Regional Plant Controller

Rise Baking Company, LLC•Tucker, GA

6d•$150,000 - $185,000•Onsite

About The Position

Serve as the senior finance leader responsible for financial performance, reporting integrity, and operational finance capability across all manufacturing sites in the region. Drive consistency and discipline in financial processes across all plants in the region while serving as a trusted finance partner to one or more Operations Vice Presidents. Translate plant and regional financial data into insights that improve EBITDA, sharpen capital expenditure prioritization, drive continuous improvement, and inform operational decisions aligned with the company’s value creation plan.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in accounting or finance
10+ years of progressive accounting/finance experience, including at least 5 years managing or overseeing plant finance across multiple manufacturing sites
Direct experience in food production, food & beverage, consumer products, or other process manufacturing environments
Proven experience in a PE-owned company or similarly high-accountability, metrics-driven environment
Strong ERP proficiency (SAP or equivalent); advanced Excel and financial modeling skills working with large, multi-site data sets
Demonstrated mastery of cost accounting: standard costing, activity-based costing, multi-site variance analysis, and inventory management
Track record of leading or significantly improving financial processes across multiple locations simultaneously
Exceptional communication and presentation skills; comfortable presenting to CFO and Operations leadership
Willingness to partner cross-functionally to solve problems and pursue opportunities

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting a PE sponsor through a full hold period, including onboarding, value creation plan execution, and exit preparation preferred
Prior involvement in M&A due diligence, integration, or carve-out transactions in a manufacturing context preferred
Experience with Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma or continuous improvement initiatives from a finance leadership perspective preferred
Familiarity with food safety financial implications: FSMA, HACCP cost tracking, SQF certification costs preferred

Responsibilities

Own the consolidated regional or category plant P&L, ensuring accurate and on-time monthly, quarterly, and annual close across all plants in the region
Standardize and enforce a consistent close calendar, chart of accounts, and reporting package format across all Plant Controllers in the region
Review and approve plant-level financial packages prior to submission to Operations and Finance leadership; identify material discrepancies or anomalies and resolve with Plant Controllers
Prepare and deliver concise financial analyses and presentations to company leadership team, providing critical insights that drive awareness and support future business decisions
Identify cost savings, productivity, and efficiency opportunities related to material, labor, and overhead
Define and govern regional finance standards: close procedures, variance analysis templates, forecast formats, KPI definitions, and presentation standards
Conduct periodic cross-plant process reviews; identify best practices at top-performing sites and drive structured adoption across the region
Drive consistent ERP usage, cost center structures, and reporting hierarchies across all plant sites in the region
Partner with corporate finance to ensure regional reporting fully aligns with enterprise consolidation and PE sponsor requirements
Lead or support finance system implementations, upgrades, and integrations that affect regional plant sites
Lead the regional annual operating plan (AOP) process; consolidate plant-level submissions into a coherent regional plan and present to senior leadership
Maintain and continuously improve the regional rolling forecast; hold Plant Controllers and Operations Vice Presidents accountable to timely variance explanations, always driving to leading indicators and root cause
Build and maintain regional scenario and sensitivity models for capacity utilization, input cost volatility, volume/mix shifts, and productivity initiatives
Serve as the primary finance partner to one or more Operations Vice Presidents, providing financial context and decision support for capacity planning, cost reduction programs, and operational initiatives
Actively participate in regional S&OP, production planning, and operational review meetings; connect plant-level KPIs to regional P&L outcomes
Support Finance leadership in preparing board-level materials, quarterly business reviews, and PE sponsor deliverables
Own the regional CapEx review process: assess business need, challenge financial assumptions, and ensure ROI models are rigorous and consistent across plant submissions
Consolidate and prioritize regional CapEx requests against the annual CapEx budget; develop recommendations for the VP of Finance and Operations VPs
Partner with plant engineering and operations to ensure CapEx authorizations are complete, properly supported, and appropriately sequenced for execution
Track regional CapEx spending vs. authorization throughout the year; escalate overruns or scope changes promptly
Lead post-implementation reviews on significant capital projects across the region to validate return assumptions and capture learnings for future investments
Benchmark financial and operational performance across plants within the region and against industry peers; identify structural cost gaps and lead root-cause resolution
Lead cross-plant continuous improvement initiatives targeting material yields, labor efficiency, overhead absorption, and working capital turns
Support and challenge plant-level productivity pipelines; ensure savings are real, trackable, and reflected in updated forecasts
Identify and escalate pricing, mix, or volume risks that threaten regional EBITDA; develop and recommend mitigation strategies
Promote a continuous improvement mindset in operational and financial processes at all levels of the regional organization, including leverage of ERP and other systems
Lead or co-lead regional finance workstreams on M&A integrations, carve-outs, facility expansions, or closures as directed by the VP of Finance or PE sponsor
Design and implement scalable finance infrastructure — processes, controls, reporting tools — in advance of anticipated business growth or portfolio changes
Quantify the financial impact of unplanned downtime, line changeovers, maintenance events, and quality holds; support the business case for uptime improvement investments
Develop and maintain a regional operations finance dashboard tracking OEE, cost-per-unit, yield rate, labor efficiency, and working capital turns across all sites
Provide financial support for customer-specific pricing decisions, new product launches, and co-manufacturing arrangements that affect regional plant capacity
Lead, coach, and develop a plant finance team (typically 2–5 direct reports)
Set clear goals and performance expectations; conduct regular one-on-ones and formal reviews
Build cross-training depth to eliminate single points of failure in month-end close, reporting, and variance analysis processes
Ensure a consistent and robust internal control environment across all plants in the region, aligned with corporate policies and any applicable SOX or PE diligence requirements
Serve as the regional liaison for internal and external audits; coordinate across Plant Controllers to deliver timely and complete audit responses
Identify control weaknesses at any plant in the region and drive timely remediation; escalate material issues
Ensure all sites maintain compliance with food industry-specific financial record-keeping and traceability requirements (FDA, USDA, FSMA)
Support food safety program, quality standards, and legality of manufactured products
Perform other job-related duties as assigned