Group Head of Financial Planning

**Edinburgh - Market leading remuneration available**

**Hybrid working**

**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.

Since Baxters began operation in 1868 a lot has changed, 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 £500m.

With the sheer scale of 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 products 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’ Headquarters are situated just off Charlotte Square in Edinburgh, where Group Functions oversee the Global operation.

**The Role**

Reporting Directly to the CFO, this is a critical position which will have important stakeholder management responsibilities across Group Finance, Group Governance Board, Executive Board, Strategic Business Units (“SBU’s”) and external advisors.

Key responsibilities include:

- Support the development of the annual budget level presentations to be provided to Boards, including preparation of presentations to Board of Directors and Executive Management Team
- Support the Executive Management and SBU Heads with in-depth analysis and provision of decision support information
- Work closely with senior management to build successful working relationships and become a credible senior business partner
- Develop the annual long-term forecast (5-year plan)
- Evaluate current assets and excess working capital to maximise ROI and where appropriate, suggest other methods of leveraging cash flow (alternative investments, increased stock dividends etc.)
- Gauge the company’s overall financial health (current and future) through key financial ratios, models and forecasts, using historic results and variance analysis to suggest future improvements and drive further company-wide growth in line with strategic objectives
- Involvement in pricing strategy reviews and determining which of the company’s products or product lines generate the largest portion of its net profit. Additionally, track resource allocation and streamline financially where possible
- Map growth plans, including capital expenditures and investments
- Ensure meaningful and robust management information and commercial commentary is available to support business insight and decision-making processes. Suggest improvements to the reporting of revenue and working capital management where appropriate
- Run the forecasting and planning processes to set stretching but realistic business targets in line with Group goals
- Maintain a current level of technical awareness and expertise in all areas of management accounting
- Support the CFO in the identification, monitoring and analysis of potential acquisition targets. Including creating standardised KPI to allow different targets to be compared on a consistent basis

**The Individual**
- Qualified accountant with well developed emotional and social competence and growth mindset
- Experienced operating and interacting at executive and Board level, including experience of reporting to and advising, senior stakeholders (executive committee, Board directors, regulators and external networks)
- Track record of driving growth, profitability, working capital management, innovation, and continuous improvement
- Demonstrable FP&A experience and a sound technical understanding of finance and IT systems
- Proven team leader who can set objectives, manage a dynamic team and develop individuals professionally
- Able to build trust, influence, and partner at all levels and across the Group
- Analytical, innovative, and reflective thinker who utilises information to drive business-critical decisions
- A flexible and enthusiastic self-starter, with an ambition to own the function and drive growth for the business
- Highly organised, comfortable with ambiguity, and able to show initiative and adapt as business priorities change. Able to manage and prioritise both long
- and short-term objectives

**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
- Please note that any direct or third party appr