Production Scheduler – Fresh Processing (TPC)

Position Overview:

Coordinates daily and weekly production schedules and finished-goods allocation for the Fresh Processing portion of the business. Ensures customer commitments are met by aligning demand priorities, raw material availability, production capacity, and shipping timelines. Works cross-functionally with Demand Planning/Sales, Raw Processing Operations, Cut Floor, Sausage Kitchen/Grinding, Shipping, Maintenance, and Quality to prevent shortages, avoid downtime, and manage last-minute changes.

Specific Duties:

Scope (Fresh Processing)

Harvest-related scheduling coordination (harvest plan inputs, special marks/holds, and downstream impacts).

Cut-floor / fabrication and transfer timing for customer programs.

Sausage Kitchen / Grinding plan coordination (e.g., VC999, Raiser, Grinder) and changeover planning.

Special claims & customer programs (e.g., Prime, Organic, RWA, GAP) with required cut / pack timing.

Rework / inventory correction coordination to protect order fill-rate and freshness.

Communicates with transportation, shipping and sales

Core Responsibilities 

1) Build, Publish, and Maintain Schedules (Daily Weekly)

Create and distribute daily production/pack sheets and weekly outlook schedules; issue revisions as conditions change and clearly identify updates.

Run a short daily scheduling review cadence to confirm priorities, constraints, and ship/pick-up deadlines; document and communicate the “day plan.”

Coordinate inter-department timing (cut → pack → ship) so orders with near-term load-outs are sequenced first.

2) Inventory, Allocation, and Freshness Management

Compare customer demand against on-hand inventory and WIP; allocate finished product to orders while maintaining freshness expectations.

Coordinate with Shipping to confirm product availability, staging readiness, and customer pickup/ship timing; proactively communicate expected completion times.

Identify inventory discrepancies (e.g., product showing in inventory after orders shipped) and drive corrective action with Production/Shipping to reconcile.

3) Special Claims / Customer Program Execution (Prime, Organic, RWA, GAP)

Maintain the weekly “special claims cut/transfer” cadence and communicate expected ship/transfer days (e.g., Prime early-week, GAP mid-week, RWA/Organic later-week) as the baseline plan.

Validate that scheduled items for special programs appear on the correct schedule and escalate immediately when a required item is missing.

Coordinate special marking/holding requirements from harvest (e.g., marked carcasses or dropped items) and communicate counts/availability to Production before cut begins.

4) Issue Resolution: Rework, Substitutions, and Shortage Prevention

Initiate and track rework actions (e.g., return cases for rework, bone-out for grinds, re-code/convert) and ensure inventory is corrected after rework completion.

Recommend feasible sequencing alternatives when the plant is behind schedule or capacity constrained; align changes with Shipping/Operations priorities.

Coordinate substitutions or recodes when needed to satisfy customer demand while protecting label/spec requirements.

5) Capacity Constraints & Downtime Communication

Stay Informed regarding equipment constraints that impact schedule execution (e.g., VC999, VP machine); coordinate with Operations on estimated return-to-service and adjust the schedule accordingly.

When downtime or staffing shortages occur, promptly update stakeholders on impacts to ship dates and required schedule changes. (TPC1 and TPC2)

6) Systems, Data, and Scheduling Controls 

Maintain scheduling distribution groups (e.g., harvest schedule group) to ensure coverage during absences and rapid dissemination of changes.

Support Shipping/Operations when system issues occur that delay order close-out or paperwork accuracy; coordinate resolution and communicate status.

Essential Job Functions

Education and/or Experience :

High School Diploma or GED preferred

3-5 years related experience; manufacturing/processing experience preferred

Strong cross-functional communication and ability to operate in a high-change environment with limited direction. 

Language:

Ability to read and interpret documents and procedure manuals in English. Ability to write routine reports and correspondence.
 

Mathematical Skills:

Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals.
 

Reasoning:

Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of situations where only limited direction exists.  Ability to interpret instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or other form.

Other Skills and Abilities:

Ability to manipulate data in cells in Excel, work with formulas in Excel, communicate using phone systems, Microsoft Teams, and Microsoft Outlook.  Ability to use Microsoft suite of software including Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, and PowerPoint.
 

Technology Competency

Advanced Microsoft Excel competency (pivot tables, formulas, structured tables) to manage scheduling models, inventory/age reviews, and variance tracking.

Ability to maintain and distribute controlled schedule versions through Microsoft Teams/Outlook with disciplined revision naming, stakeholder routing, and retrieval of prior versions.

Comfort working with production systems and reports (e.g., EOS reporting, downtime dashboards, inventory snapshots) to validate plan vs actual and drive corrective actions.

Basic data hygiene skills: validate inputs, reconcile discrepancies, and maintain a single source of truth for schedule assumptions and execution updates.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. To perform assigned duties the following will occur: while performing the duties of this job, employees are regularly required to sit, walk and stand; talk or hear, both in persona and by telephone; use hands repetitively to finger, handle, feel or operate standard office equipment; reach with hands and arms. 

Work Environment:

Employee works under typical office conditions and the noise level is usually quiet. In certain areas employees may work near moving equipment.
 

Note: This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive.  Employee is expected to perform other related duties at the discretion of his or her manager to meet the ongoing needs of the organization. For general labor positions, this may include any or all the following: machine loading/unloading, bagging/un-bagging, trimming, label application, box making, cart loading/un-loading, product movement and general upkeep of the work area.