Management Accountant

Spider Web Recruitment; Colchester; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A family-owned independent farm in Colchester is seeking a Management Accountant to support financial control and strategic planning. You will manage accounts and undertake cost analysis while partnering closely with operations teams. The ideal candidate is a part-qualified or qualified accountant with a background in manufacturing and strong Excel skills. The company offers competitive salary, 5 weeks annual leave, and other benefits. Join a passionate team working towards carbon neutrality in food production.

Benefits

Competitive salary

5 weeks annual leave plus Bank Holidays

Company pension scheme

Free onsite parking

Employee discounted products

Qualifications

• Experience in a manufacturing or FMCG setting.
• Ability to turn financial data into valuable insight.
• Experience with standard costing and variance analysis.

Responsibilities

• Prepare monthly management accounts with variance analysis.
• Maintain costings for crisps and new product lines.
• Partner with production teams to monitor yields and wastage.
• Support budgeting and cashflow planning.
• Drive improvements in financial systems and reporting.

Skills

Proactive

Commercially minded

Strong Excel skills

Attention to detail

Education

Part-qualified or qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent)

Tools

ERP systems such as OrderWise, KeyPrime, Sage Payroll

Job description

Management Accountant

Fairfields Farm Produce Limited are looking for a Management Accountant to join our team on a full‑time, permanent basis at our site just north of Colchester, Essex.

Why Fairfields Farm Produce Limited

We are a family‑owned, independent farm, and since 2006 we've been growing our own potatoes and crafting them into award‑winning, hand‑cooked crisps right here on site. As we work towards becoming the UK's first carbon‑neutral crisp producer, we're seeking talented individuals who share our passion for quality, sustainability, and innovation. We're expanding rapidly — both in our crisp business and through new product innovation — and are looking for a Management Accountant to play a key role in supporting financial control, operational performance, and strategic decision‑making across the business.

Fantastic company benefits include:

• Salary: Competitive depending on qualifications and experience.
• Holiday: 5 weeks annual leave plus Bank Holidays.
• Pension: Company pension scheme.
• Free Parking: We provide onsite free parking.
• Employee extras such as employee discounted products, supportive working environment, development opportunities, and involvement in an exciting, expanding food brand.

About the role

As a Management Accountant, you will support financial control, operational performance, and strategic planning across the business. Reporting to the Financial Director and working closely with Operations and Commercial teams, you will produce timely management accounts, undertake cost analysis across manufacturing and agricultural operations, compare to budget, and provide insight to help drive efficiency and profitability. You will also support budgeting, forecasting, cashflow planning, and continuous improvement within the finance function. Working hours for this role will be 8am–5pm, Monday–Friday.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

• Prepare monthly management accounts with variance analysis, commentary, performance to budget, forecasting, and support year‑end audit and statutory reporting.
• Work closely with Commercial and Operational teams to prepare and maintain costings for crisps, potatoes, and new product lines, while analysing customer, product, and SKU‑level profitability.
• Partner with production and supply chain teams to monitor yields, wastage, labour efficiency, and reconcile stock and raw material inventories.
• Support budgeting, forecasting, cashflow planning, and undertake capital investment appraisals including ROI analysis.
• Drive improvements in financial systems, management reporting, and overall financial processes across the business.

About you

As a Management Accountant, you will be proactive, commercially minded, and skilled at turning financial data into clear, valuable insight. You'll thrive in a fast‑paced environment that blends agriculture with food manufacturing, working confidently across teams to support and challenge operational stakeholders. You should be a part‑qualified or qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent) with experience in a manufacturing or FMCG setting, strong Excel and ERP skills, excellent attention to detail, and the ability to meet tight deadlines. Experience with standard costing, variance analysis, agricultural operations, or systems such as OrderWise, KeyPrime, and Sage Payroll is highly advantageous.

If you have the relevant skills and experience for this Management Accountant role and would like to be considered, please apply by submitting an up‑to‑date CV. We look forward to hearing from you.

Please check your email inbox and spam/junk folder for any correspondence regarding this vacancy.

If you require any reasonable adjustments or information in an alternative format, please let us know as soon as possible.

No recruitment agencies, please.