Job Description: Assistant Manager – Planning & Scheduling

Position Overview

The Assistant Manager – Planning & Scheduling is responsible for developing, coordinating, and monitoring operational plans and schedules to ensure the efficient utilization of resources, timely completion of activities, and achievement of business and project objectives. The role requires close collaboration with cross-functional teams to translate operational requirements into practical schedules, identify potential constraints, monitor progress, and implement corrective actions where necessary.

The position will support management in maintaining a balanced workflow, improving productivity, minimizing delays, and providing accurate planning and scheduling insights for effective decision-making.

Key Responsibilities

Planning and Scheduling

• Develop detailed short-term and long-term plans based on business requirements, operational priorities, demand forecasts, project milestones, and available resources.
• Prepare and maintain master schedules, production or project schedules, manpower plans, and activity trackers.
• Translate approved plans into actionable schedules for relevant departments and stakeholders.
• Coordinate the sequencing and prioritization of activities to optimize workflow and minimize downtime, bottlenecks, and resource conflicts.
• Regularly review schedules and revise them in response to changes in priorities, capacity, material availability, customer requirements, or operational conditions.
• Ensure that planned activities are aligned with organizational targets, service-level commitments, quality standards, and delivery timelines.

Monitoring and Control

• Track actual progress against approved plans and schedules using appropriate planning and reporting tools.
• Identify schedule slippages, capacity constraints, resource shortages, dependencies, and other potential risks at an early stage.
• Analyze variances between planned and actual performance and recommend corrective and preventive actions.
• Escalate critical delays, operational risks, and unresolved constraints to management in a timely manner.
• Maintain accurate records of schedules, revisions, progress updates, pending activities, and completion status.
• Prepare daily, weekly, and monthly planning reports, dashboards, and management updates.

Resource Coordination

• Coordinate with operations, production, projects, procurement, stores, maintenance, quality, logistics, finance, and other relevant functions to validate schedule feasibility.
• Support effective allocation of manpower, equipment, materials, facilities, and other operational resources.
• Verify the availability of required materials, tools, equipment, and personnel before finalizing schedules.
• Highlight resource conflicts and support stakeholders in developing practical alternatives.
• Assist in capacity planning and workload balancing to improve resource utilization and operational efficiency.

Process Improvement

• Identify opportunities to improve planning accuracy, scheduling efficiency, productivity, and turnaround time.
• Establish and maintain standardized planning, scheduling, reporting, and monitoring processes.
• Use historical data, operational trends, performance metrics, and root-cause analysis to improve future plans.
• Support the implementation of planning systems, ERP modules, scheduling software, dashboards, and process automation initiatives.
• Participate in continuous improvement, productivity enhancement, cost optimization, and operational excellence projects.

Stakeholder Communication

• Conduct regular planning and coordination meetings with concerned departments and document agreed actions and timelines.
• Communicate schedule changes, priorities, dependencies, risks, and expected completion dates clearly to stakeholders.
• Provide management with timely and accurate information regarding progress, forecast completion, capacity, and critical issues.
• Build effective working relationships across departments to ensure smooth execution of planned activities.
• Support customer, vendor, contractor, or project-related coordination where required by the business.

Key Performance Areas

• Schedule adherence and on-time completion of planned activities.
• Planning accuracy and effectiveness of resource utilization.
• Reduction in delays, downtime, bottlenecks, and schedule variance.
• Timeliness and accuracy of planning reports and dashboards.
• Responsiveness to changes, risks, and operational priorities.
• Improvement in productivity, workflow efficiency, and cross-functional coordination.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, or a related discipline.
• Approximately 5–8 years of relevant experience in planning, scheduling, operations coordination, production planning, project controls, or supply chain planning.
• Experience in a supervisory or team-coordination role is preferred.
• Experience working in a structured, deadline-driven operational or project environment.
• Relevant professional certifications in planning, supply chain, project management, or operations will be an advantage.

Technical Skills

• Strong knowledge of planning, scheduling, capacity management, workload balancing, and progress monitoring principles.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including reporting, data analysis, formulas, pivot tables, and dashboards.
• Working knowledge of ERP, MRP, project management, production planning, or scheduling systems.
• Ability to prepare management reports, planning dashboards, progress trackers, and performance analyses.
• Understanding of key operational metrics, schedule variance, resource utilization, productivity, and delivery performance.
• Familiarity with project scheduling tools such as Primavera P6, Microsoft Project, or equivalent systems is an advantage.

Required Competencies

• Strong analytical and problem-solving ability.
• Excellent organizational and time-management skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and changing requirements.
• Strong attention to detail and accuracy.
• Effective communication, coordination, and stakeholder-management skills.
• Ability to interpret data and convert it into practical planning decisions.
• Proactive approach to identifying risks and resolving operational constraints.
• Leadership capability with the ability to guide, coordinate, and motivate team members.
• Sound judgment and the ability to work under pressure while meeting deadlines.

Working Relationships

The role will work closely with operations, production, project management, procurement, supply chain, logistics, maintenance, quality, finance, human resources, and senior management to ensure that organizational plans are effectively converted into executable schedules and delivered within agreed timelines.

Employment Details

• Job Title: Assistant Manager – Planning & Scheduling
• Employment Type: Full-time
• Work Level: Assistant Manager / Middle Management
• Work Environment: Office-based with regular interaction with operational, project, or site teams as applicable
• Reporting To: Manager / Head of Planning, Operations, or Project Controls