Management Accountant, Manchester | Permanent |petitive Salary + Study Support
We're looking for an analytical, hands‑on Operations Management Accountant to join our Finance team. Reporting to the Finance Manager, you’ll play a key role in driving operational performance, cost control, and production profitability across a fast‑paced, high‑volume manufacturing environment.
This role is perfect for someone who is naturally curious about how things work, enjoys getting under the skin of numbers, and loves partnering with operational teams to drive real results. Key areas and duties:Daily Performance & Insight
1. Review daily production performance and investigate variances with the Production Manager.
2. Analyse labour utilisation, efficiencies, and gaps between standard and actual hours.
3. Produce daily flash reports highlighting yield, throughput, and deviations from targets.
Variance Analysis
4. Conduct daily material and labour “Actual vs. Standard” checks.
5. Translate variances into clear, actionablementary linked to real operational drivers.
Cost Control & Risk Management
6. Monitor production costs to protect gross margins and forecast P&L impact.
7. Identify early‑stage risks—such as utility spikes or downtime—to prevent budget issues.
8. Validate cost‑saving initiatives to ensure real, measurable benefits.
Budgeting, Forecasting & Standard Costing
9. Support annual budgeting and periodic forecasting for production volumes, COGS, and factory overheads.
10. Maintain and update Standard Costings and Bills of Materials (BOMs).
Business Partnering
11. Build strong relationships with Operations and Engineering teams.
12. Support CAPEX analysis, ROI modelling, and process improvement initiatives.
13. Reconcile key operational accounts including inventory and stock provisions.
Month-End & Financial Control
14. Prepare and post month‑end journals for stock, accruals, and overheads.
15. Provide high-quality factory overhead analysis andmentary.
16. Support stock counts and year‑end audit requirements.
What We’re Looking For
17. Actively studying, Part‑Qualified, or QBE in ACCA/CIMA (Cost/Management Accounting focus preferred).
18. Current track record in management accounting with strong variance analysis skills.
19. Experience of working within manufacturing would be ideal, although not essential.
20. Advanced Excel skills.
Corepetencies
21. Excellentmunication skills, able to simplifyplex data for non‑finance teams.
22. Proactive, organised, and resilient under pressure.
23. High attention to detail with a methodical approach.
Why Join Us?
24. High‑impact role with visibility across Operations and Finance
25. Opportunity to influence decision‑making in a fast‑moving manufacturing environment
26. Supportive, growth‑focused team, with key mentors
27. 25 holidays + contributory pension + bonus