The Company

Baxters Food Group is a fourth generation privately owned entrepreneurial business which specialises in the manufacturing of premium quality, primarily branded, food products. The Group's product range includes soup, beetroot, chutney, condiments, preserves and meal options. Baxters has been in operation since 1868 and a lot has changed since then, but their dedication to making only the best quality products has always been at the core of everything they do. The Baxters brand has grown from a humble village store to a global brand with a turnover of over £300m.

With the sheer scale of the operation, Baxters now has sites based throughout the UK and food manufacturing operations in the USA, Australia, and Poland. The science and technology that underlies their process today may be far removed from the little village shop that started it all in Fochabers, but the ethos remains the same - “Be different, be better”.

Baxters now finds its product being sold in major supermarket chains such as Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and many more, which has contributed to the large-scale growth of the business. Baxters’ Head Quarters is situated just off Charlotte Square in Edinburgh, and oversees the UK & Global operation is based in Fochabers, where this opportunity sits.

The Role

Reporting into the European Head of Central Finance this role will be supported by two direct reports who currently focus on cash management and fixed assets.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Strong leadership and focus on development of the direct reports
• Consolidation of the European period results, weekly cashflow forecast reporting, preparing and reviewing balance sheet reconciliations
• Deal with the external auditors on the annual and interim statutory audit and Poland statutory financial matters with the assistance of external advisors
• Additionally responsible for European Overhead and all Orexis accounting support and execution of key processes in SAGE
• Deliver robust, accurate, insightful and timely weekly and period reporting from the consolidated P&L to the European Balance sheet
• Cashflow reporting including an understanding of and insight to the movement in the numbers
• Drive the financial controls agenda for the business with the involvement of the Group Internal Audit team
• Ensure adherence to existing procedures and additional procedures to ensure a robust control environment
• Involvement in the annual budget and in year forecast processes involving consolidation of the overall financial statements for submission to the Baxters Food Group

The Individual

• Newly Qualified ACA / CA. or part qualified with industry experience
• Ability to connect with people easily across Finance teams and throughout the wider business
• Experience of working in a food manufacturing environment branded and / or non- branded would be useful but not essential
• Technically strong ideally with some experience of indirect tax rules
• Ideally experience of Oracle financial systems
• Experience of supplying information and managing external auditors through a year end audit process
• Wider knowledge of latest accounting and taxation matters and their impact on the business
• Highly organised to be able to manage multiple priorities and deadlines and a very high attention to detail
• The role will be primarily based in Fochabers but expectation of some visibility required across the European operational sites and Head office in Edinburgh

Remuneration

• Attractive package commensurate with background and experience required for the role

What to do Next

• To find out more on remuneration, the role or to see a full Position Profile, please contact their retained advisor, William Dodds at Rutherford Cross by emailing [email protected]
• Please note that any direct or third party approaches will be sent to Rutherford Cross for review and assessment