JOB TITLE: Finance Manager
LOCATION: Warwickshire based
SALARY: £75,000 - £90,000 p.a
DURATION: Permanent

COMPANY INFORMATION:
My client is a leading automobile manufacturer who specialise in the luxury sports car sector.

OVERVIEW OF THE ROLE:
• Financial Controller of £80m - £100m plus annual Product Development (PD) to spend.
• Coordinate (within Finance) development of the annual business plan
• Work closely with the Directors/Product Planning to optimise and align the product cycle plan within the overall business strategy, financial plans and other business constraints/targets
• Develop Affordable Business Structure (ABS) for each product programme, recommending appropriate investment options and proactively ensuring programme financial targets are met
• Manage Purchasing Controllers Office – controls and approves material spend
• Manage and develop the Product Cost Estimating Function
• Co-lead Team Value Management function [jointly with General Manager Purchasing] which is responsible for ensuring material costs are optimised and profit maximised


KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
Business:
Product Development Financial Control: (2 managers and 7 analysts:
Develop financially optimized product cycle plan, using Affordable Business Structure, investment efficiency and contribution models
Recommend projects for approval based on IRR, decision profit and other financial deliverables
Control Annual Engineering spend around £80m
Control spend and report metrics on Product Programs to enable on target delivery in line with the company’s business plan
Provide a financial forecasting process which tracks both physical and financial metrics against budget objectives, analyses variances and develop corrective action plans where necessary
Provide commercial advice to enable Operating Managers to achieve objectives

Special Studies
Periodically develop business plans and investment proposals for new white space car product and brand expansion contracts

Purchasing Controllers Office (PCO function) (1 manager, 3 analysts):
Authorise and control purchasing of material of annual value of over £300m
Formally report actual financial performance and accurately forecast progress towards delivering budget including tracking cost reduction
Develop BoM (Bill of Material) changes and control cost movements
Maintain adequate commitment control and internal controls lines with finance and purchasing guidelines and delegated authorities

Product Cost Estimating (PCE) and Team Value Management (TVM): (1 manager, 10 estimators, co-manage TVM team and Engineers):
Prioritise workload of estimating team
Financial and operational responsibility (shared with Purchasing) for delivery of annual cost reduction targets (generating material cost savings of 25% in 2004-11)
Estimating function is a cross skill team and working with Purchasing and PD to deliver cost effective products
(Estimators combine skills of engineers, finance analysis and negotiation)
Co-manage TVM initiative which is targeted to take a methodical approach to minimizing material cost using ‘Lean Techniques’, gap analysis and benchmarking to enable effective value negotiation
Support new Product Program teams to ensure ‘Value for Money’ (VFM) and that this is achieved when delivering new specifications and engineering changes
Advise company expenditure (EAC) of VFM of all procurement proposals

Functional/Team
Ensure that the Finance, PCE managers and staff are appropriately skilled and qualified to provide the business with professional advice and support
Resource the function to deliver the business support and advice required
Ensure all staff and managers have clear annual objectives aligned to those of the business and have regular feedback on performance and leadership behavior.
Also ensure that appropriate training and development plans are in place to address gaps and weaknesses in the organization
Co Lead TVM cost reduction effort with Purchasing and TVM

Personality, Character, Qualifications & Experience:
Personality:
Confident, pro-active and objective approach to financial management whilst maintaining a ‘company team’ perspective
Independent and lateral thinker to provide alternative solutions and ideas – especially for cycle plan
Ability to communicate at all levels in business and give clear coherent advice

Qualifications:
Preferably a good degree in a business/finance related area or relevant professional qualification
At least 5 years experience as a finance manager in either the automotive or high luxury sectors

Experience of:
Financial planning/Control, Product Planning, Manufacturing, Motor Industry, Sales, Pricing and Purchase Cost Estimating
Managing and developing a (large) team of professionals
Operating closely with Board of Directors and influence in strategic planning for a business (unit)

For further information about this role please send your CV or call Alan Johnson on 01928 751 000

The Millbank group is an independently owned business whose growth has been carefully planned and structured to ensure that the highest levels of service are maintained throughout all areas of the business. The company is both a temporary and permanent staffing solution provider for the key disciplines within Engineering, Technical, Scientific, Safety, Project Control, Manufacturing and Commercial sectors
Millbank is a member of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and hold ISO 9001:2000 certification.