Manufacturing Cost Analyst

Seymour John Limited; Shrewsbury; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

On-site parking

CIMA study support

Company pension scheme

Career progression

Job summary

Seymour John Limited is seeking a commercially minded Manufacturing Cost Analyst in the UK. You will be the link between the shop floor and finance, working with production managers, engineers and operations to track, analyse and manage product costs.

The role focuses on standard costing, BOM management, variance analysis, inventory valuation, and close collaboration with manufacturing teams to improve margins and drive cost reductions.

Qualifications

• Experience in a manufacturing/industrial environment.
• Proficient with ERP systems (e.g., SAP, Syspro, Sage, Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle).
• Advanced Excel skills (VLOOKUPs, pivot tables, data manipulation).
• Ability to communicate financial information to non-financial colleagues.

Responsibilities

• Maintain and update standard costs for all manufactured products, including BOMs and routing files.
• Track and report weekly/monthly manufacturing variances such as material yield and labour efficiency.
• Partner with production and engineering teams to interpret financial data and drive waste reduction.
• Oversee inventory valuation, discrepancies, and year-end or perpetual stocktakes.
• Perform detailed margin analysis and support cost estimates and pricing for potential new products.
• Prepare journals, accruals and reconciliations for manufacturing costs and COGS during month-end.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Excel proficiency

Tools

SAP

Syspro

Sage

Microsoft Dynamics

Oracle

Job description

Manufacturing Cost Analyst

Telford

£35,000 - £42,000

Seymour John is working in partnership with a manufacturer who seek a commercially minded Manufacturing Cost Analyst. In this role, you will be the critical link between the shop floor and the finance department. You will work closely with production managers, operations teams, and engineers to accurately track, analyse, and manage product costs.

The ideal candidate will have a strong foundation in management accounting, an understanding of standard costing, and a passion for getting out onto the factory floor to understand the physical processes behind the numbers.

• Standard Costing & BOM Management: Maintain and update standard costs for all manufactured products, including raw materials, direct labour, and manufacturing overheads. Audit and verify accuracy in Bills of Materials (BOMs) and routing files.
• Variance Analysis: Track, analyse, and report weekly and monthly manufacturing variances (e.g., material yield, labour efficiency, scrap rates, and overhead spend). Highlight discrepancies to production management.
• Operational Partnership: Act as the finance partner to the production and engineering teams. Attend shop floor meetings to help operational teams interpret financial data and drive waste-reduction initiatives.
• Inventory Control & Valuation: Oversee inventory valuation and reconciliations. Investigate inventory discrepancies, monitor slow-moving/obsolete stock, and coordinate the annual or perpetual stocktake processes.
• Product Profitability Analysis: Perform detailed margin analysis on existing product lines and assist engineering/commercial teams in calculating precise cost estimates and pricing strategies for potential new product introductions (NPI).
• Month-End Support: Prepare journals, accruals, and reconciliations related to manufacturing costs, inventory, and cost of goods sold (COGS) to support the month-end closing process.

Experience

• Experience: Previous exposure to working within a manufacturing, engineering, or industrial processing environment.
• System Skills: Strong proficiency in using Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems (e.g., SAP, Syspro, Sage, Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle) and intermediate to advanced Excel skills (VLOOKUPs, pivot tables, data manipulation).
• Soft Skills: Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate financial data clearly to non-financial manufacturing staff on the shop floor.

What We Offer

• Competitive base salary (dependent on experience and qualifications)
• Study support for CIMA if part-qualified
• Company pension scheme
• On-site parking at our Telford facility
• Opportunities for career progression within a thriving manufacturing group

For further information on this opportunity please contact Lee Walker or Phil Topper at Seymour John Ltd.