Senior Finance Manager

An international, private equity-backed industrial manufacturing group is seeking an experienced

Senior Finance Manager to join its European leadership team.

The business designs and manufactures highly engineered, customised industrial equipment for customers across a range of global end markets.

Operating in an engineered-to-order environment, every project is unique, making commercial insight, project costing and operational finance critical to business success.

Reporting to the Head of Finance Europe, this is a highly visible leadership role combining operational finance, project controlling, plant controlling and legal entity financial management.

You'll work closely with both European leadership and the Group Finance team, acting as a strategic business partner while ensuring robust financial governance and reporting.

The Opportunity

This role extends well beyond traditional financial reporting.

You'll be responsible for ensuring profitability is understood and managed throughout the entire project lifecycle from quotation through execution to final delivery.

Working closely with engineering, operations and project management, you'll provide commercial insight, challenge assumptions and help drive continuous improvement across the business.

You'll also oversee financial planning, statutory reporting and Group reporting within a fast-paced international manufacturing environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Order & Project Controlling
• Lead quotation costing for complex engineered-to-order projects.
• Monitor project profitability throughout execution, identifying risks and opportunities early.
• Conduct post-project profitability analysis and ensure lessons learned improve future pricing decisions.
• Review engineering changes, scope variations and commercial impacts.
• Support project teams through estimate-at-completion reviews and contract risk assessments.
• Deliver reporting on project margins, order backlog and business performance.
• Plant & Operational Controlling
• Maintain and develop manufacturing cost models and operational reporting.
• Analyse production efficiency, labour utilisation and manufacturing performance.
• Monitor inventory, work-in-progress and working capital performance.
• Support budgeting, forecasting and operational planning.
• Evaluate capital investment proposals and monitor return on investment.
• Lead budgeting, forecasting and financial planning for multiple legal entities.
• Prepare monthly, quarterly and annual reporting under US GAAP.
• Manage statutory reporting under German accounting standards.
• Coordinate external audits and work alongside tax advisors.
• Oversee cash flow forecasting, working capital and financial controls.
• Support internal audit activities and continuous improvement of finance processes.
• Partner with senior leadership by providing commercial challenge and independent financial insight on strategic decisions.
• Candidate Profile

We're looking for an experienced manufacturing finance professional who combines strong technical accounting expertise with a genuine passion for operational performance.

You’ll ideally bring

• 5+ years’ experience within manufacturing controlling.
• Strong experience in engineered-to-order, project-based or customised manufacturing environments.
• Expertise in project costing, quotation costing and profitability analysis.
• Experience partnering closely with engineering, production and operations teams.
• Practical knowledge of both US GAAP and German statutory accounting (HGB).
• Experience preparing reporting packages for an international parent company.
• Knowledge of revenue recognition for long‑term customer contracts.
• Experience with ERP systems supporting project costing and manufacturing operations.
• Strong budgeting, forecasting and financial planning capability.
• Business‑level German and English language skills.
• Preferred Experience

Experience within any of the following would be advantageous

• Special purpose machinery or capital equipment manufacturing.
• Private equity‑backed businesses.
• Multi‑entity or multi‑site manufacturing organisations.
• Reporting into a US‑based parent company.
• Continuous improvement or Lean manufacturing environments.
• Personal Attributes

The successful candidate will be

• Commercially minded with excellent analytical skills.
• Comfortable challenging decisions using data and financial insight.
• Confident working with senior operational leaders.
• Curious about manufacturing processes and keen to understand how products are designed and built.
• Hands‑on, proactive and solutions focused.
• Able to communicate complex financial information clearly to both operational and executive stakeholders.
• Comfortable working within an international matrix organisation.
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