Plant Controller: Cost, ERP & Operations Lead

Noabrands; New Jersey; On-site; USD 125,000 - 155,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/Dental/Vision Insurance

401(k) Matching

Paid Time-Off

9 Paid Holidays

Paid Sick Time

Disability & Life Insurance

Job summary

NOA Brands America, Inc. in Somerset, NJ is seeking an experienced Plant Controller to lead financial controlling and manufacturing cost management for the New Jersey operation.

This hands-on role collaborates with Operations, Engineering, Quoting, Supply Chain, and Finance on cost visibility and profitability. You will drive cost control, job costing, inventory accuracy, ERP transformation from Sage to Epicor, and robust financial reporting to support plant decisions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, economics, or related quantitative field.
• 7+ years of progressive finance / controlling experience, preferably including manufacturing exposure.
• Proven experience as a Plant Controller, Cost Controller, or similar manufacturing finance role.
• Experience in labor-intensive manufacturing operations.
• Advanced Excel skills and ability to build analytical models while ERP processes are developed.

Responsibilities

• Own and continuously improve the plant's manufacturing cost control processes.
• Analyze actual production costs against quotations, standards, budgets and expectations.
• Monitor and analyze: direct labor costs, labor hours and productivity, material consumption, material purchase price variances, scrap and waste, production efficiencies, outsourcing costs, freight and other production-related costs, manufacturing overhead absorption.
• Identify cost deviations at job, project, and product level.
• Work with Operations, Engineering and Quoting teams to understand the root causes of deviations.
• Develop corrective actions and follow up on implementation.
• Provide visibility into the true contribution margin and profitability of individual projects and customers.
• Establish and maintain strong interim controls and develop Excel-based job-costing and project-tracking tools while the ERP environment is improved.
• Track estimated versus actual of materials, labor hours and cost, purchased components, subcontracting, freight, and other manufacturing costs.
• Partner with the Quoting and Estimating to compare quoted costs against actual production results.
• Create feedback loops between actual production results and future quotations.
• Identify systematically under- or overestimated cost assumptions.
• Support management in understanding project profitability.
• Establish and strengthen inventory controls for raw materials, work in process, finished goods, scrap, and obsolete or slow-moving inventory.
• Oversee inventory valuation, material receipts, transfers, consumption, and reconciliations between physical inventory and accounting records.
• Investigate inventory variances and improve inventory accuracy, reporting, ownership, and accountability.
• Lead the year-end physical inventory process, following:
• Designing the inventory count methodology and procedures.
• Preparing the plant for the physical inventory.
• Establishing inventory counting teams and responsibilities.
• Implementing inventory tags/count sheets and control procedures.
• Coordinating count instructions and training.
• Supervising the physical count.Performing recounts and variance analysis.
• Reconciling the physical inventory with accounting records.
• Supporting external auditors during inventory observation.
• Preparing recommendations following the count to improve ongoing inventory controls
• Support the transition from Sage to Epicor, with a focus on manufacturing costing, inventory management, and financial controls.
• Document current manufacturing, costing, and inventory processes, identify gaps, and define future requirements for manufacturing costing and inventory management.
• Partner with Finance, Operations, Engineering, IT, and external implementation partners on system configuration, testing, data migration, inventory reconciliation, and implementation.
• Establish and document effective operating procedures and controls within Epicor and support user training.
• Help establish a reliable perpetual inventory environment with appropriate controls over material movement and consumption.
• Support US Finance Director with monthly financial reporting, plant performance analysis, budgeting, forecasting, and financial close activities.
• Prepare plant financial reporting, dashboards, and KPIs covering productivity, costs, inventory, manufacturing variances, and operational performance.
• Analyze and explain manufacturing cost movements, trends, and variances to management.
• Improve monthly closing procedures related to inventory, cost of goods sold (COGS), work in process, manufacturing variances, accruals, capital expenditures, etc.

Skills

Advanced Excel

Cost accounting

ERP experience

Education

Bachelor’s degree in accounting/finance

Tools

Epicor

Sage 50

Job description

NOA Brands America, Inc. in Somerset, NJ is seeking an experienced Plant Controller to lead financial controlling and manufacturing cost management for the New Jersey operation.

This hands-on role collaborates with Operations, Engineering, Quoting, Supply Chain, and Finance on cost visibility and profitability. You will drive cost control, job costing, inventory accuracy, ERP transformation from Sage to Epicor, and robust financial reporting to support plant decisions.