Bulk Drug Substance Senior Production Planner

Location: Blanchardstown Road North, Dublin, Ireland

Company: Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease

Job ID: R‑249169

Job Type: Full‑time

Salary: Competitive + Benefits

Be part of a team that makes a meaningful impact every day

At Alexion, AstraZeneca’s Rare Disease Unit, we are driven by the mission to transform the lives of people affected by rare and devastating diseases. In our Dublin manufacturing site, our Bulk Drug Substance (BDS) operations play a critical role in supplying high‑quality therapies to patients worldwide.

We are now seeking a Senior Production Planner to join our Planning & Scheduling function. This role combines long‑range planning, real‑time scheduling, and cross‑functional coordination to ensure seamless delivery of manufacturing operations and future commercial needs.

What you’ll do

As a Senior Production Planner, you will support both operational scheduling and long‑term production planning for Bulk Drug Substance. You’ll sit at the centre of manufacturing operations—partnering with collaborators across Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Quality, Finance and Engineering.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Managing and optimising BDS production schedules using MRP and finite scheduling software
• Owning short and mid‑term commercial/operational planning
• Supporting new product implementation for Bulk Drug Substance manufacturing
• Monitoring and maintaining MRP accuracy
• Driving continuous improvement initiatives across planning and manufacturing performance
• Supporting BDS projects
• Acting as a technical owner for planning processes, with deep understanding of manufacturing workflows
• Troubleshooting planning and scheduling issues and anticipating future operational needs & changes
• Ensuring delivery of high‑quality, timely and cost‑effective planning services to internal customers
• Preparing planning data, KPI reports and decision‑support documentation
• Developing strong internal networks across multiple functions and representing the planning team externally
• Supporting organisational change initiatives and coaching standards within the team
• Supporting future business needs and projects

What success looks like (6–12 months in)

✅ Fully embedded within the Planning & Scheduling team

✅ Independently managing schedules and planning cycles

✅ Owning and maintaining planning schedule in MRP system

✅ Strong relationships established across Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Quality & Engineering

✅ Supporting new SAP projects and early stages of the 2030 product vision

✅ Demonstrating proactive problem‑solving and partner management

Key challenges in the role:

• Managing large numbers of cross‑functional partners
• Operating autonomously while maintaining high levels of collaboration
• Balancing short‑term schedule pressures with long‑term strategic planning
• Navigating complex systems (SAP, Orchestrate)
• Working at pace while maintaining accuracy and attention to detail

Essential skills & experience:

• Degree level qualification or equivalent experience
• Experience within a biopharmaceutical manufacturing environment
• Strong communication and influencing capability across multiple partners
• Expertise with MRP systems (SAP) (planning, master data, campaign management, BOM & Mater Recipe maintenance)
• Experience with production planning
• Project and people management experience
• Experience working in GMP or a regulated industry

Desirable:

• Understanding of end‑to‑end supply chains and equipment/manufacturing interfaces
• Knowledge of planning campaigns—translating demand into production sequencing