Commercial Finance Manager, Bute Island Foods
Bute Island Foods
Published
April 26, 2022
Location
Bute Island, United Kingdom
Job Type
Region
- Greenock
Sector
Industry and Commerce
Specialism
Commercial Finance

Description

The Company

Bute Island Foods is an award-winning vegan food producer. With 30 years’ experience Bute Island Foods is one of the UK’s leading manufacturers and suppliers of dairy, lactose, and gluten free vegan cheese products. Its Sheese range is award winning, and its proud to say that all its products are certified Vegan, and most are Kosher too. The company was bought over in 2003 with the new owner and directors determined to develop and produce a wide range of alternatives to dairy food products. In the last few years with the growth of veganism and the demand for Bute Island products, Sheese-branded products are now available in all 4 of the UK’s major supermarkets, Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons as well as Waitrose and Lidl. The business now also supplies Papa John’s with Sheese for their range of vegan pizzas and side dishes. In its latest set of accounts published in 2020, the business recorded a turnover of £16.7m achieving an EBITDA of £5.3m.

Parent Company- Saputo

In 2021 Bute Island Foods was acquired by Saputo Inc, who produce, market, and distribute a wide array of dairy products of the utmost quality across the globe, including cheese, fluid milk, extended shelf-life milk and cream products, cultured products, and dairy ingredients. The deal is regarded as an indication of Saputo’s growing interest in the vegan food category. Saputo is one of the top ten dairy processors in the world, a leading cheese manufacturer and fluid milk and dairy processor.

In the United Kingdom, Saputo is the largest manufacturer of branded cheese and a top manufacturer of dairy spreads. Saputo products are sold in several countries under marketleading brands, as well as private label brands. Saputo Inc. is a publicly traded company, and its shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Saputo has pledged £2.9 million over five years to support community initiatives on the island as part of its wider commitment to invest 1% of its pre-tax profits each year in community programmes and organisations. Saputo also acquired Cathedral City and Clover owner Dairy Crest in 2019 for £975m.

For more information on the business please click on the hyperlinks to access Bute Island Foods and Saputo’s websites.

Background to the Current Opportunity

Saputo has ambitious growth plans for Bute Island Foods, and as a result there is a need to appoint a Commercial Finance Manager. The post-holder will be tasked with, putting in place more robust processes for the preparation of management accounting and providing timely and accurate commercial information to the Sales & Marketing functions of both Bute Island Foods and Saputo. This includes planning, budgeting/forecasting, reporting, analysis, and general commercial and financial support. The opportunity to play a key role in the evolution of a vegan food production business, as it taps into new channels provided by a global corporation, represents a unique and exciting opportunity for a recently qualified accountant. There is scope for development and progression within the organisation and parent company as the business grows.

This is an exciting, progressive opportunity for a talented finance professional with the desire to join a high growth and innovative company. The Commercial Finance Manager will add value by producing MI to support key business decision-making. It is crucial that the appointed candidate is able to build positive relationships with key stakeholders across the business to ensure a long-term fit with what is a relatively small team.

Bute Island Foods represents an excellent opportunity for a motivated Finance Manager who wants to work for a high-growth, sustainable food manufacturing business. Bute Island Foods provides the prospect of working for a business with tremendous ambitions, offering scope for career development as the business grows.

Position Overview

The company has ambitious plans to expand which includes the development of new products to target the vegan market all over the world. Bute Island Foods is one of the region’s great business success stories and is now the Isle of Bute’s largest single employer.

This is an exciting, progressive opportunity for a talented finance professional with the desire to join a high growth embarking on a new chapter in its journey. It is crucial that the appointed candidate is a dynamic individual with the ability to drive financial performance within a high-growth business, eager to develop a strong understanding of the operations beyond finance.

Given the lean nature of Bute Island Foods finance team the Commercial Finance Manager will need to be a self-starter with a can-do attitude and excellent team working skills. The individual be comfortable and adaptable to change as the business continues to evolve.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

  • Supporting the Senior Finance Manager in the development of the Finance and IBP functions within Bute Island Foods
  • Providing key financial guidance and insight to the sales and marketing teams in this fast-growing business
  • Co-developing and costing customer agreements as well as brand and promotional strategies within retailers and export customers. Ensuring business plans are accurately quantified and the financial impact for the business is clearly communicated, highlighting key drivers & assumptions to allow informed decisions
  • Challenging and developing the current process and methodologies and pushing for continuous improvement
  • Assist the Senior Finance Manager with Month end reporting and other external reporting
  • Covering the Senior Finance Manager when required (on site)

The Individual

The role of Commercial Finance Manager is suited to a qualified accountant or an individual close to qualifying, with the ability to present financial information clearly, concisely and in an engaging manner. The individual will have strong attention to detail and the ability to identify business improvement opportunities and drive implementation. The post-holder will possess the ability to prioritise and adapt to changing workload effectively.

The Commercial Finance Manager will possess excellent communication skills both verbal and written. The individual must be comfortable to engage with stakeholders across all levels of the business and convey financial information to non-financial colleagues.  The post-holder will be highly analytical, with the ability to challenge and utilise data to provide key insights to a high level of accuracy. This individual must be able to build strong relationships across all areas of a business.

Bute Island Foods represents an excellent career move, providing scope to work within a dynamic and rewarding environment. This is an opportunity to be part of a growing, ambitious business and play a key part in its journey.

The key candidate requirements for the position include:

  • CIMA or ACCA qualification or close to qualifying
  • Several years of experience in a finance role and excellent Excel skills
  • Experience of working with major retailers
  • Enjoys working as part of a team in a fast-growing environment
  • Able to interact with non-financial business partners i.e., Sales, Marketing, Operations etc. interpreting complicated commercial positions/situations in clear articulate ways
  • Can provoke and lead change and have a bias for action
  • Understands the importance of good analysis, process and appropriate measurement of KPI’s
  • Possess the passion and skills to ensure base data and reports are provided on time and accurately
  • Flexible in balancing between virtual and office (Bute Island) based working. Assume office-based induction program and then a mixture of virtual and office/site based
  • Experience working on joint business plans
  • Experience of managing day to day financial operations
  • Willing to spend 2 or 3 days every two weeks on site

Remuneration

Salary:                                   £40,000 – £45,000

Product Discount:                  Available from staff shop

Location:                                Hybrid working from home and office. Willing to spend 2 or 3 days every two weeks on site, on Bute

Applications should be sent to Jonathan Donnelly at Rutherford Cross: [email protected]

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