Plant Controller

The Plant Controller will provide division business management with operational financial reports and analyses regarding plant performance. This position ensures that corporate and group financial procedures are followed, and internal controls are in place. The incumbent will partner with plant and business management and make recommendations for profitability and working capital improvements and ensures that proper controls are utilized to protect the company’s assets. Principal End Results:

• Plan, organize, and control all accounting, budgeting, financial analysis, credit and collection, and local tax activities of manufacturing plant in accordance with corporate financial policies and procedures.
• Assure accurate accounting and reporting of the financial transactions and related analysis of the plant, alert management to trends and problems.
• Participate in the preparation of budget and business plans and provide financial evaluation and interpretation of alternatives.
• Prepare operating and capital budgets; report and analyze performance against same.
• Implement and administer corporate credit, collection, and tax preparation policies.

In this role, the incumbent provides information and advice on the financial performance of the business. The incumbent is expected to provide the controls and information required by the Corporate Financial Department and also provides the information essential for the Chief Financial Officer. This requires involvement in the design of systems and reports in close cooperation with the users. The incumbent is expected to provide interpretation of the information and become involved in the strategic decision making of the entities in the region.

This plant represents approximately $80M in sales and 240 employees. It serves 8 different strategic business units and has approximately 25,000 SKUs.

Financial Analysis, Budget & Recurring Reporting (50%) 

• Manage, review, and summarize periodic financial analysis (whether it may be daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual) to operational management that is accurate, timely, and value added.
• Preparation, review of and summary of periodic financial analysis including but not limited to the measuring of Sales (R05), cost of Sales (R25), gross Margins (R20), manufacturing variances (R31), manufacturing quality and inventory provisions (R32), and SG&A (R51, R52, R53, and R56).
• Strong focus on measuring the accuracy and timeliness of the manufacturing variances.
• Providing analysis and reporting on key manufacturing performance indicators (Operational KPIs) that monitor and measure results.

Continuous Improvement (20%) 

• Directly involved in continuous improvement projects to improve the plant’s cost competitiveness and agility.
• Provides efficient leadership with production staff participating to Steering Committee, daily Ops Reviews and other WCM programs.

Management of Teams (20%) 

• Lead, manage, and develop direct reports which include the Finance Teams and Purchasing Teams.

Compliance & Management of Financial/Accounting Systems (10%) 

• Manage financial and accounting functions/systems to ensure operating performance information is compliant with corporate accounting and auditing policies (follows Saint-Gobain ICRF guidelines- Internal Reference Framework) and applicable local, state, and federal laws.
• Responsible for ensuring accurate and strong internal controls for managing the sites’ assets and liabilities.
• Responsible for managing the financial and accounting functions/systems to ensure operating performance information is compliant with corporate accounting and internal auditing policies (SGC ICFR) and applicable local, state, and federal laws.
• Other related duties assigned.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Finance, Accounting, or equivalent (Required)
• Master’s Degree or MBA (Preferred)
• Yellow Belt or Green Belt Certification for WCM (Preferred)
• Experience as Plant/Business Controller (or equivalent) with progressively increased responsibilities and number of direct reports (Required)
• Proficient use of SAP in a controlling environment (Required)
• Strong Excel and Presentation skills (Required)
• The incumbent must have the ability to influence activities in various departments and plants without direct authority.
• Demonstrated communication skills both written and verbal are critical. Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers, and the general public.
• Ability to communicate and work cross-functionally with teams – collaborating with purchasing, quality, manufacturing, production planning & commercial teams to influence desired outcomes in establishing annual standard costs & communicating results.
• Use a data-driven approach to problem-solving and loss identification at the plant.

MUST HAVE

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, Accounting, or equivalent
• Experience as Plant/Business Controller with progressively increased responsibilities and several direct reports.
• Experience in Financial Analysis, Budget & Recurring Reporting, Compliance & Management of Financial/Accounting Systems.
• Experience in the use of SAP in a controlling environment.
• Strong Excel and Presentation skills.
• Manufacturing experience.
• Minimum of 5 years experience.

NICE TO HAVE

• Master’s Degree or MBA.
• Yellow Belt or Green Belt Certification for WCM.