Production Planner

• Develop and manage daily and weekly production schedules based on demand forecasts, raw material availability, and plant capacity.
• Release and manage production work orders, ensuring accurate BOMs, yields, and labor standards.
• Adjust production plans in real time to address shortages, downtime, quality holds, or operational constraints.
• Coordinate sequencing to optimize changeovers, shelf life, and product freshness.

• Ensure availability and proper allocation of raw materials, packaging, and consumables to support production plans.
• Monitor planned vs. actual yields and material usage; investigate variances and drive corrective actions.
• Support yield optimization initiatives while maintaining product quality and compliance.

• Maintain accurate inventory across raw materials, WIP, and finished goods in coolers, freezers, and staging areas.
• Enforce FIFO/FEFO, lot control, organic segregation (if applicable), and full traceability.
• Plan and lead cycle counts and support physical inventory activities.
• Manage held, obsolete, or condemned inventory in compliance with USDA requirements.

• Build and maintain manual capacity models for production lines, labor, and critical equipment
• Identify bottlenecks and throughput constraints in an environment with inconsistent preventive maintenance
• Re-plan around unplanned downtime, contractor availability, and premium labor costs
• Avoid weekend production where possible while maintaining customer service commitments
• Use historical and real-time data to support trade-off decisions between cost, service, and shelf life

• Collaborate with procurement to align incoming raw materials with production needs.
• Partner with operations, quality, and warehouse teams to ensure smooth execution of production schedules.
• Support customer fulfillment by validating available-to-ship inventory and identifying risks to service.
• Investigate shortages, misallocations, or production shortfalls and implement recovery plans.

• Maintain production and inventory data in CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce), ensuring accurate transactions and records.
• Maintain item masters, BOMs, routings, and production parameters.
• Generate reports and dashboards for production performance, yields, scrap, and KPIs-build and refine planning tools, trackers, and analytical views in Excel, Google Sheets, Tableau, and Salesforce
• Ensure data accuracy to support cost accounting, forecasting, and decision-making.

• Ensure production planning activities comply with USDA, SQF, HACCP, and food safety requirements.
• Support internal, regulatory, and customer audits.
• Lead root-cause analysis related to production variances, inventory discrepancies, and process breakdowns.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on efficiency, yield, and service.

• 5–7 years of production planning or scheduling experience in food manufacturing
  (meat or protein industry strongly preferred)
• Proven experience planning in environments with ANDwithout automated scheduling systems
• Strong understanding of:
  • Shelf life and perishability
  • Yield management
  • Capacity constraints and bottlenecks
  • USDA-regulated operations
• Advanced Excel and Google Sheets proficiency required (scenario modeling, pivot tables, complex formulas, trackers)
• Proficiency with ERP/MRP systems and production planning tools and custom or personalized WMS
• Ability to move seamlessly between multiple systems while maintaining data integrity
• Strong analytical, organizational, and cross-functional communication skills.

• Bachelor’s degree in operations/supply chain Operations, or related experience in same industry
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal
• Strong continuous improvement skills and ability to research problems and develop solutions
• Ability to produce ad-hoc reporting, as needed
• Expert Excel Knowledge required
• ERP/MRP knowledge required
• Production Planning Modules experience a plus
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely to team and across different departments of the business
• Experience in collecting, analyzing, and presenting data
• Ability to read, understand and follow Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), ensuring compliance by staff
• Ability to multitask and meet deadlines
• Ability to work in a team environment and interact with all levels of staff 
• Ability to maintain a safe work environment
• Understand and abide by all safety regulations, SOPs, GMP guidelines, as well as policies and procedure set forth by Verde Farms

• Excellent health benefits
• Generous PTO policy
• Supportive, engaging work environment

• Full-time, on-site in Pedricktown, New Jersey
• Occasional flexibility for production deadlines
• Physical requirements:
  • Occasional lifting and prolonged computer use
  • Ability to stand, walk, and move throughout production areas
  • Ability to work in cold or refrigerated environments as needed

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