Plant Accountant

**Plant Accountant**

The Smurfit Kappa Group plc are Europe's leading corrugated packaging company and one of the leading paper-based packaging companies in the world. An industry leader with 46,000 employees globally, 350 production sites around the world, with locations in23 countries in Europe and 13 countries in the Americas.

Smurfit Kappa Corrugated UK are;
- Open to considering flexible working, such as part-time hours, hybrid working and other flexible options.
- Happy to offer a wide range of Family Friendly policies including emergency time off for dependants and to provide generous maternity, paternity and adoption leave provisions for our valued colleagues.

Smurfit Kappa is looking for a Plant Accountant to join our friendly finance team. This role would be ideal for someone who has recently qualified and is looking to sink their teeth into their first senior role.

**Who are Smurfit Kappa Barnstaple?**

From innovative Bag-in-Box packaging to popular eCommerce solutions and much more, Smurfit Kappa Barnstaple and the wider business continue to lead the way in sustainable paper-based packaging. We’re at the very forefront of the packaging revolution, drivingchange and reducing the industry's impact on the planet. There’s never been a more exciting time to join the team.

Our Barnstaple site services customers in the local geographical area, including Bristol, Bath, Devon, Somerset and Cornwall, as well as customers across the UK. We celebrated our 50th anniversary in 2019 and the site continues to develop and evolve to allowus to serve our valued customers as well as tackle new packaging challenges nationwide.

**What will you do?**

Reporting to the General Manager, the Plant Accountant will be responsible for continuously improving business methods and providing excellent analysis that can be the basis for strategic decisions. They will identify key actions within the business andindividual customers and look for prospects that will improve long-term profitability.

Managing the financial aspects of operations to a level of excellence along with developing the Finance Team to achieve their key result areas and their potential. The role supports the General Manager and sits within the Senior Management Team, therefore,playing an integral role in the business.

**Main duties**:

- Undertake business analysis and advise the local management on business mix, cost structure and capital base.
- Initiate and manage projects to improve business control and profitability, prioritising such projects based on business impact.
- Evaluate new suppliers/products/services which enable improvements within the business or which increase the value of our offer to customers.
- Support Line Managers in reducing the costs within their control.
- Manage costing systems and ensure that effective business controls are in place to ensure costs are controlled and profit maximised.
- Lead the annual budget and quarterly forecast processes, including presentations to the UK Board.
- Use benchmarking information to ensure improvement opportunities within administration and production are identified and acted upon.
- Manage the site relationship with the Shared Service Centre and act as local contact for input and judgements relating the company’s financial results before they are released to senior management.
- Manage issues relating to auditors and legal advisers.
- Vet all major capital proposals before they are submitted for board approval.
- Direct the IT department to ensure that internal systems work accurately and efficiently.
- Ensure debt control is managed and cash flow maximised.
- Support health and safety initiatives.
- IT compliance and control.

**Skills, Knowledge and Experience**:

- Professional Accounting Qualification (ICAEW/CIMA/ACCA/CIPFA or equivalent)
- Experience of working at Management level
- People Management skills and experience
- Strong IT skills, working knowledge of Accounting, Microsoft and MRP packages
- Sound knowledge and experience of management accounting in a large organisation
- Awareness and understanding of business and pricing mechanisms and the effect of decision making within the business
- Problem solving both internally and externally
- Confident and diplomatic with customers, suppliers and team members
- Assertive and persuasive while remaining approachable
- Management of department and team with compliance to SK policies and procedures, and best practice
- Organisational skills
- Ability to see tasks and projects through to their final outcomes and provide conclusions on the results

**Systems and Programmes utilised**:

- SAP
- Microsoft Excel and other Microsoft Office products
- HFM/Hyperion
- Navision
- Top 10 in Ops Excellence
- BI Executive Viewer
- Time & Attendance (Mitrefinch)

**Remuneration**:

- Competitive salary
- 33 total days holiday per year including bank holidays
- Pension
- Personal development