Financial Controller (FMCG)

Role Overview

Lead the Finance function with strong commercial insight into how a fast‑moving FMCG business operates. Go beyond compliance and accounting by interpreting financial results in a commercial context, advising management on next steps, and supporting profitable growth. Provide clear, actionable financial information to the CEO/COO, while building a capable, analytical, and commercially aware Finance team.

Key Responsibilities

• Commercial Financial Management: Develop deep understanding of revenue models, product portfolios, channels, and markets. Analyse performance by business drivers, identify risks/opportunities early, and support decisions on pricing, promotions, margins, and market expansion.
  
• FMCG Business Understanding: Assess revenue, gross margin, distributor margins, trade spending, marketing investments, product launches, and inventory dynamics. Recognize that certain expenditures are strategic investments in brand and growth, not just costs.
  
• Management Reporting: Report directly to CEO/COO with clear, commercially meaningful insights. Explain performance trends, highlight strengths alongside risks, and recommend actions. Ensure reporting reflects true business momentum.
  
• Revenue & Expense Classification: Maintain discipline in classifying revenue, COGS, trade spend, marketing, and operating expenses. Ensure financial presentation provides management with meaningful visibility while remaining compliant.
  
• Budgeting & Forecasting: Lead budgeting and forecasting based on commercial assumptions. Compare actuals vs. budget vs. forecast, explain variances, and recommend solutions proactively.
  
• Business Partnering: Act as senior Finance partner to department heads. Collaborate across revenue, brand, marketing, trade, operations, procurement, and product teams to improve decision‑making and challenge assumptions constructively.
  
• Margin & Profitability Analysis: Monitor margins by product, SKU, customer, channel, and promotion. Identify leakage, analyse mix changes, and recommend corrective actions.
  
• Inventory & Working Capital: Balance cash efficiency with operational needs. Monitor stock cover, ageing, and working capital, ensuring sufficient inventory to support growth without excessive cash strain.
  
• Finance Team Leadership: Build and develop a high‑performing Finance team. Move beyond transactional processing to analysis, forecasting, and business partnering. Coach team members, delegate progressively, and develop successors to ensure sustainable capability.
  
• Decision Support: Provide financial analysis for new products, markets, customers, distributor agreements, pricing, promotions, and capital commitments. Prepare scenario analyses to guide management decisions.
  
• Financial Control & Governance: Maintain strong controls, compliance, audit readiness, and governance. Ensure timely and accurate reporting while keeping Finance a business enabler, not just a control function.
  

Requirement

• Degree in Accounting/Finance; professional qualification preferred.
  
• Strong accounting foundation with commercial acumen.
  
• Experience in FMCG, consumer goods, retail, or distribution environments.
  
• Skilled in management reporting, budgeting, forecasting, and commercial analysis.
  
• Strong Excel and financial modelling capability.
  
• Proven leadership and team development experience.
  
• Clear communicator able to translate numbers into actionable insights.