Finance Project Controller – Advanced Manufacturing Scale-Up

Location: South East London

Location:

Coventry

Hours:

Full time Salary:
Up to £70,000 plus car / car allowance, 33 days holiday (including bank holidays), pension, bonus, life assurance, employee assistance programme, wellbeing support, and flexible benefits including cycle to work scheme

About the role:

Unipart Manufacturing is launching a flagship, fast-paced manufacturing project in Coventry, combining high-volume electrification assembly with complex injection moulding inputs. Fully aligned with Unipart's Sector and Growth Strategy and The Unipart Way Forward Plan, this critical project is scaling from zero to over 200 production colleagues within just four months. We are seeking a driven, commercially astute Finance Project Controller to partner with project operational leadership.

Reporting directly to the manufacturing Head of Finance with a dotted line into the Project General Manager, you will build scalable financial systems, manage supply chain commitments, control manufacturing costs, and enforce rigorous governance as we ramp up to full production volume. As part of your key responsibilities, you'll:
Financial Governance and Controls
- Design, implement, and maintain scalable financial controls and accounting processes in full compliance with Unipart statutory requirements Operational Reporting and KPIs
- Deliver weekly financial flash reports to operational leadership and track operational financial KPIs to drive contract profitability and cost control Month-End Execution and Management Accounts
- Lead the accurate preparation of monthly management accounts, group reporting packages, variance analysis, and balance sheet reconciliations Product Costing and Inventory Valuation
- Maintain precise product costing models, manage standard costing, and control material/process variation alongside production and procurement teams CAPEX, OPEX and Cash Flow
- Closely monitor project capital and operational expenditure against budget while managing rolling cash flow forecasts to optimise working capital Commercial and Contract Growth
- Partner on commercial negotiations, engineering change reviews, and strategic planning to secure long-term, margin-accretive growth Tax, Statutory and Customs Compliance
- Oversee statutory records, UK GAAP, VAT, RDEC, and UK Customs/Duty deferment processes to minimise financial exposure on imported goods System Implementation and Scaling
- Leverage manufacturing ERP/MRP systems to build robust data models, maintaining both hands-on detail and strategic oversight as the team grows

About you:

We'd love you to have the following skills and experience, but please apply if you think you'd be able to perform well in this role! Professional Qualifications
- Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, or CIMA) with demonstrable post-qualification experience Manufacturing and Scale-Up Track Record
- Proven background delivering finance control within a fast-paced manufacturing facility, ideally through a rapid scale-up phase Technical Accounting Mastery
- In-depth knowledge of inventory accounting, standard costing, product costing models, UK GAAP, VAT, Corporation Tax, and RDEC ERP Systems and Implementation
- Hands-on experience operating manufacturing ERP/MRP systems (system implementation or optimisation experience is highly desirable) Customs and Trade Exposure
- Practical understanding of UK Customs, duties, and trade compliance processes for imported manufacturing components Data and Spreadsheet Capability
- Advanced spreadsheet skills with the ability to manipulate large, complex operational datasets and build financial models Commercially Focused Leadership
- Pragmatic business acumen with strong interpersonal skills to challenge operational teams, manage contract variations, and influence stakeholders…