Global Manufacturing Finance Business Partner

Job Description

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Ornua is a leading dairy co-operative which sells premium dairy products globally on behalf of its Member Co-operatives, Ireland’s dairy processors and, in turn, Irish dairy farmers. 

Ornua has revenues of €3.4 billion and is supported by a global team of approximately 2,800 employees. The Group operates as a commercial organisation across 10 business units, including 12 production facilities located in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa. 

The commercial organisation is responsible for the marketing and sales of Ornua’s consumer brands including Ireland’s most successful food export: Kerrygold. Consumer markets are served by production facilities in Ireland, Germany and the UK and by in-market Sales & Marketing Teams in Asia, Germany, Ireland, MEA, Poland, Spain, rest of Europe and North and Latin America. 

It also manages the procurement of Irish and non-Irish dairy products, the sale of dairy ingredients to food manufacturing and foodservice customers globally, and the implementation of de-risking and trading strategies to manage market volatility. These activities are supported by production facilities and in-market teams in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa. 

The Role

The Global Manufacturing Finance Business Partner provides strategic and operational financial support to the Global Operations Director and site leadership teams. The role is responsible for driving financial performance, ensuring consistent reporting across all sites, and delivering actionable insights.

Key Areas of Responsibility: 

Business Partnering & Decision Support

• Act as a trusted advisor to Global Manufacturing leadership, delivering actionable insights to optimize performance and cost efficiency.
• Define and implement standardised financial KPIs across manufacturing sites, and ensure they are consistently applied
• Identify and implement Operations Finance process improvements
• Support decision-making on cost-saving initiatives, and process improvements.

Financial Planning & Analysis

• Lead budgeting and forecasting for the Global Manufacturing function, ensuring alignment with Group targets.
• Prepare weekly and monthly performance reports, variance analysis, and KPIs for Global Manufacturing operations

• Generate insight and recommendations based on the financial information

Projects & Transformation

• Significant change management will be required initially to transition from legacy ways of working to one global aligned approach
• Ad hoc as required.

Key Requirements: 

• Qualified Accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA) with 10+ years’ experience in finance roles, ideally within FMCG or manufacturing.
• Strong financial modelling and analytical skills.
• Proven ability to influence and partner with senior stakeholders.
• Experience in Manufacturing finance is highly desirable.
• Advanced Excel and data visualization skills; Power BI experience preferred.

Ornua Core Competencies

• Customer Focus: Advocates for the customer, balances customer and business needs, and spots opportunities for growth.
• Forward-Looking: Helps others to accept change, implements change, and looks ahead to anticipate change.
• Curious: Open to asking questions and willing to learn and continuously improve.
• Working Together: Encourages co-operation in own team and supports cross-functional working.

Closing Date: 27 April 2026