Interim Production Finance Lead

What you will be doing

You will lead a small operational finance team to translate complex production and financial data into clear, actionable insights that shape strategic site decisions and drive a culture of accountability. In this role, you will partner closely with operations and global support functions to strengthen financial governance and optimize site efficiency.

• Performance & Cost Control:
  Drive the production performance agenda by monitoring conversion costs, labour productivity, yield losses, and waste reduction against targets.
• Financial Planning:
  Own the budgeting, forecasting, and risk mitigation activities for all production operations.
• Business Partnering:
  Build and challenge robust business cases for operational and investment initiatives, ensuring realistic assumptions and decision-ready recommendations.
• Team Leadership:
  Manage and develop a small onsite team while reporting directly to the Head of Business Controlling.

We are seeking a resilient, commercially-minded finance professional who can balance technical rigor with the communication skills needed to influence behaviour across production environments. To be successful in this fast-paced manufacturing environment, you must bring a strong blend of financial expertise and collaborative leadership.

• Experience:
  
  5+ years in a manufacturing operations finance-based role, ideally within FMCG, food, or a high-volume manufacturing environment, alongside proven experience in business partnering with cross-functional operational teams.
• Hard skills: CIMA/ACCA qualification, advanced Excel capabilities, a solid understanding of lean manufacturing principles, and experience utilizing ERP systems (ideally SAP/SAP BW/Power BI) for product costing and inventory management.
• Soft skills:
  
  A proven record of growing and developing a team, paired with strong stakeholder management skills and the resilience to navigate challenging conversations while holding colleagues accountable.

This interim 9-month position offers a competitive salary alongside structured, balanced working hours:
Monday to Thursday 08:00-16:30, and an early finish on Fridays at 15:00. Based at our flagship Rochdale site, you will enjoy a dynamic, modern workplace that serves as the heart of our UK business.