Commercial Finance Manager in Seaham

About Natara

Natara Global is a leading independent global manufacturer of speciality aroma chemicals and natural extracts for the flavour and fragrance industry. With more than 90 years of industry experience, Natara partners with many of the world’s largest flavour and fragrance companies. The business manufactures and supplies a portfolio of more than 1,000 speciality ingredients to customers internationally, supported by manufacturing and distribution operations across the UK, the Americas and Asia. Innovation, quality and sustainability are central to Natara’s strategy and its purpose is to help make the world taste and smell better, responsibly. Following its return to independent ownership in 2023, the business is investing in its people, operational capabilities and international growth.

Commercial Finance Manager

Location: Hybrid, Seaham, County Durham

Select Talent Group is partnering with Natara Global to appoint a Commercial Finance Manager based at its Seaham site in County Durham. This is a high-impact role providing financial leadership and business partnering support across Natara’s international commercial organisation. The successful candidate will help drive profitable revenue growth through effective pricing governance, customer and product profitability analysis, forecasting and commercial performance reporting. Acting as a key link between Finance, Sales, Supply Chain and Operations, the Commercial Finance Manager will translate commercial activity into clear, actionable financial insight that supports strategic decision-making.

Key Responsibilities

Customer pricing and RFQ management

• Lead the financial evaluation and approval of customer pricing proposals and contract renewals.
• Support Regional Vice Presidents and Key Account Managers with the preparation and analysis of biannual request for quotation (RFQ) submissions.
• Ensure pricing decisions reflect margin targets, market conditions, commodity movements and Natara’s wider strategic objectives.
• Develop pricing models and analytical tools that improve commercial decision-making, consistency and governance.
• Provide clear financial recommendations to commercial stakeholders within pricing negotiations.

Product and customer profitability

• Deliver detailed analysis of profitability across individual products, product families and customers.
• Identify opportunities to improve margins through pricing actions, product-mix optimisation and cost-recovery initiatives.
• Monitor profitability trends and explain the principal commercial and operational drivers.
• Help commercial and operational leaders understand the financial implications of customer, product and pricing decisions.
• Highlight underperforming areas and recommend practical corrective action.

Budgeting and forecasting

• Partner with Regional Vice Presidents and Key Account Managers to develop annual budgets and periodic forecasts.
• Challenge commercial assumptions constructively and provide financial guidance that improves forecasting accuracy and accountability.
• Translate commercial plans and strategic initiatives into measurable financial outcomes.
• Identify emerging risks and opportunities and ensure these are appropriately reflected in forecasts.

Sales and operations planning

• Lead the financialisation of the Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) process, converting volume and demand forecasts into revenue, margin and profitability projections.
• Work closely with Sales, Supply Chain and Operations to align demand planning with Natara’s financial expectations.
• Provide insight into forecast risks, commercial opportunities and potential capacity implications.
• Support informed decision-making where demand, operational capacity and financial performance intersect.

Sales pipeline and opportunity management

• Partner with Sales teams to analyse Salesforce opportunities and overall pipeline performance.
• Combine pipeline information with identified risks and opportunities to produce a comprehensive commercial outlook.
• Evaluate the financial impact and potential returns associated with new business opportunities.
• Support the prioritisation of commercial initiatives based on value, profitability and strategic fit.

Performance reporting and analysis

• Produce monthly sales, margin and profitability reporting for Natara’s Executive Leadership Team and Board.
• Deliver clear and insightful variance analysis across actual, budget, forecast and prior-year performance.
• Communicate the principal performance drivers, risks and opportunities, together with recommended corrective actions.
• Support the preparation of Board presentations, executive commentary and other senior-level reporting.
• Continually improve the quality, clarity and relevance of commercial management information.

Finance business partnering

• Act as a trusted finance business partner to Sales, regional leadership and other senior stakeholders.
• Provide insight, constructive challenge and commercial guidance to support profitable growth.
• Build strong working relationships across Finance, Sales, Supply Chain and Operations.
• Drive continuous improvement across commercial reporting, analytical capability and financial processes.
• Promote commercially focused decision-making throughout the organisation.

Skills and Experience

The Successful Candidate Will Ideally Demonstrate

• A recognised professional accountancy qualification, such as ACA, ACCA, CIMA or an international equivalent.
• Strong commercial finance and business partnering experience.
• Experience supporting pricing decisions, tenders, RFQs and customer profitability analysis.
• Advanced financial modelling and analytical capability.
• A strong understanding of budgeting, forecasting and variance analysis.
• Advanced Excel skills and experience using business intelligence and reporting tools.
• The ability to interpret complex financial information and communicate it clearly to non-finance stakeholders.
• Excellent communication, relationship-building and stakeholder-management skills.
• The credibility to influence senior leaders and challenge assumptions constructively.
• A proactive, commercially focused and solutions-oriented approach.
• Experience working across international or multisite operations would be advantageous.

Key Working Relationships

Internal: Finance, Sales, Supply Chain, Operations and other business functions

External: Customers and auditors

International scope: UK, EMEA, Americas and Greater Asia

Why Join Natara Global?

This opportunity offers the chance to take a central role in the commercial development of an international business. You will work closely with senior commercial and operational leaders, influence strategic decisions and help strengthen the insight, governance and financial discipline supporting Natara’s continued growth.

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