Finance Manager in Lincoln

Finance Manager

Location: Lincoln

Working Pattern: Hybrid

Reporting to: Chief Financial Officer

About the role

We are looking for an experienced and commercially minded Finance Manager to join our Finance team and play a key role in supporting business performance and decision-making.

This is a broad and varied role that goes beyond traditional financial reporting. Working closely with Department Heads and operational teams, you will use financial planning, analysis and insight to help the business understand performance, identify opportunities and make informed decisions.

You will take a lead role in budgeting, forecasting and strategic planning, whilst providing financial oversight and insight across assigned product lines. You will also work closely with our manufacturing operations, analysing costs, productivity, profitability and variances to identify opportunities for improved efficiency and performance.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone who enjoys getting beyond the numbers, understanding how a business operates and using financial information to make a tangible difference.

Key responsibilities

Your responsibilities will include:

• Business Partnering & Strategic Support
• Lead the end-to-end financial management of assigned product lines, ensuring alignment with business objectives and corporate strategy.
• Build strong relationships with Department Heads and act as a trusted business partner in the financial decision‑making process.
• Coordinate and analyse business performance against targets, budgets, forecasts, and strategic plans, identifying key variances and recommending corrective actions.
• Provide financial insights, commercial analysis, and strategic recommendations to support business growth, profitability, and operational efficiency.

• Budgeting, Forecasting & Performance Management
• Lead and coordinate the annual budgeting process, periodic forecasts, and long‑term strategic planning activities.
• Support product lines in budget preparation, forecasting, and financial performance monitoring.
• Manage sales forecasting activities and provide regular forecast updates to management.
• Monitor and analyse actual financial performance against budget and forecast, identifying variances and driving corrective actions.
• Review and analyse business performance across sales, overheads, and operating expenses.

• Financial Reporting & Analysis
• Prepare and distribute monthly financial reporting packs to business stakeholders.
• Produce accurate, timely, and insightful management reports and performance analyses.
• Monitor and report key financial and operational performance indicators.
• Support management with regular and ad hoc financial analyses to drive operational improvements.

• Manufacturing Finance & Cost Control
• Lead product line profitability analysis and cost management activities.
• Review and analyse manufacturing variances on a regular basis and recommend corrective actions.
• Analyse production recovery rates, manufacturing efficiency.
• Review timesheet reports and labour cost allocations to ensure accuracy and efficiency.
• Monitor direct material price variances and validate the accuracy of purchased parts' average costs.
• Drive continuous improvement in standard costing and absorption costing methodologies.
• Review completed manufacturing jobs to ensure all costs are properly captured and allocated.
• Validate manufacturing variances and ensure accurate posting into the General Ledger.
• Support cost reduction initiatives and continuous improvement programmes across manufacturing operations.

• Inventory & Asset Management
• Manage and analyse inventory performance at the product line level.
• Support inventory counts and stock reconciliation activities.
• Responsibility for fixed asset reporting at the product line level.
• Identify inventory risks and opportunities to improve inventory control and working capital performance.

• Commercial Finance Support
• Support pricing decisions and profitability analysis for products, projects, and customers.
• Review customer contracts and provide financial and commercial guidance on contractual terms.
• Support customer account reconciliations and resolve financial‑related commercial issues.

• Process Improvement & Systems Development
• Identify and implement process improvements to enhance financial controls, reporting efficiency, and business performance.
• Drive improvements in financial processes, particularly around standard costing, absorption costing, and manufacturing finance.
• Promote digitalisation initiatives to increase reporting accuracy, efficiency, and transparency.

• Audit, Compliance & Group Reporting
• Assist with internal and external audit activities and ensure timely resolution of audit findings.
• Ensure compliance with company policies, internal controls, accounting standards, and regulatory requirements.
• Act as a key finance contact for the Parent Company in China, providing financial analysis and business support as required.

• Additional Responsibilities
• Support management with ad hoc projects, business initiatives, and special assignments.
• Undertake any other duties as reasonably required to meet the needs of the business.
• Liaise the Parent Company in China as and when required.

About you

We are looking for someone who combines strong technical finance capability with commercial awareness and the confidence to work collaboratively across the business.

You will ideally have:

• Professional accountancy qualification, such as ACCA, or be working towards qualification with significant relevant experience.
• A degree or equivalent qualification in Finance, Accounting, Business or a related discipline.
• Experience working in a Finance Business Partnering or commercial finance role.
• Experience within a manufacturing environment, with a good understanding of manufacturing costs and performance.
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills, with the ability to interpret complex data and turn it into meaningful business insight.
• Experience of budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis and management reporting.
• An ability to challenge constructively and influence stakeholders at different levels of the organisation.
• Strong Excel and data analysis skills, with an interest in automation and improving reporting processes.
• Experience of Power Apps or similar digital tools would be advantageous.
• Strong organisational and project management skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities and deliver against deadlines.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to explain financial information clearly to non‑finance colleagues.
• A pragmatic, proactive and commercially focused approach.
• The ability to work effectively with colleagues from different cultures and backgrounds.

Knowledge of power electronics or a related engineering/manufacturing environment would be advantageous, as would fluent Mandarin.

REF-231020