Supply Chain and Planning Manager

Supply Chain & Planning Manager
Salary: £55,000 - £65,000 p.a. (dependent on experience) + up to 5% company performance bonus
Location: Near Chelmsford; On-site, 5 days per week Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5pm (40 hrs/week)

We are working with a growing, values-led FMCG manufacturing business looking for an experienced Supply Chain & Planning Manager to take ownership of their Planning, Procurement, and New Product Development (NPD) functions. This is a rare opportunity to shape strategy as well as run operations - reporting directly into senior operations management, with genuine influence over how the business plans, sources, and brings new products to market.

You'll lead a team of four, and your decisions will be felt right across the business - from the shop floor to the boardroom. If you thrive in a fast-paced SME environment, enjoy building and developing teams, and want a role where continuous improvement isn't just encouraged but expected, we would love to hear from you.

The Role
This is a broad, high-impact role at the heart of the business. You will lead the planning and supply chain teams, ensuring business and customer requirements are met in a cost-effective, efficient way - while shaping the strategic direction of supply chain, procurement, and product development. Working closely with production, technical, and commercial colleagues, your remit will span:

Planning, Forecasting & Stock

Own capacity planning, demand forecasting, and the Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) process end to end
Manage materials and stock to agreed targets, balancing availability against cost efficiency, and maintaining stock accuracy
Work with Commercial and Operations to identify capacity constraints and lead the development of solutionsProcurement & Purchasing

Lead procurement activity and develop and execute purchasing strategy, particularly around packaging
Ensure ethical, responsible, and sustainable practices across the supply base, and that the Ethical Trade Policy is embedded with suppliers
Verify goods received and dispatched meet quality, packaging, and regulatory standards, including Dangerous Goods/IATA requirements where relevantNew Product Development

Support feasibility investigations for new products, feeding recommendations back to the Commercial Sponsor
Own the smooth, on-time, on-spec, on-cost launch of new and revised products
Oversee documentation for new products, materials, and suppliers, ensuring full traceability for audit and quality purposes
Monitor regulatory change and keep products compliant with evolving legislationContinuous Improvement & Cost

Set KPIs and reporting structures across the department for daily, weekly, and monthly performance visibility
Own the departmental budget, contribute to annual budgeting and forecasting, and oversee Capex planning and ROI
Drive a genuine continuous improvement culture, building and delivering a pipeline of lean, cost-reduction projectsQuality & Service

Take ownership of ISO procedures and standards (ISO 9001, BRCGS, GMP) across supply chain and logistics
Lead root cause analysis on customer complaints, non-conformances, and service failures, embedding preventative action
Support other department managers in resolving day-to-day operational issues to keep production plans and efficiency targets on track
EHS & Compliance

Champion a strong safety culture, agreeing and enforcing standards and leading by example
Contribute to the site's sustainability and B-Corp goals across supply chain, materials, and product development
Maintain compliance Strategy

Identify and lead strategic improvements across materials, stock, logistics, product cost engineering, and planning
Partner with senior management to shape long-term strategy for supply chain and logistics
Confidently challenge upwards and influence across functions to get the right outcomes for the businessWhat We're Looking For

Strong leadership and a natural sense of ownership
Sound decision-making under pressure
Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to challenge and influence across all levels
A proven ability to build, coach, and develop a team
Solid experience in planning, forecasting, and stock control
A track record of driving continuous improvement and cost reduction
Experience managing change within an SME environment
A minimum of 5 years' experience in supply chain or distribution, ideally with exposure to both FMCG and SME environments

What's On Offer
Up to 5% non-contractual company performance bonus
Pension (minimum statutory employee contribution, 6% company contribution)
24 days holiday, rising to 25 after 5 years, plus bank holidays
Only candidates based in UK and eligible to work in UK are allowed