Plant Controller, Budgeting & Forecasting

About the Opportunity

A growing manufacturing organization is seeking a hands-on Plant Financial Controller/ Manufacturing Finance Leader to lead budgeting, forecasting, financial planning, and operational analysis for a dynamic operation in the Chattanooga area. This is a high-impact role for a finance professional who can partner closely with plant leadership, translate operating activity into financial insight, and help drive better business decisions.

This role is ideal for someone who enjoys being close to the operation, understands manufacturing cost drivers, and can build reliable forecasts, budgets, and performance reporting that leadership can use to manage the business. The right person will bring a strong mix of manufacturing finance, cost analysis, planning, forecasting, and business partnership experience.

What You’ll Own

• Lead the plant’s budgeting, forecasting, and financial planning processes, including annual budgets, rolling forecasts, cost planning, labor planning, overhead assumptions, and operational performance targets.
• Partner with plant leadership to analyze performance against budget and forecast, identify key variances, and provide clear recommendations to improve margins, productivity, cost discipline, and working capital.
• Develop and maintain financial models that support plant decision-making, including labor efficiency, production volume, absorption, scrap, inventory, overhead, capital spending, and margin analysis.
• Prepare recurring financial performance updates for plant and corporate leadership, highlighting risks, opportunities, trends, and actions needed to improve results.
• Drive forecast accuracy by working closely with operations, supply chain, production, and commercial teams to understand changes in volume, mix, labor, material costs, capacity, and operating expenses.
• Analyze manufacturing results and provide actionable insight around standard costs, BOMs/routings, labor utilization, material usage, overhead absorption, inventory levels, and manufacturing variances.
• Support pricing, margin analysis, capital expenditure requests, make-versus-buy decisions, productivity projects, and other operational initiatives with strong financial analysis.
• Lead month-end financial review activities for the plant, with emphasis on explaining business drivers, forecast implications, and performance trends rather than simply reporting results.
• Strengthen financial visibility across the site through improved reporting, dashboards, KPIs, variance analysis, and management routines.
• Ensure plant-level financial processes, controls, and reporting are accurate, timely, and aligned with company requirements.
• Lead, mentor, and develop accounting and finance team members supporting plant finance activities.

What We’re Looking For

• Strong experience in manufacturing finance, plant FP&A, operations finance, plant controlling, or cost accounting.
• Proven background owning budgets, forecasts, variance analysis, financial reporting, and operational performance reviews in a manufacturing environment.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing cost drivers, including standard costing, inventory, labor, overhead, absorption, scrap, BOMs/routings, and plant productivity metrics.
• Ability to partner cross-functionally with plant leadership, operations, supply chain, production, and corporate finance.
• Strong financial modeling, planning, reporting, and analysis skills with the ability to turn data into practical business recommendations.
• Comfortable challenging assumptions, identifying risks and opportunities, and helping leadership make informed operating decisions.
• Advanced Excel skills and experience working with ERP systems.
• Leadership experience managing or mentoring accounting, finance, or analyst-level staff.
• CPA, CMA, MBA, or similar credentials are a plus.

Preferred Background

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field.
• Several years of progressive experience in manufacturing finance, plant FP&A, operations finance, cost accounting, or plant-level financial leadership.
• Experience leading budgeting and forecasting for a manufacturing site strongly preferred.
• Background supporting fast-paced manufacturing operations with direct exposure to plant leadership and corporate finance.

Why This Role Stands Out

This is not a traditional plant accounting role focused only on close and reporting. It is a visible finance leadership opportunity where you will own the plant’s budgeting, forecasting, and financial analysis rhythm while serving as a true business partner to operations. The role offers the chance to influence profitability, improve forecast accuracy, strengthen financial discipline, and help leadership make better decisions across the plant.