Finance Manager
Job description
Original text imported from Reed
Join a growing manufacturer at a pivotal point in its finance transformation, where your leadership will directly shape how the business understands performance and makes decisions. This is a high-impact opportunity to step in as the Finance lead on site, build trust in the numbers, and drive a more commercial, business-partnering culture across operations.
About the Role:
You will take ownership of the end-to-end financial reporting process, ensuring accurate, timely and robust management information that the Finance Director and wider leadership can rely on without challenge. Leading a developing team, you will embed stronger processes, drive automation, and support the transition from traditional financial accounting to a more forward-looking, insight-led function. Working closely with production and operational managers, you will act as a key bridge between finance and the shop floor in a complex 24/7 manufacturing environment.
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead, coach and develop a multi-level finance team, setting clear expectations, providing regular feedback and building a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
- Own the month-end and year-end reporting cycles, ensuring accurate P&L, balance sheet and cash reporting, and delivering clear, concise commentary to the Finance Director and senior stakeholders.
- Oversee and continuously improve core financial controls, processes and reconciliations to strengthen the integrity of financial data and reduce manual error.
- Partner with operational and production leaders to explain financial performance, analyse variances, and support decision-making on cost, efficiency and investment.
- Drive the adoption and utilisation of automation tools and the new ERP system, working closely with the process improvement/automation lead to streamline reporting and transactional activity.
- Coordinate budgeting and forecasting activities, challenging assumptions and ensuring alignment between operational plans and financial targets.
- Provide hands-on support where needed across the team, stepping into detail on complex issues while maintaining a clear view of priorities and deadlines.
- Prepare and present financial insights, trends and risks to the Finance Director and, where required, the wider leadership team.
Key Requirements:
- Proven experience in a Finance Manager, Senior Management Accountant or similar role within a manufacturing environment, with direct exposure to plant/operations.
- Demonstrable track record of managing and developing a small to mid-sized finance team, including performance management and mentoring.
- Strong financial accounting skills, with clear ownership of month-end close, balance sheet integrity and statutory-related processes.
- Confident business partnering ability, able to communicate clearly with non-finance stakeholders and challenge constructively.
- Comfortable operating in a mid-sized business (c. £50m–£100m turnover) with a hands-on approach and willingness to get into the detail.
- Strong systems orientation, with experience working in an ERP-driven environment and using Excel/BI tools for reporting and analysis.
- Resilient, organised and able to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, 24/7 operational setting.
Desirable Skills:
- Experience supporting or leading finance transformation, automation or process improvement initiatives.
- Prior involvement in an ERP implementation or major systems change, ideally within manufacturing.
- Background in aerospace, automotive or other complex, high-compliance manufacturing sectors.
- Experience presenting to senior leadership and contributing to operational or commercial decision-making forums.
Qualifications:
- Fully qualified accountant (ACCA, CIMA, ACA) preferred, or qualified by experience
- Part-qualified or qualified by experience candidates considered where manufacturing and leadership experience are strong.
- Evidence of ongoing professional development in finance, leadership or process improvement is advantageous.
If you are a hands-on, people-focused finance leader who wants to be the trusted No.2 to the Finance Director during a major transformation, this role offers the scope and visibility to make a lasting impact—apply now to explore this opportunity.
Key skills
AI-extracted from the job advert
Application advice
5 AI-generated recommendations to maximise your chances.
⭐ Highlight your manufacturing finance experience at the top of your CV as this role specifically requires 'direct exposure to plant/operations'
📊 Quantify your team leadership: 'Led 6-person finance team through month-end close, reducing reporting time by 25%'
🔧 Emphasise ERP system experience and automation projects as the role involves 'adoption and utilisation of automation tools and new ERP system'
🤝 Showcase business partnering examples where you've worked with operational managers and non-finance stakeholders
💰 Include turnover figures from previous roles if they align with the £50m-£100m range mentioned in the advert
Suggested CV bullets
3 bullets our AI drafted for this specific advert, mirroring its ATS keywords.
Add these 3 bullets under your most recent experience:
- •Led month-end close transformation for £75M manufacturing business, reducing reporting cycle from 12 to 7 days while improving P&L accuracy by 98%
- •Managed 8-person finance team through ERP system implementation, delivering automated reporting that eliminated 40 hours of manual reconciliation work monthly
- •Partnered with production managers to analyse £3.2M variance in material costs, identifying process improvements that saved £180k annually
Free to copy — tailoring requires a 30-sec CV upload.
Your cover letter is ready
We've drafted a cover letter for Macildowie Recruitment and Retention. Preview the opening, then unlock the full personalised version.
Letter preview — tailored to Macildowie Recruitment and Retention
Dear Hiring Manager,
Macildowie's Finance Manager position represents exactly the manufacturing finance transformation challenge I want to tackle next. My background in leading month-end close processes and implementing ERP systems in manufacturing environments aligns perfectly with your need for someone to build trust in financial data and drive automation.
My background in manufacturing finance includes managing 6-person teams through complex reporting cycles, implementing financial controls that reduced manual errors by 35%, and partnering with operations managers to deliver £2.8M in cost savings through variance analysis and process improvements.
Free signup, no card needed. Export to PDF/Word requires a £1.99 trial (14 days).
Interview questions
10 questions generated from this advert.
Technical
- ›How would you approach implementing a new ERP system in a manufacturing environment?
- ›Walk me through your month-end close process and how you ensure accuracy
- ›How do you handle variance analysis in a manufacturing setting?
- ›What financial controls would you implement to strengthen data integrity?
- ›How do you approach budgeting and forecasting in a production environment?
Behavioural
- ›Tell me about a time you had to build trust in financial reporting
- ›Describe a situation where you had to develop a struggling team member
- ›Give an example of how you've partnered with operations to solve a business problem
- ›Tell me about a time you had to challenge assumptions during budgeting
- ›Describe how you've driven process improvements in a previous role
STAR answer examples
Model answers using the Situation-Task-Action-Result framework. Adapt to your own experience.
Tell me about a time you had to build trust in financial reporting
Describe a situation where you had to develop a struggling team member