At a Glance
- Tasks: Partner with leadership to drive financial decisions on the factory floor.
- Company: Established international food manufacturing group with a dynamic culture.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, benefits, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Opportunity for career advancement and exposure to senior leadership.
- Why this job: Shape plant profitability and make a real impact in a visible role.
- Qualifications: 5+ years in plant controlling or operations finance, preferably in manufacturing.
The predicted salary is between 65000 - 70000 £ per year.
Salary: Up to £65,000 to £70,000 + benefits
Most finance roles keep you a step removed from the business. This one puts you on the factory floor. We're working with an established international food manufacturing group to appoint a Plant Controller for their Cambridgeshire site. It's a role for someone who'd rather be in the production meeting explaining why yield dipped last week than sitting three floors away reading about it in a report.
What you'll actually be doing
You'll be the finance business partner to the General Manager and the site leadership team. That means owning the numbers for the plant, but more importantly, turning them into decisions. When OEE drops, scrap creeps up or labour efficiency slips, you'll be the one translating that into financial impact and working with Operations on what to do about it. Day to day, that covers weekly and monthly performance reporting, plant month-end close, standard costing and variance analysis, and financial oversight of inventory and stock control. You'll lead the plant budget and forecasts, build business cases for capex and process improvements, and validate whether cost-saving initiatives are genuinely delivering or just moving money around.
You'll also have a real say in how things are done. There's scope to improve automated reporting, strengthen data integrity across ERP and operational systems, and tighten controls around costing and inventory.
Who this suits
You'll have at least five years in plant controlling, industrial controlling or operations finance, and you'll have done it in a manufacturing environment. Food, ingredients or process manufacturing is a strong advantage, as is multi-site or multinational experience. You know standard costing inside out, you're comfortable with month-end and audit, and you understand how operational drivers flow through to the P&L. Strong Excel is a given, along with solid experience of a major ERP system such as SAP, Oracle, JD Edwards or similar. Power BI or other BI tools would be very welcome. A degree in a relevant discipline is expected. A professional accounting qualification is desirable but not essential, so if you're part-qualified or QBE with the right experience, we'd still like to hear from you.
Above all, you'll have the confidence to challenge senior operational stakeholders constructively, and the communication skills to make finance make sense to people who don't live in spreadsheets.
Why it's worth a conversation
This is a visible, influential role where your work directly shapes plant profitability. You'll have the backing of a wider Group finance function, exposure to senior leadership, and the chance to make the role your own. The role is based at the Cambridgeshire site, with occasional travel to other Group locations. Candidates must have the right to work in the UK.
Plant Finance Manager employer: The Collective Network
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