William Grant & Sons
Operations Finance Leader

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Operations Finance Leader
The Operations Business Unit (OBU) is at the very heart of the William Grant & Sons business. The Dufftown site is the ancestral home of the company and where their premium spirits of Glenfiddich and Balvenie are produced. The role of the Operations Finance Leader is to lead and develop the Dufftown site finance team whilst ensuring financial control across the full operation, embedding core financial processes and delivering high quality reporting and insight to ensure the site delivers maximum performance.
As part of the role, you will work closely with the Dufftown Site Leader and their team, playing a leading role in the Dufftown site senior leadership team. Additionally, this role plays a vital part in the Operations Finance Leadership team, engaging across its global team. Leading and developing the finance team on the Dufftown site, you will be responsible for a wide range of activities, working closely with different stakeholders across the OBU, Branded Business Unit (BBU) and the Group Finance functions.
What We Can Offer You
We offer a competitive salary and benefits which are designed to promote our employees financial wellbeing. Employees are also eligible to participate in a bonus plan.
- Generous holiday entitlement and an opportunity to ‘buy’ or ‘sell’ some holiday entitlement.
- Private Healthcare and Doctor@Hand (remote GP service).
- Employees can join a defined contribution pension plan. Employees contribute either 4% or 5% of salary, the company contributes 8% or 10% depending on the employee contribution. Employee contributions can be made through salary sacrifice.
- Employee Assistance Programme offers practical, impartial support on everyday matters ranging from medical, financial and legal to home and family issues.
- Life Assurance cover is a multiple of eight times your annual basic salary.
- Product allocation so that you can enjoy our fantastic portfolio of brands.
- Cycle to Work scheme allows you to hire a bike for an agreed length of time, and then snap it up for a fraction of its original value. All while making savings (at least 25%) and spreading the cost.
- Every employee has the opportunity to claim up to £1,000 per year for a charity or charities for which they have raised money, volunteered their time or personally donated.
- Learning resources to help you be your best self.
Main Responsibilities
With a focus on cost efficiency and effectiveness across a significant cost base, this role is key in ensuring the financial controls and processes are in place; and the relevant information, performance delivery and commentaries are insightful and delivered on time, in full. Robust challenge is expected with the site leadership team based on insight from the financial outputs. The capital investment onsite requires a high level of financial input, review and challenge through planning to execution, including authorisation, reporting, financial control and forecasting.
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The aim of this role is to ensure total financial control for all operations based at Dufftown site high-quality financial reporting for Dufftown that is insightful, delivered on time and used to challenge OBU management performance, maximising performance, generating added value, reducing financial risks and improving financial processes.
Responsibilities
- Lead and guide leadership team to ensure total financial control for relevant site, in accordance with the processes, financial standards, procedures, and governance defined in the William Grant Way and by Central Finance.
- Deliver relevant and necessary financial information, including for example Site Monthly Management Accounts and financial commentary to OBU Management on time, to ensure that Site performance monitoring and decision-making is of the highest standard.
- Monitor and report financial performance for the specified area to bring insight and challenge Management in order to maximise performance and generate added value in a timely manner. This includes the identification of adverse movements, concerning trends and one off items affecting the underlying financial performance.
- Manage and optimise working capital within the relevant site.
- Evaluate and present to senior management findings/recommendations on initiatives/opportunities/risks through scenario modelling and other financial analysis.
- Support the planning and budgeting processes within the OBU to ensure high quality of processes and plans at the cost centre level, in line with the group-wide planning process. Ensure Zero Based Budgeting principles are documented and applied in accordance with Group and William Grant Way instructions.
- Review and prepare the financial information for the planning cycles for Site based upon inputs from OBU leadership. Review and approve Site balance sheet reconciliations.
- Review, challenge, and manage authorisation of capital expenditure for Site in accordance with Group Finance standards, processes and procedures to ensure the prudent application of capital and clear reporting in relation to capital expenditure plans and claims are delivered in line with commitments.


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Our Ideal Candidate
You will be a fully qualified accountant (CA/CIMA/ACCA) with appropriate post-qualification experience in an operations and manufacturing environment. You will be inquisitive, challenging and able to work autonomously, but also comfortable playing an active role in a wider team. You will be an experienced business partner, confident in your abilities to communicate (both verbally and written) with stakeholders and leaders across the business, and able to establish positive working relationships, acting as a key part of the wider leadership team of the site. You will be an experienced people leader, who is comfortable working in a highly visible role where you will be relied on as a senior leader for the site from across the organisation. A good understanding of standard costing processes and experience of working in a highly fluid environment in a global organisation is also desirable.
About William Grant & Sons
A HOME FOR RARE CHARACTERS
William Grant & Sons: a home where Rare Characters thrive.
We value every employee for their rare character, distinctive skills, experience and perspectives. Every one of our colleagues has a role to play in helping us to achieve our growth ambitions.
At William Grant & Sons, our vision is to be A home where rare characters thrive. We value all colleagues for their rare character, distinctive skills, experience and perspectives. Diversity & Inclusion is at the heart of how we do things at William Grant & Sons, fully aligned to our purpose and our company values. We strive to create an environment where we can all be our best and bring our whole selves to work.
OUR AGILE WORKING PHILOSOPHY
Our agile working philosophy is to “Have your best work day everyday”.
Built on trust, we empower our rare characters to have their best work day every day. Where flexibility and positive working experiences help employees to feel connected and release potential across our teams.
We are open to discussing possible agile/flexible working options as part of the recruitment process.
INCLUSIVE RECRUITMENT PROCESS
Diversity & Inclusion is at the heart of how we do things at William Grant & Sons, fully aligned to our purpose and our company values. We want to ensure that our recruitment process is inclusive.
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