Plant Controller

Remote | Supporting New Zealand Operations

Are you a manufacturing finance professional who can turn plant data into clear insights—and use AI and automation to improve how finance works?

We are looking for a Plant Controller to support our New Zealand manufacturing operations remotely. You will partner with Finance, Production, Supply Chain, and plant leadership to strengthen cost control, improve reporting accuracy, and drive efficiency through financial analysis, AI, and process automation.

What You’ll Do

Own plant financial reporting, month-end close, and analysis of manufacturing performance.

Maintain and review standard costs, bills of materials, labour rates, and overhead allocations.

Analyse material usage, purchase prices, labour efficiency, yield, waste, and production variances.

Oversee inventory accounting, reconciliations, stocktake results, and provisions for slow-moving or obsolete stock.

Lead plant budgets and forecasts, explain performance against targets, and recommend corrective actions.

Partner with operational teams to identify cost-saving opportunities and track financial benefits.

Support capital expenditure proposals and monitor project spending and returns.

Identify and implement AI and automation opportunities across recurring reports, reconciliations, data consolidation, variance analysis, and forecasting.

Build repeatable workflows and dashboards that reduce manual work, improve data quality, and deliver timely insights.

Use AI tools to support analysis and draft financial commentary, validating outputs against source data and applying sound financial judgment.

Maintain appropriate approvals, audit trails, and data confidentiality across automated processes.

What You’ll Bring

A degree in Accountancy, Finance, or a related discipline.

At least five years of relevant experience in manufacturing finance, plant accounting, or cost accounting.

Strong knowledge of standard costing, inventory valuation, variance analysis, and month-end reporting.

Advanced Excel Skills And Experience Using An ERP System.

Hands-on experience using AI tools and automation to improve finance processes, with examples of time saved, errors reduced, or reporting improved.

Experience with tools such as Power Query, Power BI, Power Automate, or equivalent reporting and workflow platforms.

The ability to investigate discrepancies, challenge assumptions constructively, and explain financial results to non-finance colleagues.

Strong ownership, attention to detail, and the ability to work independently in a remote environment.

Availability to work agreed hours that overlap with the New Zealand operations team.

Highly Regarded

CPA, CA, CMA, or an equivalent professional qualification.

Experience in food, FMCG, or process manufacturing.

Experience supporting New Zealand operations or working across countries.

Familiarity with SQL, Python, or low-code tools for financial analysis and automation.

Experience connecting ERP data to automated reports and dashboards.

Why join us?

Take ownership of plant finance while working remotely with a New Zealand manufacturing team. You will have the opportunity to improve financial performance and modernise finance processes through practical AI and automation.