• Act as finance business partner and financial “go-to” for the Thames General Manager and operational team, providing financial expertise, independent challenge and insight to improve operational efficiency, effectiveness and decision making in line with wider corporate strategy.
• Own key month-end, periodic close, commentary and analysis activities for Thames Refinery, including oversight and control of the multi-million-euro cost base, refinery yield statements and reconciliation of sucrose inputs to outputs.
• Lead monthly reforecasting, annual budgeting and maintenance/development of budget and forecast models within business planning platforms, including completing relevant model-building training and presenting forecasts with Thames leadership to senior executives as required.
• Identify drivers of over/underspend, propose mitigating actions, project manage CAPEX business cases through development and approval, and support performance improvement projects to reduce operational and finance-process inefficiencies.
• Maintain and strengthen controls, procedures and audit readiness, respond to external auditor queries, and use technical developments such as AI, Power BI, Power Automate and SAP/SAC to enhance reporting and decision-support tools.
• Influence stakeholders and present information clearly and concisely to C-suite executives, while building strong cross-functional relationships with Operations, Supply Chain, Sales/Marketing and other relevant teams.
• Manage one direct report, mentor and develop junior finance colleagues, and perform other ad-hoc tasks as required to support the strategic objectives of the European Finance Team.

Work Experiences

• Demonstrable experience in manufacturing, food production, FMCG, commodities or another operationally complex environment.
• Strong practical knowledge of plant or manufacturing finance, including standard costing, inventory, operational variances, budgeting, forecasting and financial controls.
• Demonstrable experience of influencing operational leaders, challenging constructively and presenting complex financial information clearly to senior stakeholders.
• Experience of SAP or an equivalent ERP system and advanced use of Excel; experience of Power BI or comparable visualisation tools.
• People-management or substantive team-leadership experience is desirable. Candidates moving from practice will need to demonstrate directly relevant controls, operational-finance, leadership and business-partnering capability.

Education Requirements

• ACA, ACCA or CIMA qualified, or an equivalent recognised professional accounting qualification.
• A relevant degree or equivalent demonstrable professional experience is desirable. The professional accounting qualification and role-relevant capability are the primary requirements.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY

Directly manages one employee and may provide day-to-day coaching or technical guidance to other junior members of the finance team.

At Tate & Lyle Sugars, our goal is to be the most admired sweetener Company.

Service Excellence - Be the industry's Gold Standard by a relentless focus on reliability, providing products with superior quality and excellent customer services.

Efficiency and Sustainability - Eliminate inefficiency to be a sustainable, low cost producer and to generate fuel for reinvestment.

Value-Add - create strategic advantage and enhanced profitability through value-added products and services. The foundation of our values is Talent and Culture as we aim to build, retain and motivate a winning team.