Financial Controller - Manufacturing Firm

Job Title: Financial Controller

Reports To: Group CFO

Company Background

Headquartered in Ras al Khaimah (RAK) in the UAE.

The Group operates the following two business lines:

- Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET); and

- Biaxially-Oriented Polyethylene Terephthalate films (BoPET)

Current Situation and Role :

As the company approaches emergence from restructuring, the stakeholders are seeking to invest significantly in the leadership of the company, and central to JBF's operating model is the investment in its finance function. As a result, there is a need to recruit a Financial Controller. In this role, the FC will be based at the Group's RAK head office where the executive team are based. It is envisaged this role will initially be very hands-on and will support the Group entities and their respective operations, working with the Group CFO to ensure best prac- tices designed and developed in RAK are successfully scaled across the Group.

The Financial Controller will report to the Group CFO and support the Group CFO to ensure the Company deliv- ers the required performance, that all governance requirements are met, and to provide effective day-to-day management of the accounting and finance function. In this role, you will be expected to bring key commercial and business disciplines such as business planning, credit control, staff optimisation, and cost rationalization. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to lead the finance function in developing high quality finance per- sonnel within the Company.

The successful candidate will be comfortable in navigating challenging forces in a dynamic and fast paced in- dustry and time of significant change for the business, helping to design and employ key accounting and fi- nance policy and processes that will enable JBF to innovate, grow and maximise JBF's sustainable competitive- ness.

What The Role Offers :

The role offers a strong compensation package and to work in a highly dynamic and changing industry along- side a strong and forward-thinking executive team and a global hedge fund willing to invest and drive transfor- mation value.

Key Facts & Figures :

Key figures for the Group FY22 include

- Total PET volumes of 321.5kt

- Total BoPET volumes of 108.4kt

- Total Sales of c. $720m

When the RAK site becomes fully operational following the restructuring, this will bring online c. 400kt pa of PET and an additional c.40kt of BoPET capacity.

FTE Summary:

FTEs Fin. Dept. Total

RAK 5 369

Belgium 4 98

Bahrain 4 431

- The Group finance function is led by the Group CFO based in RAK

- The RAK finance function at present comprises of a VP Finance & Accounts, Company Treasurer, and a Chief Accountant, supported by a Junior Accountant

- The Belgium finance function at present comprises of a Finance Director, Chief Accountant, and a Com- pany Treasurer, supported by an administrative assistant

- The Bahrain finance function at present comprises of a VP Finance & Accounts, 2x Finance Managers, and a Cost Accountant, supported by a Junior Accountant

Core Responsibilities

It is anticipated that the Financial Controller will in the first 12 months, working with the Group CFO:

- Accounting and Financial Management

- Month-end closing - NRV, Inventory adjustments, Key provisions, accruals, Other IFRS adjust- ments, Oversee bank reconciliation process, Other closing and period-end adjustments

Key reconciliations :

- Ledger to MIS

- MIS to Audited Accounts

- Improving reporting framework - Enhance COA and transaction coding

- Enhance COA/GL controls

- Minimise off-system adjustments

- Accelerate monthly closing processes

Monthly reporting issu- ance and analytics - Embed monthly variance reporting with appropriate explanations

- Support performance improvement initiatives: delivering required score- cards to monitor progress and factual outcomes

- Ensure robust timely issuance of weekly STCFF with Company and mar- ket assumptions

- Ensure robust timely reporting (daily, weekly, on the critical numbers)

- Costs controllership - On-going cost control and KPIs tracking (inventory, production, costing, freight and distribution, margins)

- Review and validate standard costing, purchase price and material usage variances

- Help build transparency and validate realised and forecasted contribu- tion margins

Other Tasks and Responsibilities :

- Finance Organization - Work closely with the Group CFO and HR Director to identify resourcing gaps and prepare JDs

- Ensure adequate skills and capabilities to deliver an effective financial control environment in a fast-paced, scaling environment

- Supervise, manage, and develop the performance of finance staff

- Bring energy, vision, and leadership to the function

Statutory requirements - Ensure that the business meets all required statutory reporting require- ments in terms of accuracy and deadlines, including any tax, statutory audit, and other regulatory requirements

- Liaise with the Company auditors

Controlling & Systems - Responsible for the implementation of best-in-class controls, processes, and documentation Design, document and deploy internal control framework

- Ensure prompt and accurate monthly financial closes Ensure optimisation of the company ERP (SAP). Create and lead initia- tives to improve systems where weaknesses identified and automate processes as much as possible

- Carry out detailed and regular financial reviews to ensure that manage- ment accounts, statutory accounts, budgets, and forecasts are prepared in accordance with the Company's policies and procedures and meets governance requirements

Systems :

- Leverage of Group ERP for reporting and analysis production

- Protect the integrity of the ERP data (period closing, reconciliations)

- Suggest and support development of additional reports / features from the ERP platform

Budgeting and Business Planning :

- Assist the CFO in the preparation of detailed budgets, forecasts, and business plans

Financial Reporting and KPIs (FP&A) :

- Maintain and enhance a robust business and financial reporting frame- work to monitor execution of business performance and key KPIs against annual budgets, business plans

- Drive continuous improvements to present best-in-class reporting

- Support capital projects analysis, challenge assumptions, analysing based on qualitative and quantitative measures, controlling spend, and seeking board approval

Treasury and Liquidity Management :

- Design, maintain, and enhance cash flow and treasury management in- cluding daily cash reconciliations, operational management of the factor- ing facility, and rolling cash flow forecasting

- Oversee efforts to optimise management of receivables and payables

- Support the CFO with any discussions with lenders including potential re- financing discussions Stakeholder management -

- Manage multiple stakeholders and deliver transparent reporting and in- sights

- Build strong relationships with external and internal stakeholders including the executive team, banks, lenders, and auditors

- Continuous Improvement and Scalability Initiatives - Ongoing review and improvement of the overall finance function, including enhancement of key controls, streamlining of finance and operational processes, automation of manual operations to deliver a scalable infrastructure to support significant growth

Technical Skills & Experience :

- ACCA, ACA or CIMA Qualified Accountant with experience of running a finance team and working in a large and dynamic environment

- Strong IFRS knowledge, bringing track record and energy to dealing with challenging technical financial reporting and accounting issues

- Previous Finance Controller / Finance Director roles ideally within the chemical/industrial/engineering sector, and a clear view of "what good looks like" across all key aspects of finance including reporting, budgeting / forecasting, controlling, treasury management etc.

- Experience re-designing finance teams to deliver business improvements

- Advanced experience using SAP would be viewed favourably

- Excellent analytical and reporting skills

- Experience identifying control and process improvement requirements and implementing solutions

- Experience partnering with senior leadership teams

- Previous experience with a Big 4 accounting firm is a plus

Personal Attributes :

- Energetic, ambitious, with a desire to grow with the business over the medium / long term

- Willingness and desire to 'roll sleeves up' and lead by example

- Continuous improvement attitude to always identify how we can do things better

- Excellent attention to detail and curiosity to understand more

- Structured planning, excellent organization and time management skills

- Resilient, calm under pressure, and strong emotional intelligence

- Passionate about the quality of output, and an intolerance for inefficiency and inconsistency

- Adopts a growth mindset to improve own and team skills by continually looking for personal development opportunities and keeping abreast of latest best practises

- Excellent written and verbal communication including proven presentation skills