Overview
We have a new opportunity for an experienced Engineering Planner within our Engineering Team who will be based at Kara Foodservice, in Manchester. The role is central to ensuring our production lines run safely, efficiently and with minimal downtime by developing and optimising maintenance schedules that support operational excellence.
Responsibilities
* Develop, plan and optimise preventive, predictive and corrective maintenance activities through the CMMS to ensure the reliability, safety and performance of production assets.
* Work closely with Engineering Shift Leads, Production Managers and Technicians to prioritise maintenance schedules based on asset criticality, safety and operational needs.
* Create detailed job plans that include labour, materials, tools, permits and timings to support efficient maintenance execution.
* Lead weekly planning meetings to align engineering, production and contractor priorities, ensuring all work is coordinated and ready for safe execution.
* Analyse maintenance history, downtime trends and asset performance to improve future scheduling and support reliability improvements.
* Maintain accurate asset data, BOMs, job plans, risk assessments and compliance documentation within the CMMS, while supporting the site’s spare parts strategy and stock optimisation.
* Coordinate planned engineering interventions, small shutdowns and capital upgrade activities to minimise disruption.
* Support root‑cause analysis and continuous improvement activities, helping to reduce failure frequency and severity.
* Monitor and report on key engineering KPIs including schedule compliance, planned vs unplanned work ratio, downtime hours and MTBF.
* Ensure all planned tasks uphold Health & Safety, Food Safety and environmental standards, and manage contractor scheduling, documentation and compliance.
* Provide mentoring and technical guidance to junior planners/schedulers and contribute to the site’s maintenance excellence strategy through TPM, reliability engineering and progressive maintenance approaches.
* Perform additional duties as required to support the Reliability Manager or Engineering Manager.
Qualifications
* Recognised engineering qualification or relevant maintenance planning experience.
* Experience in maintenance planning within a manufacturing environment (bakery/FMCG preferred).
* Strong understanding of preventive, predictive and reliability‑centred maintenance.
* Advanced CMMS knowledge and experience managing asset data and engineering workflows.
* Good understanding of bread manufacturing processes, machinery and mechanical/electrical systems.
* Experience planning maintenance shutdowns and coordinating contractors.
* Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret downtime data and maintenance trends.
* Excellent organisational and scheduling skills.
* Experience using KPIs to measure maintenance performance and drive improvements.
* Strong knowledge of Health & Safety, permit‑to‑work and Food Safety requirements.
* Competent in Microsoft Office and maintenance planning tools.
* Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
* Ability to influence, challenge and drive best practice across engineering teams.
* Continuous improvement mindset with understanding of LEAN/TPM principles.
Benefits
* Enhanced Maternity & Paternity Leave.
* Enhanced Pension Scheme.
* Death in Service Benefit.
* Free Employee Assistance Programme.
* Retail discounts via our Benefits Hub platform.
* Company shop at sites.
* Refer a Friend Scheme (up to £300 per referral – T&Cs apply).
* Employee Recognition Awards.
* Extensive Learning & Development opportunities, including sponsored professional memberships and in‑house development courses.
If this sounds like you, please get in contact to learn more.
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