Head of Finance - Nantwich

Head of Finance

Job title:    Head of Finance                      

Reports to: Head of M&A

Location:    Nantwich                   

Salary: Generous salary available depending on experience

Hours:  37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday                             

Benefits:   Matched Pension Scheme, Health Care, Bonus scheme, 33 days annual leave, Hybrid Working, Onsite Physio, Company shop offering discounted products, Bike and Tech Scheme, Confidential Employee Assist Programme and many more

Ornua (meaning “new gold”) is Ireland’s largest exporter of Irish dairy products, proudly bringing the unique taste of Irish dairy to the world for over 55 years.

Are you an experienced Finance professional looking for the challenge of taking a mission driven organisation to its next level of success?

Ornua is actively seeking a Head of Finance to join our Finance department as we continue our growth trajectory.

As our Head of Finance you will play a key role in executing financial strategy in alignment with the Nantwich site and group strategy and liaise with key external and internal stakeholders across the Ornua Group, satisfying their informational requirements in accordance with agreed deadlines to aid quality decision making.

You will be a proactive and instrumental member of the site leadership team, helping to shape and deliver on the long term strategy of the site.

Why Ornua?

• Ornua operates from 10 business units worldwide, including 12 production facilities, and has sales and marketing teams working in-market across all four corners of the globe.
• The Group is structured across two divisions: Ornua Foods and Ornua Ingredients.
• Ornua Ingredients is responsible for the procurement of Irish and non-Irish dairy products and for the sale of dairy ingredients to food manufactures and foodservice customer across the world.
• Our co-operative ethos lies at the heart of how we do business as a purpose and values-led organisation, creating value for Irish dairy farming families.
• Our Values lie at the core of everything we do. Our five values encourage us to Seek and Embrace New Ideas, Make It Happen, Be Our True Selves, Show You Care, and Achieve Great Things Together.
• Dynamic Working policy in place which facilitates flexible hours and hybrid working
• We invest in our people and foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
• Career Progression including Global Mobility opportunities.
• Comprehensive Benefits with regional specific offerings.

Why This Role Is Valuable:

As our Head of Finance you will be responsible for;

Team Leadership

• Supervise and support team members in their daily tasks and responsibilities and monitor performance through KPIs and regular feedback.
• Plan and delegate work assignments effectively to ensure timely project delivery.
• Talent Management and succession planning: Drive the creation of development plans for all individuals within the Nantwich Finance team to enable them to grow within the roles, and to create a talent stream for the broader organisation
• Provide coaching, mentorship, and training to team members to support their professional growth.
• Foster a collaborative and positive team environment, encouraging open communication and problem-solving.
• Act as an ambassador and conduit for the team with the senior leadership team, ensuring smooth information flow and quick resolution of issues.
• Participate in hiring, onboarding, and performance evaluation processes.

Financial Control including Maintenance of an efficient and effective financial control environment

• Take ownership of the month end close process including preparation of Month End Trial Balance and management accounts
• Supervision of the Nantwich finance team including, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable and financial business partnering commercial and operational support
• Balance sheet management along with monthly review and reconciliations of all key balance sheet accounts
• Ensure compliance with all legal and taxation regulations, both locally and internationally as required
• Ensure compliance with relevant Group policies and procedures
• Risk Management: Take responsibility for all aspects of financial risk management within the OIE Nantwich site
• Maintain and monitor robust internal controls
• Management of planning and execution of annual external audit and support internal audits on the site when scheduled
• Drive continues internal control improvement across the organisation, insuring best practice processes inline with all internal audit procedures and recommendations
• Supervision and review of external payment processes

Financial Performance Management

• Preparation of monthly P&L and Balance Sheet commentary vs. Budget and forecast, with relevant detail and analysis
• Define and ensure timely delivery of periodic (weekly, monthly, etc) financial reports to measure performance vs budgets, vs forecasts and vs KPI targets, etc. as required
• Cost management: Work with Budget owners to monitor costs vs Budgets and to proactively manage the cost base of the business
• Define and put in place KPIs to manage the business effectively and ensure the timely delivery of those KPIs
• Ownership of annual budget process for OIE Nantwich business unit

Finance Business Partner for Operations, Manufacturing and Commercial

• Oversight of finance function to deliver operational and commercial reporting for day to day management of the business
• Manage the investigation and explanation of all labour and material variances
• Partner with the Commercial team to deliver commercial pricing/costings to optimise margin for the business  
• Partner with the operations / manufacturing team to deliver insights on cheese packing and conversion costs to maintain competitive cost base for the business 
• Identify areas of continuous improvement and key risks and opportunities within the business  
• Use knowledge of Ornua and the UK cheese ingredients landscape to influence senior leaders to deliver the best possible results for the business
• Prepare / Review investment proposals in accordance with the Groups Capital Expenditure policy

What You Bring To The Role:

• University Degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, business Administrations, or similar
• Qualified Accountant
• Extensive experience in senior Finance positions in a manufacturing environment including experience operating in Finance management role with proven financial control experience
• Excels at juggling multiple priorities, is eager to make an impact on the business, and able to collaborate across cross functional teams to tackle complex problems
• Thorough P&L and COGS understanding, including standard costing
• Track record of Team development – assessment and development of talent

• Good team player with highly effective and engaging communication and interpersonal skills

Our interview process is designed to be thorough yet supportive. This process includes a first stage interview via Teams to allow us to get to know you better and to understand your skills and experiences and, if successful, a second stage face-to-face competency based interview that will build upon the first stage and an opportunity to get a feel for Ornua and the environment in which you will be working.

Ornua has ambitious growth plans and we’re building a team to help enable and accelerate that growth. We are looking for people who share our values, are curious, forward-looking, take ownership and work together to build a future for themselves and Ornua.

Would you like to make an impact?

To learn more, please visit Ornua at www.ornua.com

Ornua values diversity and inclusion and welcomes applications from candidates with diverse backgrounds. We also strongly encourage women and other underrepresented groups in the manufacturing industry to apply. Your unique perspectives and experiences are highly valued and will be instrumental in driving our company’s continued success. Join us in shaping a more innovative, inclusive, and sustainable future.

Ornua is committed to creating an inclusive and accessible workplace. We will make every effort to provide for any reasonable accessibility needs you may have during your employment with us. If you require accommodations at any stage of the recruitment process or in your role, please let us know — we’re here to support you.