Director of Production Planning & Scheduling

Employment Type: Full-time, exempt

Reports To: Chief Executive Officer

Location: Winter Park, FL (100% onsite). Relocation assistance is available.

Work Authorization: Must be authorized to work in the U.S. Direct One does not sponsor work visas.

Position Overview

Direct One is seeking a Director of Production Planning & Scheduling to lead production planning for its print and direct mail operation in Winter Park, Florida. Reporting to the CEO, this leader owns the master production schedule across press, finishing, inkjet, inserting, fulfillment, and mailing, from job intake through mail drop, on both shifts.

The Director sets production priorities, sequences work to maximize throughput, and maintains a forward view of capacity, staffing, and skills so that every client commitment is met. The role establishes production standards for each machine and job type, builds the cross-training and coverage plans that keep the operation running at full capacity, and gives leadership daily visibility into shipments, schedule risk, and capacity.

The ideal candidate brings recent, hands-on experience leading planning and scheduling in a print and direct mail plant, a strong Lean Six Sigma foundation, fluency with a print MIS, and a proven ability to lead floor and shift leads to results. This role sits at the center of the company's continued growth.

Core Competencies

• Operational Ownership: Treats the production schedule as their own, takes full control of priorities and results, and acts before problems reach the client.
• Forward Planning: Works on a rolling three-week schedule and a 90-day capacity view, anticipating equipment, staffing, materials, and skills constraints well before they hit the floor.
• Continuous Improvement: Applies Lean Six Sigma methods to reduce makeready, handoffs, changeovers, and rework, and builds standard work that sticks.
• Throughput Mindset: Pushes to get the most out of every machine and shift at any given time, and treats overtime as a planning outcome to be managed, not a default.
• Leadership and Influence: Leads floor leads and shift leads through clear expectations and daily accountability, develops their ability to run their own areas, and earns credibility with operators, Sales, and senior leadership.
• Customer Commitment: Approaches complex, high-volume, time-sensitive client work with a solutions mindset, using scheduling, shifts, and outsourcing to meet every commitment.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Uses production data, standards, and variance analysis to set priorities, measure performance, and guide decisions.
• AI and Technology Proficiency: Uses AI tools and automation to model capacity and scheduling scenarios, flag at-risk jobs, and streamline reporting, while applying sound judgment to validate results.

Key Responsibilities

Production Planning & Scheduling

• Own the master production schedule for all departments and both shifts, with final authority on job priority and sequencing, as the single point of control for when and how work runs.
• Schedule backward from client in-home and mail dates through data processing, layout, art and proof approval, press, finishing, inkjet, inserting, and mailing.
• Publish and maintain the daily and weekly schedules and a rolling three-week schedule, and run the daily production meeting across shifts to set and confirm the plan.
• Sequence work for efficiency (common sizes, stocks, inks, inserts, and finishing methods) and schedule bottleneck equipment to keep it fully utilized.
• Translate forecasted volume from Sales and Account Management into a 90-day capacity plan by department and shift, and alert leadership early when projected volume exceeds equipment, staffing, or skills capacity.
• Evaluate rush requests and schedule changes, decide how to accommodate them through shift adjustments, overtime, or outsourcing, and confirm feasibility before dates are promised to clients.
• Maintain accurate job status, due dates, and run times in Direct One's production system (Virtual Systems Midnight).

Production Standards & Performance

• Establish and publish output standards (makeready time, pieces per hour, and pieces per shift) for every machine and job type, validated against actual production data.
• Monitor actual output against standard by machine, operator, and shift, and review variances daily with floor leads.
• Lead root cause analysis on significant shortfalls (setup, materials, staffing, training, maintenance, and scheduling) and drive corrective action to completion.
• Validate run-time estimates used in Midnight and in quoting so that pricing and promise dates reflect real capacity.
• Identify where departments can produce more and lead improvement projects that raise throughput and reduce makeready, waste, and rework.

Operational Continuity & Workforce Planning

• Build and maintain a cross-training matrix for all critical equipment, with a goal of at least two qualified operators on every critical machine and no single point of failure in any department.
• Plan coverage ahead of vacations, absences, and peak periods, and make sure every lead has a written plan for their area before they are away.
• Recommend staffing levels by shift and department based on schedules and standards, including the timing and use of temporary labor for peak and seasonal volume.
• Develop floor and shift leads so they can run their areas, solve problems, and make day-to-day decisions without escalation.

Job Readiness & Coordination

• Verify that data, layout, proofs, postage, and stock are approved and available before releasing jobs to production.
• Set and enforce job handoff standards with Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) and Account Management so jobs arrive complete and approved, and track performance through a shared handoff metric.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for Sales, Account Management, Estimating, and Production on job timing, capacity, and status.
• Coordinate with floor and shift leads on expedited jobs, special requirements, schedule changes, and shift transitions.

Materials, Postage & Outsourcing

• Partner with Procurement & Outsourcing so paper stock, envelopes, and production supplies are allocated and on hand before scheduled production, including Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) programs.
• Coordinate with Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory to align planned ship, drop, and mail dates with actual shipments.
• Communicate stock, postage, and capacity issues and their schedule impact to Estimating, Account Management, and leadership the same day they are known.

Reporting, Technology & Continuous Improvement

• Deliver a daily production report to leadership and Account Management covering current and completed shipments, output against standard by machine, and a two-week outlook.
• Lead daily planned-versus-actual reviews and after-action reviews on significant schedule misses.
• Maintain backlog and capacity reports for production meetings and the weekly Operations meeting.
• Document planning and scheduling standard work, scheduling rules, and job ticket standards so the function runs consistently on both shifts.
• Use AI and automation to model capacity and scheduling scenarios, flag at-risk jobs, and reduce manual reporting.
• Recommend process improvements, equipment investments, and layout changes, with expected throughput and cost impact.

Working Relationships

This position reports to the CEO and works closely with the VP of Operations, floor and shift leads, Procurement & Outsourcing, Data Processing and Layout, Shipping and Receiving, Estimating, Sales, and Account Management. The Director owns the schedule and the performance standards; floor and shift leads execute the schedule in their areas, and variances are reviewed jointly every day.

Key Performance Indicators

• On-time mail drop and delivery against client-requested dates.
• Schedule attainment: share of scheduled work completed on the day and shift planned.
• Output standards published for all production equipment by job type within 90 days of hire and reviewed quarterly.
• Utilization of bottleneck equipment, with no idle time due to lack of scheduled or released work.
• Makeready and changeover time trending down on key equipment.
• Cross-training coverage: at least two qualified operators on every critical machine.
• Rolling three-week schedule and 90-day capacity plan current and reviewed every week.
• Percentage of jobs received complete and approved, as measured by the CSR handoff metric.
• Overtime and temporary labor aligned with scheduled volume, with staffing recommendations made ahead of need.
• Daily production report delivered every business day; delays, stock, and capacity conflicts communicated the same day.
• Accuracy of job status, due dates, and run times in Midnight.

Qualifications

Required

• Ten or more years of production experience in direct mail and commercial print, including at least five years leading production planning and scheduling for a multi-shift print and direct mail operation.
• Recent, hands-on experience building and running the production schedule in a print and direct mail plant, not only working within an existing automated scheduling system.
• Experience in a high-volume operation producing 10 million or more mail pieces per month.
• Working knowledge of offset and digital press, cutting, folding, inkjet addressing, tabbing, inserting, and mailing equipment, including run rates, makeready times, and common causes of downtime.
• Working knowledge of USPS requirements that drive the schedule, including presort, commingling, drop ship, postage readiness, and in-home windows.
• Demonstrated success setting production standards, building cross-training and coverage plans, and holding leads accountable to results.
• Lean Six Sigma foundation, with a proven record of applying it to reduce waste and increase throughput.
• Experience with a print MIS or production scheduling system (e.g., Virtual Systems Midnight/MailShop, EFI Pace, EFI Monarch, or comparable).
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including capacity modeling, pivot tables, and lookup functions.
• Demonstrated proficiency with AI tools for analysis, reporting, and scenario modeling, with the ability to critically evaluate AI-generated output.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to explain scheduling tradeoffs to Sales, Account Management, and executive leadership.

Preferred

• Experience with Virtual Systems Midnight.
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt certification.
• Experience with continuous inkjet, high-speed inserting, and personalized or variable data mail.
• Experience planning for heavy seasonal peaks, such as political or holiday mail.
• Experience building automated or AI-assisted planning tools, such as scheduling models, dashboards, or scripts.
• Experience leading a plant through significant volume growth, a consolidation, or an operational integration.
• Bachelor's degree in Operations Management, Industrial Engineering, Graphic Communications, or a related field; equivalent experience will be considered.

Physical Demands & Work Environment

• This is a full-time, onsite position in Winter Park, FL, with time divided between the office and the production floor across first and second shifts.
• Extended hours are required during peak production periods, including early mornings, evenings, and weekends as needed.
• Must be able to walk and stand for extended periods in an active production environment with operating machinery, elevated noise levels, and paper dust.

Unsolicited resumes or candidate submissions from staffing agencies or third-party recruiters will not be accepted or considered.

Benefits:

• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Employee discount
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Referral program
• Relocation assistance
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Application Question(s):

• Will you now or in the future require visa sponsorship to work in the United States?
• What are your base salary expectations for this role?
• What was the largest monthly volume (mail pieces, or equivalent print and finishing volume) of an operation you planned or scheduled?
• What is your highest Lean Six Sigma level (none, training only, Yellow, Green, Black, or Master Black Belt)?
• Briefly describe a time you set output standards for production equipment (for example, pieces per hour) and held a floor team to them using data.
• This role is 100% onsite in Winter Park, FL, splitting time between the office and the production floor across first and second shift, with extended hours during peak periods (some early mornings, evenings, and weekends). Are you able to meet this requirement?
• What city and state do you currently live in? If you live outside Central Florida, are you willing to relocate to the Winter Park, FL area?

Experience:

• direct mail or commercial print production: 7 years (Preferred)
• multi-shift production planning and scheduling: 3 years (Preferred)

Work Location: In person