Manufacturing Cost Analyst

Seymour John Ltd; Wellington; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Study support for CIMA

Company pension scheme

On-site parking

Career progression opportunities

Job summary

Seymour John Ltd is recruiting a commercially minded Manufacturing Cost Analyst to link shop floor activities with the finance team. Based in Telford, you will manage standard costs, BOM accuracy, variance analysis, and product profitability while supporting month-end procedures.

You will work closely with production managers, engineers, and operations to drive cost reductions and accurate cost estimates for new products. On-site parking is provided.

Qualifications

• Maintain and update standard costs for manufactured products and audit BOMs.
• Track and report weekly/monthly variances in material, labour, and overhead.
• Partner with production/engineering to interpret financial data and drive improvements.
• Oversee inventory valuation, reconciliations, and stocktake processes.
• Perform margin analysis and assist with cost estimates for new products.

Responsibilities

• Prepare journals, accruals, and reconciliations for manufacturing costs and COGS.
• Collaborate with production and engineering to improve cost efficiency.
• Support month-end closing with accurate cost reporting.

Skills

ERP systems

Excel

Data analysis

Communication

Education

Accounting/Finance background

Tools

SAP

Sage

Microsoft Dynamics

Oracle

Syspro

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.