Finance Manager- (Contract)

John Crane, a business of Smiths Group, is a global leader in mission-critical flow control solutions for energy and process industries that enable efficient and sustainable operations. Our products include mechanical seals and systems, couplings, bearings, filtration systems, and predictive digital monitoring technologies. 

We have a global network of more than 200 sites in over 50 countries and employ more than 6,000 people worldwide. We partner with our customers to help them keep their operations safe, reduce downtime, improve efficiency, and meet the latest environmental standards. 

John Crane is part of Smiths Group. For over 170 years, Smiths has been pioneering progress by engineering for a better future. We serve millions of people every year, helping to create a safer, more efficient, productive, and better-connected world across four global markets: energy, security & defence, space & aerospace, and general industrial. Listed on the London Stock Exchange, Smiths employs approximately 16,000 colleagues in over 50 countries. 

• Serve as the finance business partner for the Site Leaders and their leadership teams.
• Increase analytics, accuracy, standardization and ensure financial statements are in accordance with regulatory compliance. Responsible for ensuring compliance with the system of financial and internal controls.
• This position provides critical linkage between sales, operations, and shared services teams ensuring that all perspectives are comprehended and acted upon in the reporting, planning and execution cycle.
• Collaborate with Shared Service to ensure proper control and oversite of the balance sheet review and key accounts, and ensure proper review of AP, AR and Purchasing Aging reports.
• Approve Supplier Payments and Customer Credits and Refunds in line with Smith Policies.
• Prepare reconciliations and support schedules to assist with tax return preparation and other compliance reports.
• Lead the forecasting process for USA with responsibility for timely and accurate annual budgeting and forecasting.
• Develop and lead financial analyses relating to growth initiatives, cost savings, pricing, profitability, investments, product development, and supply chain/operations initiatives.
• Work collaboratively to establish a regular, standardized set of insightful reporting and analytics that drive fact-based performance metrics. Implement key performance indicators with granular analysis of internal performance drivers and levers to employ.
• Work with Site Leaders and the central engineering team to develop annual Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) plans, develop compelling business and financial business cases for each initiative, ensuring projects stay within budget, and that all associated costs are accounted for properly.
• Work with Cost Accounting to ensure regular inventory (cycle counts and annual / semi-annual full physical inventories) for raw materials, work-in-progress, and finished goods ensuring process compliance and appropriate approvals are completed.
• Ensure the full leverage of all financial and consolidation systems, including assisting with system upgrades and roll-out of new system functionality with the Sites. This includes support for transactional and master data governance.
• Lead and participate in cross functional teams implementing strategies for sustainable process improvements.
• Ability to build rapport, glean insights from, and influence project/product management and directors to deliver results.

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance or Accounting; MBA or other applicable Masters-level degree preferred
• The ideal candidate will have a minimum of 5 years of experience with progressively increasing levels of responsibility within a manufacturing industry.
• Demonstrated ability to drive change across multiple functions.
• Value streams, operations, & cost accounting knowledge/experience required.
• The ideal candidate will be highly organized, detail-oriented, and self-motivated.  Capable of monitoring and prioritizing competing tasks and projects.
• Team player attitude and adept at multi-level cross-cultural communication.
• Overall proficiency with software systems
• Experience with Oracle, QAD MFG Pro and consolidated reporting systems a plus.

*This is a temporary assignment (3 to 6 months)

With colleagues stretching across the globe, we are proud of our diversity. To foster inclusivity, we run employee resource groups (ERGs) to provide a safe space for employees to connect and support each other. Our cross-business ERGs include Veterans, Pride Network, Black Employee Network, Women@Work Network, and Neurodiversity. 

Across our company, we recognize excellence, culminating in the Smiths Excellence Awards, our annual celebration of the most extraordinary activities, people, and projects that best showcase our strengths and help drive our business forward. We announce these on our annual Smiths Day, a global celebration of Smiths around our network. 

Join us for a great career with competitive compensation and benefits, while helping engineer a better future. 

We believe that different perspectives and backgrounds are what make a company flourish. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment regardless of color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, economic status, disability, age, or any other legally protected characteristics. We are proud to be an inclusive company with values grounded in equality and ethics, where we celebrate, support, and embrace diversity.

At no time during the hiring process will Smiths Group, nor any of our recruitment partners ever request payment to enable participation – including, but not limited to, interviews or testing. Avoid fraudulent requests by applying jobs directly through our career’s website (Careers - Smiths Group plc)