Role: Finance Manager
Location: Birmingham

Role overview
Our client seeks an experienced Finance Manager to lead day-to-day financial operations for its Birmingham manufacturing operation. This is a hands-on role combining management accounting, commercial finance partnering and systems ownership to support scale, cost control and margin improvement. The successful candidate will have solid experience in manufacturing organisations.

Key responsibilities

• Manage month-end close and management accounts: deliver timely P&L, balance sheet reconciliations and variance commentary.
• Prepare budgets and rolling forecasts: maintain driver-based models, scenario analysis and clear variance explanations for senior leadership.
• Commercial partnering: support pricing, product and channel profitability analysis, job costing and bid/tender finance input.
• Cost control and inventory oversight: monitor cost of goods sold, standard cost updates, inventory valuations, BOM cost checks and actions to reduce excess stock.
• Support costing, work in progress and production accounting: ensure accurate job/shop order accounting, labour absorption and overhead allocation.
• Cash and working capital management: support cash forecasting, debtor control and supplier payment optimisation.
• ERP ownership and improvements: act as key finance lead for Oracle NetSuite configuration, reporting, integrations and user adoption; drive automation of routine processes and data quality.
• Month-end controls and compliance: maintain SOX-style checklists where applicable, support statutory reporting and audit requests.
• Develop processes and team capability: coach junior finance staff, standardise procedures and document controls.
• Ad hoc projects: support product margin improvement, cost reduction programmes and system rollouts.

Experience skills and attributes

• Qualified accountant ACA/ACCA/CIMA or equivalent, or strong part-qualified candidate with relevant experience.
• Proven experience in manufacturing finance with hands-on exposure to job costing, standard costing, inventory accounting and production reporting.
• Practical, demonstrable experience with Oracle NetSuite in a finance or reporting capacity, including use of saved searches, SuiteAnalytics, GL configuration and integration points.
• Strong technical skills in Excel and financial modelling.
• Commercial mindset: ability to translate financial insight into operational actions that improve margins and cash.
• Process and control oriented with experience implementing and maintaining month-end checklists and reconciliations.
• Excellent communicator and business partner able to influence operations, supply chain and commercial teams.
• Organised, pragmatic and delivery-focused with the ability to work under pressure to deadlines.

Success measures and KPIs

• Monthly management accounts delivered on time with clear variance commentary.
• Accurate rolling forecast and driver models maintained and used in decision making.
• Reduction in inventory days and improved COGS accuracy within 12 months.
• NetSuite finance improvements delivered: improved reporting, fewer reconciliation exceptions and higher data integrity.
• Commercial impact: measurable margin improvements supported through pricing and cost initiatives.
• Strong internal controls with audit requests managed efficiently and limited control exceptions.

Package reporting and how to apply

• Salary - competitive and commensurate with experience.
• Reports to Financial Controller.
• Location Birmingham with occasional travel to other AJM sites.
• To apply send CV and a short cover note summarising your manufacturing finance experience and one example of a systems or cost improvement you led.