SIte Finance Manager - Manufacturing

Site Finance Manager – Manufacturing | Salisbury | 2 days on site

Be the financial voice of a major manufacturing site.

This is a genuinely influential opportunity for an accomplished, fully qualified finance professional to take financial ownership of a substantial manufacturing operation in Salisbury.

We're recruiting on behalf of a successful and established UK manufacturing group looking to appoint a Site Finance Manager who will become the key Finance person for its Salisbury operation.

You'll take full ownership of the site P&L, working directly alongside the Site Manager and senior operational stakeholders to understand performance, challenge decisions and help determine where money should, and shouldn't, be spent.

There is plenty of technical depth to the position, but equally this is about getting out into the business, understanding how the operation works and using financial insight to influence what happens next.

You'll have autonomy at site level, combined with the support and infrastructure of a much wider Group finance function.

What Will You Be Doing?

You'll become a trusted financial partner to the Leadership team, with responsibility for providing the insight, controls and commercial challenge behind site performance.

Your remit will include:

• Taking full ownership of the Salisbury site P&L

• Working closely with the Site Manager as their key financial business partner

• Producing and communicating detailed weekly and monthly management information

• Leading site budgets, forecasts and quarterly P&L reforecasts

• Identifying financial risks, opportunities and areas for improved performance

• Challenging operational expenditure and working closely with budget holders

• Providing detailed analysis around manufacturing costs, efficiencies, margins and performance

• Supporting and challenging CapEx proposals and investment decisions

• Tracking investment spend and benefits against agreed business cases

• Providing financial input into operational planning and S&OP

• Maintaining robust financial controls and balance sheet integrity

• Supporting continuous improvement and cost-saving initiatives

• Working closely with operational, engineering and supply chain teams

• Improving reporting and processes through standardisation, automation and technology

Who Are We Looking For?

There are three particularly important requirements for this appointment. You must:

• Be fully qualified ACA, ACCA or CIMA

• Have strong manufacturing finance experience (FMCG advantageous)

• Have demonstrable experience of personally owning an entire P&L

These aren't simply preferences, they're fundamental to the level and responsibility of the position.

You might currently be working as a Site Finance Manager, Operations Finance Manager, Manufacturing Finance Manager, Senior Finance Business Partner, Site Financial Controller or Plant Controller.

Food manufacturing or FMCG experience would be a significant advantage, but it isn't essential. We're very open to strong finance professionals from other manufacturing environments who understand the pace, complexity and commercial challenges of running a production site.

More Than Reporting Numbers

The technical finance capability needs to be strong, but that's only part of what will make someone successful here. We're looking for somebody who can sit alongside a Site Manager and confidently have conversations around:

• What are we spending? Why are we spending it? What's the return? Where are we losing margin? Where can we improve? What happens financially if we make this operational decision?

You'll need the confidence to challenge when necessary, while building strong relationships with people across the operation.

You'll be able to take complex financial information and turn it into something meaningful for non-finance colleagues, helping them make better commercial decisions.

Why Is This Opportunity Different?

You won't be joining to manage a large finance department. Instead, you'll be the key Finance person for the Salisbury site, with genuine visibility and influence across the operation.

You'll work closely with senior site leadership while remaining connected to a wider Group finance structure, giving you an interesting balance between local ownership and the resources of a significant UK organisation.

For somebody who enjoys manufacturing finance but wants to be closer to the decisions, this offers the opportunity to genuinely influence how a site performs rather than simply report what has already happened.

Once you're fully established, the role can operate with around two days per week on site. Initially, however, you'll need to spend more time in Salisbury. Getting to know the operation, understanding the numbers and developing credibility with the Site Manager and wider team will be important, so we'd expect greater site presence during those first few months.

Interested?

If the sound of this exciting Senior role sounds like the ideal next challenge for you, call Louise Howard for a confidential conversation