The Plant Controller will serve as a hands-on finance leader responsible for establishing and strengthening the accounting and financial infrastructure across a growing plant. This role will partner closely with company leadership and operations teams to improve financial reporting, budgeting, cost visibility, controls, systems, and overall financial discipline.
The ideal candidate is a proactive, operationally minded finance professional who is comfortable stepping into evolving environments, creating structure where limited processes currently exist, and balancing strategic oversight with hands-on execution.
Responsibilities
- Establish reliable financial reporting and accounting processes, ensuring leadership has timely and accurate visibility into business performance.
- Assess existing accounting practices and develop the financial infrastructure, policies, controls, and processes necessary to support continued growth.
- Lead budgeting, forecasting, and ongoing financial performance tracking across departments, projects, and business units.
- Develop cost accounting and tracking structures that provide visibility into project, contract, resource, and departmental performance.
- Monitor capital deployment and spending against approved budgets and strategic plans, identifying variances and areas requiring management attention.
- Establish consistent monthly and periodic reporting packages, including financial statements, management reporting, variance analysis, and key performance metrics.
- Partner with operational and executive leadership to improve financial planning, decision support, accountability, and overall business performance.
- Coordinate audit readiness and financial reporting activities, working closely with external auditors, advisors, and other third-party partners.
- Support accounting conversions, process improvements, and other initiatives designed to strengthen the accuracy and scalability of the finance function.
- Lead or support ERP implementations and financial systems enhancements, including integration with broader organizational systems and reporting requirements.
- Develop standardized financial processes and reporting practices that can be implemented consistently across multiple entities.
- Serve as a trusted finance partner to leadership teams, introducing appropriate financial discipline while remaining adaptable to entrepreneurial and fast-moving operating environments.
Qualifications
- 5+ years of experience
- A ccounting leadership, or senior finance experience within a complex or growth-oriented organization.
- Experience building or professionalizing accounting and finance functions, including budgeting, reporting, internal controls, cost tracking, and financial processes.
- Strong understanding of GAAP, financial reporting, general ledger accounting, month-end close, and financial controls.
- Experience supporting audits and working directly with external auditors and financial advisors.
- Demonstrated experience implementing, upgrading, or optimizing ERP and financial systems; NetSuite experience is a plus.
- Experience within manufacturing or project-based environment is preferred.
- Hands-on and proactive leadership style with the willingness to work in the details while building scalable processes for the future.
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to build credibility with executives, operational leaders, and entrepreneurial management teams.
- Comfortable operating independently in fast-paced environments where processes and infrastructure are still developing.