Finance Business Partner

Finance Business Partner - Operations
Bedford- occasional travel to other local sites
Salary based on experience

Henderson Brown Recruitment is exclusively collaborating with a global manufacturing leader to find a highly experienced Operational Finance Business Partner.
This newly created opportunity is perfect for a true operational accountant who thrives off working in a complex FMCG business partnering with Senior stakeholders.

As a key business partner to the Site General Manager and the wider site team, you will play a crucial role in achieving budget targets and driving business improvement plans. You will collaborate with the Commercial and NPD teams on standard costing and provide insightful analysis, while supporting the Senior Operations & FP&A Controller with analytical reviews, analysis, and commentary. As the Site Finance Lead, you will work closely with the Site General Manager to ensure key performance targets are met and implement corrective action plans when deviations occur.

Key responsibilities but not limited to:
* Lead the yearly budget standard costing cycle, from raw material prices to finished products, supported by insightful year-on-year analysis.
* Maintain standard costs within the AX system for ingredients, packaging, finished goods, and associated inter-company prices.
* Conduct monthly material variance analysis, providing root cause analysis to drive corrective actions by operations.
* Partner effectively with operations to deliver budget targets.
* Prepare month-end and related production variance analysis, including efficiency reviews.
* Develop and support new business intelligence tools to enhance materials variance and waste visibility for corrective actions.
* Assist and support the Senior Operations & FP&A Controller with various ad-hoc projects and activities.
* Drive continuous improvement for the NPD and annual standard costing exercises.
* Serve as an effective bridge between commercial and operations finance and wider teams.
* Provide ad-hoc support for the wider finance team as needed.
Qualifications and Experience
* Degree level education or relevant experience.
* Qualified professional accounting body (ACA / CIMA / ACCA).
* Food manufacturing background desirable, FMCG essential.

Skills and Knowledge:

* Highly organised with the ability to work under pressure and meet strict deadlines.
* Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
* High level of accuracy in financial information preparation and entry.
* Good understanding of standard costing principles.
* Familiarity with commercial tender processes.
* Ability to investigate key deviations from financial targets and related prognosis.
* Proficiency in Excel for developing dashboards and models.
Experience:
* Minimum of 5 years operations finance experience in manufacturing businesses.
* Standard costing experience desirable.
* Essential experience in operations team-facing roles and business partner roles.
* Desirable experience with Power BI and Dynamics AX or other ERP applications.
* Experience in international organisations.
* Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment.

Our client offers a competitive salary and renumeration, for more information please apply now.