Production Planner (Supervisor)

Flowers Foods (NYSE: FLO), headquartered in Thomasville, Ga., since its first bakery was opened by the Flowers family in 1919, is today one of the largest producers of packaged bakery foods in the United States. The company operates more than 40 highly efficient bakeries that produce a wide range of bakery food for retail and foodservice customers in the U.S.

The Scheduling Planner will partner with all departments in operations to provide strategic guidance on schedule vs. business needs to the client departments. The Scheduling Planner will build and produce schedules, partner with our departments in making sure Payroll/Kronos, attendance and vacation and personal holidays are all in accordance with the company’s policies.

• Responsible for optimizing and creating weekly schedules that align labor to production schedule and/or department volume for all departments in product lifecycle (W & P; Baking, Packaging, Receiving, Shipping, Engineering & Sanitation).
• Tracks production daily; makes staffing recommendations to departments.
• Posts for and assigns overtime based upon Company policy and CBA requirements.
• Coordinates with department management to understand scheduling needs for product demand and receive information for any deviations in developed schedules.
• Receives and reviews all vacation requests for the operations team (hourly and salaried) and works with department heads for final approval.
• Retrieves call out information and tracks attendance infractions for all operation employees
• Approves and corrects time, monitors daily departmental time reports, adjusts job/department codes as necessary.
• Ensures vacation, personal holidays, LOA, Attendance, and FMLA absences are tracked and determine what coverage is needed for the absences.
• Tracks training of all operation employees to better understand skill set when assigning overtime.
• Return phone calls and inquiries within 24 hours.
• Provides superior internal service to all operators and team members in a helpful and responsive manner.
• Creates a welcoming and responsive environment for all team members.
• Assists the management team on any special assignments, such as in-house training, reporting, or other administration
• Observes operational trends to understand business needs and staffing needs/opportunities.

Desired Experience

• Ability to work multiple shifts and adapt in a quick paced and changing environment.
• Operational experience in food manufacturing preferred.
• Prior experience in scheduling and/or experience in payroll systems preferred.
• Scheduling experience in manufacturing industry a plus.
• Proficient in all Microsoft Office programs, particularly Excel, Access and Word.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to deal with complex problems involving a multiple variables in standardized situations.
• Must possess excellent verbal and written communication skills. Must be able to read, write, and understand English.
• Excellent math, reading, communication (verbal and written) skills. Must have good mathematical and clerical aptitude.
• Ability to work independently or in a team environment.
• Attention to detail, solid judgment and decision making skills.
• Must be able to sit, stand or walk for long periods of time (4 hours.)
• Must be able to respond calmly and make rational decisions, when handling employee conflicts.
• Must be able to lift and carry up to 25 lbs.; and, have the ability to push, pull, reach, bend, twist, stoop and kneel.
• Must be able to maneuver throughout all areas of the property and from floor to floor either by stairways or escalator.
• Must have the manual dexterity to operate a computer and other necessary office equipment.
• Must be able to tolerate areas containing dust, loud noises and bright lights.
• Must be able to work varied shifts, weekends and holidays as needed.

Desired Education

• High School Diploma; Bachelor degree preferred.