Electrical Engineer

Humankind Group; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 520,000 - 700,000; Full time

Job summary

Humankind Group in Cape Town seeks a hands-on Cost Accountant to join the finance team. You will be responsible for providing accurate visibility of manufacturing costs, managing job costing, supporting inventory and WIP controls, and ensuring supplier and purchasing processes are properly maintained.

This role collaborates with engineering, procurement and production, requiring detail-oriented analysis, strong ERP experience and the ability to meet month-end deadlines.

Qualifications

• Diploma or degree in Cost & Management Accounting, Accounting, Finance.
• Approximately 36 years of relevant accounting experience in a manufacturing, engineering, fabrication or production environment.
• Practical experience in job costing and/or manufacturing costing.
• Experience with inventory, supplier accounts, purchase orders and month-end processes.
• Strong Excel skills and practical experience using an ERP or accounting system.
• Good understanding of general ledger accounting and balance sheet reconciliations.
• Strong analytical ability, attention to detail and commercial awareness.

Responsibilities

• Maintain and review costing for machines, production jobs and engineering projects.
• Track actual costs against jobs including materials, labour, subcontracting and other direct costs.
• Analyse variances between budgeted/standard and actual costs.
• Prepare costing, manufacturing cost and gross-margin reports.
• Validate Bills of Materials (BOMs) and component costs in the ERP.
• Assist with inventory valuation, stock counts, and WIP reconciliations.
• Monitor material issues, returns, slow-moving stock and obsolete inventory.
• Raise and control purchase orders with accurate cost allocations.
• Perform PO-to-GRV-to-supplier invoice matching.
• Prepare supplier reconciliations and month-end close activities.
• Support ERP improvements and internal controls.
• Prepare monthly manufacturing cost, inventory and variance reports.

Skills

Cost accounting

Analytical skills

ERP systems

Excel

Education

Cost & Management Accounting degree

Tools

Palladium ERP

SAP

Sage

Job description

Our client, a leading equipment manufacturer and distributor based in Chloorkop, Kempton Park, is seeking a hands‑on and detail‑oriented Cost Accountant to join their finance team.

This is an exciting opportunity for a commercially minded accounting professional who enjoys working closely with engineering, procurement, stores, production and finance. The successful candidate will be responsible for providing accurate visibility of manufacturing costs, managing job costing, supporting inventory and work‑in‑progress controls, and ensuring that supplier and purchasing processes are accurately maintained.

Position Details

Position: Cost Accountant

Location: Chloorkop, Kempton Park

Employment Type: Full‑time

Working Hours: Monday to Friday, 07:0016:00

Reporting To: Group Accountant / CEO

Key Responsibilities

• Maintain and review costing for individual machines, production jobs and engineering projects.
• Track actual material, labour, subcontracting and other direct costs against jobs.
• Analyse budgeted or standard costs versus actual costs and investigate variances.
• Prepare job costing, manufacturing cost and gross‑margin reports.
• Maintain and validate Bills of Materials (BOMs) and associated component costs within the ERP system.
• Assist with inventory valuation, stock counts, stock adjustments and work‑in‑progress (WIP) reconciliations.
• Monitor material issues, returns, slow‑moving stock and obsolete inventory.
• Raise and control purchase orders, ensuring accurate cost allocations and appropriate approvals.
• Perform or oversee PO-to-GRV-to-supplier‑invoice matching.
• Prepare supplier reconciliations and assist with month‑end creditor close, accruals and outstanding GRVs.
• Support ERP improvements, financial controls and accurate transaction processing.
• Prepare monthly manufacturing cost, inventory, WIP, supplier and variance reports for management.

Minimum Requirements

• Relevant diploma or degree in Cost & Management Accounting, Accounting, Finance or a related field.
• Approximately 36 years of relevant accounting experience in a manufacturing, engineering, fabrication or production environment.
• Practical experience in job costing and/or manufacturing costing.
• Experience with inventory, supplier accounts, purchase orders and month‑end processes.
• Strong Excel skills and practical experience using an ERP or accounting system.
• Good understanding of general ledger accounting and balance sheet reconciliations.
• Strong analytical ability, attention to detail and commercial awareness.
• Ability to work independently and collaborate confidently with engineering, procurement, stores and production teams.

Advantageous Experience

• BOM costing and maintenance.
• Work‑in‑progress accounting.
• Standard costing and actual‑versus‑standard variance analysis.
• Manufacturing overhead allocation.
• Engineering job or project costing.
• ERP implementation or process improvement.
• Exposure to Palladium, SAP, Sage or similar ERP systems.

Personal Attributes

• Hands‑on approach with a willingness to investigate costing and operational issues on the factory floor.
• Methodical, accurate and comfortable working with detailed financial and transactional data.
• Commercially minded, with an understanding of how costing supports pricing and profitability.
• Confident in identifying and challenging incorrect cost allocations and process discrepancies.
• Professional, dependable and able to meet month‑end deadlines.