Job Description
Role: Plant Controller / Financial Accountant (Food Manufacturing)
Company: Origin Valley Pet Nutrition
Location: Co. Meath, Ireland (site-based)
Reporting to: Managing Director
Key partners: Operations Manager, Production Manager, Supply Chain, QA, NPD, Commercial
About Origin Valley Pet Nutrition
Origin Valley Pet Nutrition manufactures premium pet nutrition products in Ireland. Our site combines high standards of quality and compliance with a strong performance culture. Finance plays a central role in delivering tight control, accurate product costing, and clear insight to drive operational and margin outcomes.
Role purpose
This role owns the site finance engine across period-end close, weekly/monthly performance reporting, budgeting & rolling forecasts, fixed assets/capex governance, inventory control, SAP production order review, yield variance reporting and product/process costing. You will operate as the finance business partner to Operations—turning plant activity into reliable numbers and actionable insights.
Key responsibilities
Performance reporting & insight (weekly / monthly)
Deliver weekly and monthly performance analysis versus Prior Year and Budget, including clear, insightful commentary and key execution actions.
Prepare commercial reporting monthly, explaining variance versus expected margins (price/mix, yield, labour, overheads, waste, inventory impacts).
Produce trends and deep dives on product line costing and plant performance, supporting the Factory/Operations leadership team to drive improvements.
Carry out ad-hoc analysis to support business performance management and decision-making.
Budgeting & rolling forecasts
Prepare and submit annual budgets and rolling forecasts, with clear identification and reporting of cost drivers and variables (volumes, labour, yields, energy, overhead absorption, packaging, etc.).
Partner with the Operations Manager and functional leads to design, optimise and monitor cost element leading indicators—setting up cadences, frequent reviews, monitoring and control mechanisms.
Period-end close, VAT, and core finance operations
Own period-end close: ensure all invoices and accruals are posted accurately in SAP, with robust cut-off and supporting schedules/reconciliations.
Prepare VAT reports from SAP and support compliance submissions as required.
Maintain AP & AR ledgers and support a strong control environment for site finance processes.
Inventory, stock integrity & write-off governance
Provide financial analysis and insight to support inventory being held at the right levels, and manage the write-offs process to help the site hit targets.
Ensure accuracy of inventory valuation inputs (BOMs, yields, routings, postings) and drive visibility of stock risks and opportunities.
SAP manufacturing controls & yield variance
Daily review of production orders in SAP: ensure resources and materials are issued correctly and investigate exceptions.
Understand production department yield variances and report daily, highlighting root cause themes and corrective actions with Operations.
Responsible for ensuring accurate financial and operational KPIs used in reporting.
Product/process costing & standards integrity
Own product/process costing to ensure yields, labour and direct overhead standards reflect true cost of manufacture.
Work closely with Plant, Business and Process teams to resolve differences between standard and actual, and improve master data discipline and costing accuracy.
Fixed assets & capex governance
Manage fixed assets accounting and the capital expenditure budget including monthly reporting of spend vs budget.
Identify and capitalise asset items at project completion and ensure compliance with the fixed assets policy.
R&D spend tracking
Capture and track all R&D related spend weekly, ensuring correct coding and visibility for reporting and decision-making.
Essential experience & qualifications (must-have)
Fully qualified accountant (ACA / ACCA / CIMA) with minimum 3 years' post-qualified experience (PQA).
Proven Plant Controller / Site Finance / Factory Finance experience within food manufacturing (or closely related regulated, high-volume manufacturing).
Strong experience owning:
weekly/monthly performance reporting vs PY/Budget with variance commentary,
budgets and rolling forecasts built on operational drivers,
product/process costing and yield/labour/overhead variance analysis,
inventory valuation, stock controls and write-off governance,
period-end close within an ERP environment.
Strong working knowledge of SAP ERP in a manufacturing setting (production orders, material issues, stock movements, cut-off/GRNI, reporting extracts).
Advanced Excel capability (analysis packs, variance bridges, cost models).
Personal attributes
Commercially minded with a strong control mindset—able to challenge constructively.
Comfortable spending time with Operations on the floor to understand issues and convert them into financial insight.
High attention to detail, strong ownership, and able to operate at pace in a changing environment.