Overview
Senior Manager Finance (Plant & Operations Finance)
Reporting to: Group Financial Controller / Group CFO
Location: Colombo Head Office; required travel to plants and 3PM sites across Sri Lanka
Travel: ~8 days per month; each visit 2–3 days (candidates must be willing to travel and stay on site)
Span of control: Finance staff at 2 dairy plants, 1 coconut/non‑dairy facility and 5 contract manufacturers (matrix reporting)
Purpose Drive operational finance, costing, plant profitability and cost‑efficiency across all manufacturing sites; implement standardized plant finance processes and partner with plant/operations teams to improve yields, reduce waste and deliver margin improvements.
Key responsibilities
- Plant finance leadership: oversee day‑to‑day plant accounting, inventory control, yields, production cost build‑ups and reconciliations; mentor plant finance staff.
- Site visits: conduct regular on‑site reviews (~8 days/month) including 2–3 day deep dives on costing, stock controls, process compliance and KPI reviews.
- Costing & margin: maintain and refine plant and product costing models; lead cost‑per‑unit analysis, by‑product costing and loss/waste analysis.
- Operational performance: partner with Operations/Technical to identify yield improvements, waste reduction and process efficiencies; develop and track improvement initiatives.
- Standardization & controls: implement standard COA, policies, reporting templates and internal controls at plants and 3PMs; ensure timely submission of site financials.
- Variance analysis & corrective action: drive monthly variance analysis (volume, yield, mix, input costs) and coordinate corrective actions with plant managers.
- Inventory & working capital: manage raw material, WIP and finished goods accounting; reduce stock variances and optimize inventory days at site level.
- Support audits & compliance: lead plant level internal/external audit coordination and ensure closure of findings.
- Systems & data: promote ERP/plant system usage, automated data capture and elimination of manual reporting.
KPIs (examples) - Plant visit cadence maintained: ~8 days/month with documented outcomes.
- Stock variances ≤ 0.5–1.0% of throughput value.
- Plant month‑end reporting on time and within group close timeline.
- Unit cost variances vs standard ≤ agreed thresholds.
- Yield/wastage within technical benchmarks with YoY improvement.
- 100% adoption of standard COA and site reporting templates.
- Closure of high severity audit findings at site level within 90 days.
Qualifications & experience
- CA/ACCA/CIMA or equivalent; MBA desirable.
- 5–8+ years post‑qualification with hands‑on manufacturing/plant costing and operational finance experience (dairy, FMCG, food processing preferred).
- Proven experience in multi‑site plant finance, inventory control and cost optimization.
- Strong ERP experience (SAP/MD/other), advanced Excel/analytics.
- Willingness to travel frequently and stay on site for 2–3 days per visit.
Core competencies
- Deep costing and operational finance skills.
- Practical problem solving and process improvement orientation.
- Strong stakeholder engagement with Operations/Technical teams.
- High attention to detail and control mindset.
