The UK Factory & European Operations Business Partner is responsible for providing financial leadership, control and business partnering across the UK Roastery but also supporting pan-European Operations in order to support strategic and operational decision-making.
Location/Travel
The role is based at our Roastery in Dartford, with occasional travel to our UK Head Office in Milton Keynes. Travel across Europe is also required to support the European Operations Director.
The Role - key responsibilities and accountabilities
-
Financial Control & Factory Performance Management
- Provide robust financial analysis and insight into factory performance, including variance analysis against budget, forecast and production plans, identifying key drivers and supporting corrective actions.
-
Partner with the Factory leadership and UK&I leadership team to improve efficiency, operational performance and profitability through data-driven decision making.
-
Maintain strong financial governance over factory costs, inventory, purchasing, production performance and operational expenditure, ensuring compliance with internal controls and Group policies.
-
Support the development and continuous improvement of financial processes, reporting standards and controls across manufacturing operations.
-
Own the financial control, reporting and performance management of the Roastery, ensuring accurate and timely month-end close, financial statements, accruals, prepayments, balance sheet reconciliations and reporting packs.
-
Support year-end statutory reporting, audit requirements and financial compliance activities.
-
Green Coffee, Costing & Supply Chain Finance
- Own the financial oversight of the green coffee flow, including coffee price management, stock projections, deal tracking, fixations and position pricing, ensuring accurate forecasting and reporting.
-
Translate sales forecasts into raw material, packaging requirements and production cost projections to support budgeting, forecasting and operational planning.
-
Partner closely with the Geneva procurement team and supply chain stakeholders to monitor coffee deals, contract movements, pricing impacts and inventory development.
-
Provide insight and analysis on green coffee performance, including customer demand versus delivery accuracy, deal lifecycle, blend management, spot purchases, contract changes and related operational KPIs.
-
Maintain accurate coffee-related master data and pricing information within ERP systems, ensuring reliable cost and margin reporting.
-
Manufacturing Cost Control & Business Partnering
- Own manufacturing cost analysis, including product costing, inventory valuation, production performance, absorption analysis and cost planning.
-
Provide financial challenge and insight on tenders, contract extensions, new product introductions and margin simulations, ensuring sustainable profitability.
-
Support the Operations team in identifying, implementing and tracking cost-saving initiatives and continuous improvement opportunities.
-
Develop financial models and business cases to support operational decisions and strategic initiatives.
-
Provide ad-hoc analysis and recommendations to support business performance improvement.
-
European Operations business partnership
- Act as a finance business partner for European Operations, providing the Group Operations Director and Operations Leadership Team with timely financial insights, performance metrics and strategic analysis.
-
Deliver consolidated operational reporting, including executive-level analysis, trends, key performance indicators and financial guidance to support decision-making.
-
Own the review of operational performance across Europe, ensuring alignment between operational objectives, financial targets and Group strategy.
-
Support the forecasting, budgeting, S&OP and strategic planning processes by aligning operational requirements with financial forecasts.
-
Ensure operational teams have transparency on performance against targets, including ROIC measures, cost efficiency, capacity planning and operational improvements.
- Lead the financial governance of CAPEX processes across operations, including business case preparation, approval processes, investment tracking, return on investment analysis and post-investment reviews.
-
Support the development and evaluation of capital projects, ensuring investments align with strategic objectives and deliver expected value.
-
Provide financial oversight and challenge on major operational initiatives and improvement programmes.
Knowledge & Experience
-
Professionally qualified accountant (ACA, CIMA or ACCA) with strong technical accounting knowledge and understanding of financial controls, governance and reporting standards.
-
Proven experience in manufacturing finance, plant controlling, operational reporting and business partnering, with a strong understanding of cost control, product costing, inventory valuation, financial modelling and performance analysis.
-
Ability to provide strategic insight, challenge and commercial support to senior stakeholders, influencing decisions and driving improved business performance.
-
Strong analytical and problem-solving capability, with the ability to interpret complex financial and operational data, identify key drivers and translate insights into actionable recommendations
-
Excellent communicator, able to simplify and present complex information clearly to different audiences, while balancing a strategic view with the ability to deep-dive into detailed analysis when required.
-
Demonstrated ability to build trusted relationships and influence without authority across multiple functions, cultures and geographies, partnering effectively with Operations, Supply Chain, Procurement and Commercial teams.
-
Resilient and adaptable, with the ability to manage competing priorities, operate under pressure and deliver results in a fast-paced, changing environment.
-
Strong systems capability, including ERP platforms, financial reporting tools and advanced Excel, with experience leveraging data and technology to improve efficiency, reporting quality and decision-making.
Salary: Competitive
