Manufacturing & Stock Controller

MULBERRY GROUP PLC; United Kingdom; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A prestigious British lifestyle brand in the United Kingdom is seeking a finance operations expert. This role involves bridging between operations and finance, managing budgets, forecasts, and reporting while working closely with purchasing and manufacturing teams. The ideal candidate will have strong commercial finance skills, experience in a manufacturing environment, and a collaborative mindset. This position supports a hybrid working arrangement, requiring three days in-office and two days remote per week.

Benefits

Hybrid work model

Inclusive company culture

Sustainability initiatives

Qualifications

• Experience in a manufacturing finance environment, preferably with both UK and international exposure.
• Strong relationship building across business areas.
• Ability to manage and develop finance roles.

Responsibilities

• Create a SKU level budget from sales to purchased and manufactured units.
• Translate the SKU budget into a KPI-driven manufacturing and purchasing plan.
• Produce weekly and detailed monthly reporting packs with actionable insights.

Skills

Commercial finance skills

Activity-based costing

People leadership

Collaborative problem-solving

Systems transformation

Education

CIMA qualification or equivalent

Post qualification experience

Job description

Born in 1971, the roots of Mulberry are in Somerset, England. For more than fifty years, Mulberry has been a British lifestyle brand, internationally acclaimed for quality and design capturing the Mulberry Spirit. Sustainability has been part of the Mulberry ethos since the brand's inception, in recognition of our purpose‑driven approach, in 2024 we proudly achieved B Corp Certification. Today, we are a global brand, but our values remain the same; we are committed to improving our impact on people and the planet. If these are values you share, we would love you to join our team.

Reporting to the Head of Finance Operations, this role is to be the subject matter expert on the end‑to‑end view from sales expectations, translated into manufacturing KPIs and operational planning, through to Management Insight and Reporting, to how this translates these metrics translate into and affect the company Stock and Gross Margin values. Working closely with the Manufacturing and Purchasing Departments for GFR, this role will be based with the operational teams, and will be the bridge between operations and finance. They will support the forecast build – collecting sales expectations from Commercial Finance & B&M, and translating them with the Head of Responsible Sourcing and their team into actionable and monitorable monthly and weekly targets. Variance analysis to these targets will be developed as internal reporting for the COO and CFO, to support understanding of where purchasing or manufacturing is ahead of or behind target, and together with finance, bring to life why this is the case (incorrect forecasting of sales mix, lower productivity, higher purchasing than expected, change in mix from internal to external sourcing), and what this means financially for the group. This role will also manage two roles that oversee stock accounting and valuation – which is impacted greatly by the manufacturing elements and outputs. Experience in manufacturing finance environment highly desired for this role, ideally with UK manufacturing as well as international. Experience with supply chain is also a bonus as consideration of efficiencies of operations more broadly than just UK will be part of the role. Fashion and / or luxury experience is desired.

Hybrid working applies to this role - 3 days per week from the office, maximum 2 days per week from home.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Work with Commercial Finance & B&M to create a SKU level Budget – from sales to purchased & manufactured units
• Review this weekly and monthly to assess shape and variances
• Translate the SKU Budget into a KPI driven manufacturing and purchasing plan, working closely with Purchasing and Manufacturing Leads
• Collate information from UK sites as well as overseas, to be able to benchmark performance and operational metric
• Monitor overhead costs and spending, to ensure overhead rates are sensible now and in the future
• Produce a weekly key insights report, as well as a more detailed monthly reporting pack, with actionable insights for where we see variances to expectations so we can quickly course correct (if adverse) or take advantage of benefits (if favourable)
• Work closely with the stock team in finance to ensure margin adjustments relating to purchasing and manufacturing are fully aligned to the KPI reporting, and the financials and operational narrative flows
• Management and development of two roles within stock accounting and analysis, to develop strong ways of working, controls and insight

Culture

• Embrace and demonstrate the Mulberry values and behaviours: honesty, dynamism, and a community‑oriented spirit
• Support Mulberry to deliver an inclusive culture, through behaving in a way that is open‑minded and respectful towards others, and understanding that your views, opinions, and experiences may not always be shared by your colleagues
• Act as an ambassador for Mulberry and communicate positively about the brand

Sustainability

• As a certified B Corp, we are committed to using business as a force for good. You’ll be encouraged to incorporate environmentally and socially responsible practices into your work, supporting our Made to Last strategy across Climate, Circularity, and Community
• Help foster a culture where diversity is celebrated and every individual feels valued, respected, and included. Champion equity, empathy, and understanding in all interactions - internally and externally

Team

• Working indirectly, create a strong working relationship with members of the Purchasing, Production and Finance teams, as well as our external third parties in the manufacturing space
• Create a positive and inclusive environment when working with these teams; one which is collaborative, respectful and supportive, where everyone feels valued and good performance is rewarded and recognised

Skills & Knowledge Required

• Qualified through CIMA ideally or equivalent with strong commercial finance and activity‑based costing skills, ideally gained through a commercial finance background
• Post qualification experience in a multi‑entity, multi‑jurisdiction environment would be ideal
• Strongbusinesspartnerexperiencedevelopingoutstandingrelationshipsacrossbusinessareas
• Experience in all aspects of month‑end management accounting and KPI deliverables, to ensure the work for this subject area can tie back to overall financial plans and KPIs
• Good people leader
• The ability to demonstrate a collaborative, problem‑solving
• Experience of systems transformation and implementation, and the ability to move from an Excel‑based, more manual set up to one of system excellence as we go on the journey

Mulberry is an equal opportunities employer and we are passionate about hiring and developing the best talent. All hiring decisions are made only on the basis of qualifications, skills or experience and as they relate to the particular role.