Plant Controller

Ready Foods•Denver, CO

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Ready Foods is seeking an experienced Plant Controller to act as a hands-on finance partner for its manufacturing operations. This role is crucial for enhancing the understanding of plant performance and the true cost of products. The Plant Controller will be actively involved in the plants, learning production processes and linking financial results to operational conditions. Key responsibilities include leading plant-level financial analysis, budgeting, forecasting, standard costing, inventory management, and variance analysis. The ideal candidate will possess strong accounting fundamentals, manufacturing fluency, curiosity, and the ability to trace financial outcomes back to operational processes. This role requires explaining not just financial changes, but also their underlying causes and lessons learned for the organization.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance or a related field.
At least seven years of progressive finance or accounting experience, including meaningful experience in a manufacturing environment.
Strong knowledge of manufacturing accounting, standard costing, inventory, budgeting, forecasting and financial reporting.
Demonstrated ability to investigate manufacturing variances and connect financial results to what is occurring in the operation.
Experience working directly with plant leadership and cross-functional teams in a hands-on operating environment.
Strong ERP, analytical and data skills, with the ability to turn complex information into practical business insight.
Clear communication skills and the confidence and curiosity to ask questions, challenge assumptions and follow issues to root cause.
A practical, hands-on working style and willingness to spend time where the work happens.

Nice To Haves

Experience in food or process manufacturing, multi-site manufacturing, Lean Accounting, continuous improvement or systems thinking is a plus.
A CPA, CMA or MBA is also preferred.

Responsibilities

Act as the primary Finance partner to plant leadership, translating operating activity into clear financial insight and action.
Spend regular time on the plant floor to understand how products are made, how labor and equipment are used and where process conditions affect financial performance.
Lead plant budgeting, forecasting, financial analysis and plant-level performance reporting.
Own and explain plant P&L performance by connecting financial results to operating drivers rather than stopping at reported variances.
Lead standard-cost and manufacturing-variance analysis across materials, labor, overhead, yield, scrap, volume and other production drivers.
Partner with Operations to investigate trends, distinguish accounting or data issues from operating issues and identify root causes and improvement opportunities.
Oversee inventory valuation, inventory controls, physical counts and the investigation and reconciliation of inventory variances.
Strengthen BOM, routing, labor, overhead and other assumptions that affect product cost and operational decision-making.
Support capital expenditure analysis and post-investment review, including financial assumptions and operational benefits.
Support accurate and timely month-end close, account reconciliations, internal controls and audit requirements related to plant operations.
Develop plant scorecards, KPIs and financial and operational reporting that help leaders identify problems sooner and make better decisions.
Use ERP, business intelligence and plant data to improve visibility, reduce manual work and strengthen decision support.
Contribute to Lean and continuous-improvement work by helping teams quantify waste, constraints, improvement opportunities and financial impact.