Finance Project Manager

6-Month Fixed-Term Contract, with potential to extend
Location: Burton-on-Trent, with travel across additional UK manufacturing sites

We are looking for an experienced, commercially minded Finance professional to support the development and implementation of a robust manufacturing cost model across a UK food manufacturing operation.

This is a key project-based appointment requiring someone who has previously built, developed or significantly improved a manufacturing costing model within the food manufacturing sector.

Working closely with Finance, Operations, Engineering, Supply Chain and Commercial teams, you will gather and validate manufacturing cost data and translate it into a sustainable costing model that supports pricing decisions, profitability analysis and operational performance.

The initial contract is expected to last approximately six months, with the potential to extend depending on project requirements.

• Support the design, development and implementation of a manufacturing cost model.
• Gather, cleanse, reconcile and analyse cost data from multiple systems, manufacturing sites and stakeholders.
• Develop consistent standard costing methodologies across products, production lines and manufacturing processes.
• Analyse raw material, packaging, labour, energy and manufacturing overhead costs.
• Review and validate Bills of Materials, production routings, labour assumptions and operational data.
• Identify inaccuracies, inconsistencies and gaps within existing costing information.
• Work with site Finance and Operations teams to understand manufacturing processes and cost drivers.
• Build detailed financial models and conduct scenario and sensitivity analysis.
• Assess the impact of changes in materials, labour, production volumes, efficiency and overhead recovery.
• Support pricing, margin and profitability analysis.
• Present findings, recommendations and project progress to senior finance and operational stakeholders.
• Establish processes and controls to ensure the costing model remains accurate, sustainable and fit for purpose.
• Support the implementation and embedding of the completed model across the relevant business areas.

• Previous experience building or implementing a manufacturing cost model.
• Recent and demonstrable experience within food manufacturing.
• Strong knowledge of standard costing within a manufacturing environment.
• Experience analysing material, labour and manufacturing overhead costs.
• Good understanding of Bills of Materials, routings, production processes and operational cost drivers.
• Advanced financial modelling and data analysis skills.
• Strong Excel skills and experience working with significant volumes of data.
• Commercially astute, with the ability to translate complex financial information into practical recommendations.
• Confident working cross-functionally with Finance, Operations, Engineering, Supply Chain and Commercial teams.
• Comfortable travelling between UK manufacturing sites as required.

• A recognised accounting qualification such as CIMA, ACCA or ACA.
• Experience working across several manufacturing plants.
• Experience improving costing processes, systems or ERP data.
• Previous finance transformation, project accounting or interim finance experience.

The successful person will be hands-on, analytical and commercially focused. You will need to challenge existing assumptions, investigate discrepancies and build strong working relationships with both finance and non-finance stakeholders.

This role requires someone who can quickly understand complex manufacturing operations and turn fragmented information into a clear, credible and sustainable costing model.

For further information, please apply asap