Head of Planning

Job Description

Head of Planning - Assembly, Test & Control (AT&C)

Solihull or Derby (Hybrid - 3 days a week on site)

Full time

Why join Rolls-Royce?

At Rolls-Royce we are proud to be a business that has truly helped to shape the modern world and are committed to always being a force for progress; powering, protecting and connecting people everywhere.

By joining Rolls-Royce, you'll have the opportunity to work on world-class solutions, supported by a culture that believes individuality is our greatest strength, and all perspectives, experiences and backgrounds help us innovate and enable our high-performance culture.

We a pleased to be able to offer an exciting opportunity to join the Assembly, Test & Control Systems Manufacturing Business Unit as the Head of Planning in Solihull or Derby.

The Assembly, Test & Control Systems Manufacturing Business Unit incorporates assembly & test facilities in Derby (Civil Large engines) and Dahlewitz (Business Aviation engines & MRO) along with a Control Systems facility in Solihull that manufactures both Electronic control units and Hydromechanical units. The Head of Planning for AT&C leads the end-to-end planning function to ensure that it facilitates excellence in customer delivery at optimal levels of working capital and functional/operational costs.

As the Head of Planning, you will lead the SIOP (Sales, Inventory and Operations Planning) process and LTP (Long Term Planning) process for AT&C and co-ordinate the load & capacity and inventory inputs into the Financial Planning processes. In doing so you will need to integrate across the planning teams, functions and management levels within AT&C and work closely with the planning team within the rest of Manufacturing Operations.

Your broader stakeholder collaboration will include Portfolio Planning, Procurement and AT&C’s customers in the Civil Value Streams, Defence and 3rd Parties. The expectation is that you will focus roughly 70% of your time on Control Systems to streamline and standardise the integration of demand feeds from Civil, Defence and 3rd Parties into a consolidated SIOP process and optimised capacity plan and response.

What you will be doing:

The Head of Planning will provide functional leadership, expertise and coaching for the planning organisation ensuring best practice is deployed and people development plans are in place; you will own the planning framework, governance processes, and planning systems that underpin operational execution:

• Leading teams of management and staff to maximise performance and ensure compliance with all company and functional policies.
• Developing people to ensure that the function always has the highest possible level of professionalism, that the function retains its key staff and that it has a strong succession plan in place.
• Defining and implementing agreed functional strategies and plans which drive business improvement and are fully aligned to business and other functional strategies and plans as appropriate.
• Defining, implementing and supporting the development of policies, processes, procedures, standards, tools and infrastructure to ensure excellence in functional capability now and in the future.
• Providing business procedures that are fit for purpose and appropriately deployed and that ensure compliance with all legislative and regulatory requirements.
• Measuring process compliance and performance and ensuring gap closure as necessary by the deployment of process improvement initiatives and any appropriate training.
• Ensuring the deployment of best practice by establishing, maintaining and engaging in communities of practice for all staff.
• Applying the appropriate levels of governance to supply chain change to ensure that all associated risks are identified and managed and that supply chain change projects are successfully delivered on time and to cost.
• Ensuring that all supply chains are designed and developed to be rate ready and to deliver all customer and business requirements.
• Deploying sales, inventory and operations planning to ensure that supply is planned to meet all customer and business requirements.
• Ensuring that all customer and project demand is captured in the executive planning systems and that demand management processes are deployed to govern change and supply chain planning.
• Ensuring that all agreed customer and business requirements are scheduled and planned for supply at all appropriate levels in the supply chain and that all supply risks are identified and managed.
• Ensuring that all domestic resources required to deliver supply chain plans are provisioned and planned, having taken account of all appropriate risks.

Preferred qualifications:

• BA degree or equivalent (or significant industry experience) in Supply Chain, Engineering, Operations Management, Business, or related discipline.
• APICS/ASCM, CPIM, CSCP, or equivalent professional qualification.
• Lean, Six Sigma, or continuous improvement qualifications.

Preferred requirements:

• Leadership and management of key planning and control disciplines within complex manufacturing operations.
• Operational management of engineering, manufacturing, purchasing and/or planning and control.
• Management of significant programmes/projects.
• Experience within aerospace, defence, advanced manufacturing, or similarly regulated industries.
• Leadership of significant organisation or technical change
• Management of stakeholders (e.g. customer, supplier) interfaces at a senior level.
• Operating in a matrix organisation and the management of conflicting priorities.
• Leading in challenging environments - including diverse cultures and high pressure or complex situations.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Experience with ERP platforms such as SAP, Oracle, IFS, Infor, or equivalent.
• Experience leading SIOP/S&OP transformations.

Regional benefits:

• Generous Annual Leave
• Retirement Savings through the Rolls-Royce Retirement Savings Trust
• Group Life Assurance provides for a lump sum benefit if you die whilst employed by Rolls-Royce
• Group Income Protection provides an income in the event that you are unable to work due to illness or injury
• Your Shares: Matched is a simple way to own Rolls-Royce shares and invest in our future, together. Buy one share, get one free!

Our vision is to ensure that the excellence and ingenuity that shaped our history continues into our future. Our multi-year transformation programme aims to turn Rolls-Royce into a high-performing, competitive, resilient and growing company. Join us, and it can be your future vision too.

Rolls-Royce are committed to being a respectful, inclusive, and non-discriminatory workplace where individuality is valued, diverse perspectives fuel innovation, and everyone can thrive.

Closing date: Midnight 1st September 2026

As part of our selection process, candidates in certain locations may be asked to complete an online assessment, which can include cognitive and behavioural aptitude testing relevant to the role. If required, full instructions for the next steps will be provided.

Job Category

Supply Chain Planning & Control

Posting Date

19 Aug 2026; 00:08

Posting End Date

01 Sept 2026