Junior Planner / Production Coordinator Manufacturing / Operations Department: Production / Supply Chain Reports To: Plant Manager Employment Type: Full-Time Location: On-Site — Manufacturing Facility Position Summary The Junior Planner / Production Coordinator is responsible for overseeing and coordinating activities related to planning work orders to meet customer delivery deadlines. This role combines production planning responsibilities — building and managing the production schedule, reviewing material lead times, and scheduling orders based on available labor and materials — with hands-on production coordination duties such as monitoring the shop floor, coordinating between departments, and resolving day-to-day production issues. The role works cohesively with production supervisors, operations colleagues, and customer service, and requires a thorough understanding of packaging manufacturing or a genuine willingness to learn about the products produced on site. Key Responsibilities Planning & Scheduling • Review the production schedule and ERP system daily for new and released orders; plan, prepare, and control production schedules to ensure a controlled, timely flow of approved materials that meets production requirements. • Schedule equipment and personnel and adjust schedules in response to material shortages, machine downtime, or priority changes; confirm material supply and demand and prepare work orders or purchase requests based on the master production schedule. • Support material requirements planning (MRP) by verifying inventory levels and flagging shortages to the Purchasing Manager. • Track work-in-process (WIP) inventory and update ERP/MRP systems with accurate order status. • Help prepare capacity and load reports to identify potential bottlenecks before they impact delivery. • Collaborate with procurement/purchasing on material and product delivery timelines for production, including occasional direct purchasing of materials to reduce work-in-process and raw material inventory levels. • Collaborate with design on material substitutions and BOM audits. • Work with maintenance to incorporate scheduled machine downtime into the production schedule. • Monitor labor hours against the production schedule to help ensure staffing levels align with workload. Production Coordination • Serve as a daily point of contact between production, quality, maintenance, design, shipping and warehouse teams to keep jobs moving smoothly. • Monitor shop floor progress against the schedule and communicate status updates to supervisors and Managers. • Check job packets and work order paperwork — including routing sheets and job travelers — for completeness and accuracy before releasing to the production floor. • Track and report on key production metrics (throughput, downtime, scrap, on-time completion). • Help troubleshoot and escalate production issues (equipment downtime, staffing gaps, material delays) to the appropriate team. • Support changeover and job sequencing to minimize downtime between production runs. • Maintain accurate production records, logs, and documentation for audits and continuous improvement efforts. Team Collaboration • Demonstrate strong communication skills with employees and colleagues to ensure operations run smoothly. • Multi-task effectively and show a willingness to help and support other team members. • Maintain a positive attitude and adapt readily to changes in company policies and procedures. • Promote a respectful and professional work environment at all times. • Receive instructions and guidance from lateral and senior colleagues with an open mind. General • Participate in daily production meetings and provide updates on schedule adherence and open issues. • Assist with root-cause analysis and continuous improvement initiatives related to planning, scheduling, and OTD. • Perform other duties as assigned to support production and planning operations. Qualifications • High School diploma or GED required. • Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Operations, or a related field preferred (or equivalent work experience). • 2+ years of experience in manufacturing, with ERP system experience. • 3+ years of Excel experience, including VLOOKUP formulas, pivot tables, SUMIFs formulas, tables, and external references. • Basic understanding of production planning concepts (MRP, capacity planning, inventory management). • Packaging industry experience preferred, not required; demonstrates a thorough understanding of packaging manufacturing or a strong willingness to learn about the products produced on site. • Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment. • Comfortable spending time on the production floor as well as at a desk. • Bilingual, English and Spanish, preferred but not required. Work Environment This role is based primarily on-site at the manufacturing facility, splitting time between an office/planning environment and the production floor. Standard manufacturing safety practices and PPE requirements apply.