Production Planner

Production Planner

Salary: £29,700-£38,550 per annum

Location:

Cambridge, Whittlesford- DC10

Contract:

Full time, permanent, 35 hours per week

If you thrive on balancing demand and capacity, this role lets you turn data into clear plans that keep production moving and customers satisfied.

This is an opportunity to take ownership of production planning across Print Operations, ensuring orders are delivered on time, in full, and to the right quality standards.

Your work will influence how efficiently we operate, how we respond to demand, and how we continue to improve our processes and deliver for customers across a global publishing operation.

We are Cambridge University Press & Assessment, a world-leading academic publisher and assessment organisation and a proud part of the University of Cambridge.

As Production Planner, you’ll act as the central coordination point between production, Studio, and wider stakeholders, aligning customer demand with manufacturing capacity and schedules. Your work will focus on creating clear, data-led plans, anticipating risks, and enabling consistent, reliable delivery.

You will combine day‑to‑day scheduling with longer‑term thinking – using data and insight to improve how we plan, identify opportunities for efficiency, and support ongoing automation and process improvements.

You will:

• Develop production plans and maintain detailed schedules aligned with demand, capacity and delivery
• Monitor capacity and identify work suitable for outsourcing where appropriate
• Produce reporting on KPIs, volumes, capacity utilisation, and performance
• Identify operational risks and propose practical mitigation actions
• Support continuous improvement, including process optimisation and automation initiatives
• Work closely with production, Studio, account management and other stakeholders to coordinate delivery

Flexible working requests will be considered from the first day of employment, including other work arrangements should you require adjustments due to a disability or long‑term health condition.

You bring demonstrable experience in production planning, scheduling or a similar operational environment, with the ability to balance competing priorities and make informed decisions using data. You’re comfortable working across teams, translating complex information into clear plans, and identifying where improvements can be made.

You will also have:

• Strong IT capability, including advanced Excel skills and experience with tools such as Power BI or similar
• The ability to analyse and interpret data, using it to inform planning decisions and reporting
• Experience solving operational problems and making data‑informed decisions
• Clear communication skills, with experience engaging stakeholders across different functions
• Demonstrable experience applying resource and capacity planning principles
• Knowledge of planning, scheduling, or forecasting systems

The following criteria are desirable:

• Experience working in print, manufacturing, or a similar operational environment
• Involvement in continuous improvement or operational excellence initiatives
• Experience contributing to process changes or performance improvements

We are a Disability Confident (DC) employer that is committed to equality and inclusion ensuring our recruitment process is accessible to all. The DC scheme’s Offer of an Interview commitment applies to applicants who opt in, and disclose a disability or a long‑term health condition, and who best meet the minimum criteria for the role. In instances where interviewing all qualifying candidates is not practicable and/or appropriate, we prioritise those who best meet the minimum criteria, as we would for applicants who do not have a disability or long‑term health condition.

Cambridge University Press & Assessment is an approved UK employer for the sponsorship of eligible roles and applicants under the Skilled Worker visa route. Please refer to the  website for guidance to understand your own eligibility based on the role you are applying for.

We are committed to an equitable recruitment process. As such, applications must be submitted via our…