Plant Finance Leader: Drive Cost & Profitability

Albemarle Limitada; Magnolia (AR); On-site; USD 110,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

Albemarle is hiring a Plant Controller for its Magnolia, AR site. This on-site role partners with site leadership to drive financial accountability, cost discipline and informed decision-making, translating data into actionable insights to improve cost, cash and profitability.

The role leads plant planning, close processes, and forecast accuracy, collaborating with operations, procurement, and maintenance to optimize productivity and capital investments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in finance, business, engineering or related quantitative discipline.
• Minimum 8 years of progressive finance or accounting experience, including at least 5 years in FP&A, plant controlling, manufacturing finance, or site finance business partnering.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the senior finance leader and business partner for the Magnolia site, driving financial accountability and informed decision-making.
• Own plant financial planning and performance: budgeting, forecasting, standard costing, inventory valuation, cost and margin analysis, and financial reporting.
• Lead month-end, quarter-end and year-end close, including reconciliations, accruals, and variance reporting.
• Develop cost-management cadence by linking volume, yield, material usage, labor, energy and overhead to financial results.
• Analyze performance against budget/forecast; identify root causes, risks and opportunities for improvements.
• Lead the Annual Operating Plan, rolling forecasts, scenario analysis and predictive insights to improve forecast accuracy.
• Collaborate with operations, supply chain, maintenance, engineering, procurement, and commercial teams to improve productivity and cash performance.
• Evaluate capital projects and productivity initiatives, including cash flow and post-investment benefits.
• Develop driver-based models and dashboards using SAP, Excel and BI tools for reliable financial insights.
• Strengthen data quality and governance across SAP modules; simplify processes and reduce manual work.
• Ensure compliance with US GAAP, SOX, policies and internal controls, coordinating audits.
• Communicate complex financial topics clearly to influence cross-functional decisions.

Skills

SAP FI/CO

SAP COPA

SAP MM

Purchasing

Production data

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Finance/Business/Engineering

Advanced degree preferred

Job description

Albemarle is hiring a Plant Controller for its Magnolia, AR site. This on-site role partners with site leadership to drive financial accountability, cost discipline and informed decision-making, translating data into actionable insights to improve cost, cash and profitability.

The role leads plant planning, close processes, and forecast accuracy, collaborating with operations, procurement, and maintenance to optimize productivity and capital investments.