Plant Finance Manager

The Collective Network; Cambridgeshire and Peterborough; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

The Collective Network group is seeking a Plant Controller for our Cambridgeshire site. You will partner with the General Manager and site leadership to own the plant numbers and translate them into actionable decisions.

With a background in plant/operations finance, you’ll drive weekly and monthly reporting, close the books, and oversee inventory costing while leading budgets and capex business cases. Strong ERP and BI skills are valued.

Qualifications

• Five+ years in plant controlling or operations finance in manufacturing.
• Food/ingredients or process manufacturing experience preferred.
• Strong grasp of standard costing, month-end, and audit processes.
• Excel proficiency; experience with SAP, Oracle, JD Edwards or similar ERP.
• Power BI or BI tools helpful.

Responsibilities

• Weekly and monthly performance reporting.
• Plant month-end close, standard costing and variance analysis.
• Financial oversight of inventory and stock control.
• Lead the plant budget and forecasts; build capex business cases.
• Assess whether cost-saving initiatives deliver real value.
• Improve automated reporting and data integrity across ERP/operational systems.
• Tighten costing and inventory controls.

Job description

Salary: Up to £65,000 to £70,000 + benefits

Most finance roles keep you a step removed from the business. This one puts you on the factory floor.

We're working with an established international food manufacturing group to appoint a Plant Controller for their Cambridgeshire site. It's a role for someone who'd rather be in the production meeting explaining why yield dipped last week than sitting three floors away reading about it in a report.

What you'll actually be doing

You'll be the finance business partner to the General Manager and the site leadership team. That means owning the numbers for the plant, but more importantly, turning them into decisions. When OEE drops, scrap creeps up or labour efficiency slips, you'll be the one translating that into financial impact and working with Operations on what to do about it.

Day to day, that covers weekly and monthly performance reporting, plant month-end close, standard costing and variance analysis, and financial oversight of inventory and stock control. You'll lead the plant budget and forecasts, build business cases for capex and process improvements, and validate whether cost-saving initiatives are genuinely delivering or just moving money around.

You'll also have a real say in how things are done. There's scope to improve automated reporting, strengthen data integrity across ERP and operational systems, and tighten controls around costing and inventory.

Who this suits

You'll have at least five years in plant controlling, industrial controlling or operations finance, and you'll have done it in a manufacturing environment. Food, ingredients or process manufacturing is a strong advantage, as is multi-site or multinational experience.

You know standard costing inside out, you're comfortable with month-end and audit, and you understand how operational drivers flow through to the P&L. Strong Excel is a given, along with solid experience of a major ERP system such as SAP, Oracle, JD Edwards or similar. Power BI or other BI tools would be very welcome.

A degree in a relevant discipline is expected. A professional accounting qualification is desirable but not essential, so if you're part-qualified or QBE with the right experience, we'd still like to hear from you.

Above all, you'll have the confidence to challenge senior operational stakeholders constructively, and the communication skills to make finance make sense to people who don't live in spreadsheets.

Why it's worth a conversation

This is a visible, influential role where your work directly shapes plant profitability. You'll have the backing of a wider Group finance function, exposure to senior leadership, and the chance to make the role your own.

The role is based at the Cambridgeshire site, with occasional travel to other Group locations. Candidates must have the right to work in the UK.