advantage.

KEY COMPENTENCIES

• Analytical and data-driven decision-making
• Strong planning, prioritization, and problem-solving skills
• Cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder communication
• Attention to detail with the ability to work under tight deadlines
• Leadership and mentoring capability

Closing Date 21 August 2026