Financial Controller

The Collective Network Limited; Cambridgeshire and Peterborough; On-site; GBP 68,000 - 83,000; Full time

Job summary

The Collective Network Limited seeks a Financial Controller to lead end-to-end finance, ensuring robust controls and clear financial insight for strategic decision making. You will partner with the MD and leadership to influence profitability, cash and growth.

With a background in food manufacturing or a similar sector, you will turn financial information into actions that drive performance, manage the finance team, and own budgeting, forecasting and year-end processes.

Qualifications

• Qualified accountant (ACA/ACCA/CIMA) with senior finance experience.
• Experience in end-to-end finance and financial control.
• Proven ability to turn financial data into actionable insights.
• Experience with budgeting, forecasting and cash management.

Responsibilities

• Take ownership of the end-to-end finance function and ensure strong financial control.
• Lead the production of management information showing performance.
• Drive the annual budget, forecasting and longer-term financial planning.
• Monitor cash, working capital and financial performance.
• Analyse product and customer profitability, margins and cost movements.
• Collaborate with operational teams to identify efficiencies and improve financial performance.
• Develop KPIs and reporting for the senior leadership team.
• Oversee year-end audit, statutory accounts and wider tax and compliance.
• Manage and develop the finance team.
• Continue to improve processes, controls and systems underpinning the finance function.

Skills

Financial accounting

Management accounting

Budgeting & forecasting

Cash management

Stakeholder management

Finance team leadership

Education

ACCA/ACA/CIMA qualification

Tools

Excel

ERP systems

Job description

Financial Controller

Location: Cambridgeshire
Salary: GBP75,000 + benefits

The Role

We re working with a successful food manufacturing business that is looking to strengthen its senior finance capability with the appointment of a Financial Controller.

This is a key position within the business, giving you a seat close to the senior leadership team and genuine ownership of the financial performance of the organisation.

You ll be responsible for ensuring the finance function operates effectively, but equally important will be your ability to turn financial information into actions that improve performance.

Working closely with the Managing Director and wider leadership team, you ll have visibility across the operation and the opportunity to influence decisions around profitability, costs, cash, investment and growth.

What You ll Be Doing

• Take ownership of the end–to–end finance function and ensure strong financial control.
• Lead the production of management information that gives the business a clear view of performance.
• Drive the annual budget, forecasting and longer–term financial planning process.
• Monitor cash, working capital and financial performance, identifying areas requiring attention.
• Analyse product and customer profitability, margins and cost movements to support better commercial decisions.
• Work alongside operational teams to identify efficiencies and improve financial performance.
• Develop meaningful KPIs and reporting for the senior leadership team.
• Oversee the year–end audit, statutory accounts and wider tax and compliance requirements.
• Manage, support and develop the existing finance team.
• Continue to improve the processes, controls and systems underpinning the finance function.

What You ll Bring

We re looking for a qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA or CIMA) who has developed beyond purely technical finance and enjoys understanding how a business actually operates.

You ll ideally bring:

• Experience at Financial Controller, Finance Manager or equivalent level.
• Strong management accounting and financial control experience.
• Solid budgeting, forecasting and cash management capability.
• Commercial awareness and the confidence to challenge senior stakeholders.
• Experience working closely with operations and non–finance teams.
• Previous experience within food, FMCG or manufacturing.
• Experience managing and developing a finance team.
• Strong analytical and systems skills.

Why Consider It?

This is a role for someone who wants to be close to the decision–making rather than sitting on the sidelines producing reports.

You ll have the opportunity to build on what is already in place, improve the visibility and effectiveness of the finance function and become a trusted partner to the MD and wider leadership team.

If you re a commercially minded finance professional looking for a role where your experience, judgement and ideas will genuinely be listened to, this is worth a conversation.