Plant Controller (3714)
About The Position
The Plant Controller is a highly visible finance leadership role responsible for operational accounting, cost control, inventory integrity, financial performance support, and finance process transformation for two food manufacturing facilities. The position serves as a key finance business partner to plant leadership, operations, supply chain, IT, and corporate finance and accounting, with particular emphasis on lunchmeat operations. The role is split between the corporate office in Tinley Park, Illinois, and the plants in Montgomery and South Holland, Illinois, requiring regular on-site presence. The Plant Controller leads the development, implementation, and ongoing improvement of financial processes, systems, reporting, controls, and process flows. The goal is to improve data reliability, strengthen system integration, support sound decision-making, and improve operational performance. The role involves leading change, mapping current- and future-state processes, translating business requirements into system and reporting needs, and partnering across functions to implement scalable solutions. The position reports directly to the Vice President of Finance and Accounting.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, or a related field.
- At least 7 years of experience in a manufacturing environment, including cost accounting, inventory accounting, or a similar role.
- Strong financial modeling skills using Excel.
- Ability to distill complex financial information into a narrative that supports decision-making.
- Experience with ERP, planning, production, inventory, and reporting systems, including improving process flows, strengthening system integration, and translating operational needs into finance and reporting requirements.
- Experience working with multiple databases, integrating data from different sources, validating data flows, and improving reporting accuracy through system design and process discipline.
- Strong critical-thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills.
- Ability to lead change in a manufacturing environment, including documenting current-state processes, designing future-state workflows, supporting system testing, training users, and driving adoption after implementation.
- Ability and willingness to split time between Tinley Park, Montgomery, and South Holland, Illinois, with regular plant presence and consistent weekly travel to both plants based on business needs.
- Comfort engaging directly with plant teams and observing operational processes in manufacturing plant environments.
Nice To Haves
- CPA.
- Experience in the consumer packaged goods industry.
- Proficiency in Microsoft D365.
- Experience with planning tools such as Planful, business intelligence tools, workflow automation, or system implementation projects.
Responsibilities
- Apply US GAAP and maintain inventory integrity through controls, oversight of monthly and annual inventory counts, and processes that improve inventory accuracy.
- Build an understanding of plant layouts, production flows, labor and yield drivers, inventory movement, systems, and standards through meaningful on-site work at the Montgomery and South Holland facilities.
- Assess accounting operations, process flows, system touchpoints, and data handoffs; recommend and implement technology-enabled improvements to controls, data reliability, manual work, and decision support.
- Serve as the point of contact for external auditors and coordinate audit activities and documentation for lunchmeat plant operational activities.
- Analyze and report operational financial results to business units and corporate management.
- Establish, monitor, and reinforce operational KPIs with plant leadership, translating results into actions to improve cost, yield, labor efficiency, waste, and inventory performance.
- Analyze costs, prepare variance reports, and provide insights to optimize profitability; develop and monitor operational business performance metrics.
- Partner with FP&A on budgeting, forecasting, cost analysis, and inventory activities, and understand the impact of purchasing prices on commodity costs.
- Continuously improve plant finance processes by streamlining workflows, automating manual activities, strengthening data governance, and standardizing practices across locations.
- Lead finance workstreams for system transformation initiatives, including requirements gathering, process mapping, testing, implementation support, user adoption, and post-implementation stabilization for standard costing, inventory, production reporting, and related processes.
- Partner with IT, operations, supply chain, accounting, FP&A, and external implementation partners to improve integration among ERP, planning, production, inventory, and reporting systems.
- Provide leadership, coaching, development, and practical training to staff, peers, plant partners, users, and data stewards on financial acumen, accountability, system functionality, master data standards, process changes, and best practices.
- Collaborate with Accounting, Finance, Treasury, Supply Chain, QA, Purchasing, HR, IT, operations, and implementation partners to align process design, data requirements, system integration, reporting, and user adoption.
- Build trust with plant teams, communicate directly and constructively, and model a team-first approach grounded in humility, urgency, credibility, and respect.
- Support other projects as needed.
Benefits
- Medical insurance
- Dental insurance
- Vision insurance
- Life insurance
- Flexible spending account (FSA)
- Health savings account (HSA)
- 401(k) plan with company match
- Vacation and paid time off
- Tuition reimbursement
- Potential discretionary bonus based on personal and company performance; not guaranteed
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
