Site Planning Manager (East London) at Aspen Pharma Group

OBJECTIVE OF ROLE

• The Site Planning Manager is a critical leadership role responsible for the end-to-end planning of the manufacturing operations. This role oversees the strategic, tactical, and operational planning horizons to ensure continuous product availability, optimal inventory levels, and maximum plant utilization. Operating strictly within GMP guidelines, the manager integrates material requirements planning with the master production schedule while factoring in complex constraints within the process (QA release times, equipment validation, product shelf-life, and API lead times.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic & Long-Term Planning (6–24 Months)

• Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP): Lead the supply review process within the S&OP cycle, translating commercial demand forecasts into long-term capacity requirements.
• Capacity Modeling: Evaluate long-term plant capacity against projected demand. Identify future bottlenecks and recommend capital expenditures, shift pattern changes, or outsourcing strategies.
• Strategic Sourcing Alignment: Collaborate with Procurement to provide long-range forecasts to critical suppliers (e.g., API and primary packaging manufacturers) to secure future allocations.

Medium-Term Planning (1–6 Months)

• Master Production Scheduling (MPS): Develop and maintain a rolling master schedule that balances customer service levels with efficient batch campaigning and changeover optimization.
• Material Requirements Planning (MRP): Oversee the MRP process to ensure raw materials, APIs, and packaging components arrive just-in-time to support the MPS, mitigating supply risks.
• Inventory Strategy: Define and maintain planning parameters (safety stock, lot sizes, lead times) in the ERP system to optimize working capital while preventing stockouts.

Short-Term Execution (0–4 Weeks)

• Detailed Shop-Floor Scheduling: Oversee the translation of the MPS into detailed, sequence-optimized daily shift schedules for dispensing, manufacturing, filling, and packaging lines.
• Constraint Management: Resolve daily disruptions (e.g., QA holds, machine breakdowns, delayed material deliveries) by team guidance on rapidly re-optimizing the schedule.
• Cross-Functional Synchronization: Run daily/weekly tier meetings with Production, Quality Assurance (QA), and Quality Control (QC) to align on batch release schedules, testing prioritization, and raw material clearance.

Leadership & Compliance

• Team Leadership: Manage, mentor, and develop a team of production schedulers and material planners.
• Regulatory Compliance: Ensure all planning activities and system changes comply with cGMP, regulations, and internal standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Requirements
EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

• Grade 12 (Matric)
• APICS certification (CPIM or CSCP) is highly preferred.

KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

• 7+ years in Supply Chain/Planning, with at least 3 years in a leadership role within a regulated pharmaceutical or biologics manufacturing site.
• Advanced proficiency in Tier 1 ERP systems (SAP APO/IBP, Oracle, etc.) and Advanced Planning & Scheduling (APS) software.
• Deep understanding of cGMP, pharmaceutical manufacturing processes, QA/QC workflows, and shelf-life/expiration management.
• Strong ability to analyze complex data sets, run scenario models ("what-if" analyses), and translate data into actionable supply chain strategies.
• Exceptional communication and negotiation skills to manage conflicting priorities between Commercial, Operations, and Quality teams.

SOFT SKILLS AND COMPETENCY REQUIREMENTS

• Knowledge of Pharmaceutical manufacturing processes and operations environment
• Demonstrated functional leadership capability
• Excellent SAP working knowledge

COMPUTER SKILLS REQUIRED

• Interrogating Information
• Making Decisions
• Taking Action
• Managing Performance
• Planning and Organising
• Creating Clarity