Financial Controller

Morgan Mckinley is working exclusively with a leading manufacturing organisation to appoint a French speaking Financial Controller. The successful candidate, based onsite in Waterford, will lead the finance function, ensuring robust financial management, strong governance, and high-quality insights to support strategic decision-making. This role requires a hands-on leader who can partner with the wider business, drive operational excellence, and support growth and transformation initiatives.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead, mentor, and develop the finance team to achieve high performance and continuous improvement
• Partner with site and senior leadership to align financial management with strategic and operational objectives
• Build strong cross-functional relationships across operations, supply chain, quality, and R&D
• Own the month-end close process, delivering timely and accurate financial statements
• Prepare and manage budgets, forecasts, and detailed variance analyses
• Monitor and manage cash flow to ensure all business obligations are met
• Produce detailed product and project margin analysis to support commercial decision-making
• Ensure compliance with all statutory, tax, and financial reporting requirements
• Act as the primary point of contact for external auditors, ensuring smooth and timely audits
• Monitor and report financial performance against budgets and KPIs (weekly, monthly, quarterly)
• Identify and implement cost-reduction and efficiency initiatives while maintaining regulatory compliance
• Support ERP, systems upgrades, and finance process improvement projects
• Play an active role in shaping financial strategy and supporting organisational growth

Key Requirements:

• Qualified accountant (ACA / ACCA / CIMA or equivalent) with a minimum of 5 years' post-qualification experience in industry
• Fluent French and English (spoken and written)
• Strong background in financial management, including P&L ownership, budgeting, and forecasting
• Multi-site experience desirable
• Proven track record of improving financial and operational performance
• Strong people leadership and team development skills
• Excellent analytical capability with both strategic and detail-oriented focus
• Effective communicator with the ability to influence at all organisational levels
• Highly organised, able to manage competing priorities and meet deadlines
• Strong IT literacy with ERP system experience (SAP or similar preferred)