Role: Head of Finance

Career Step Level: Step level 5

Location: Blyth, Worksop

📣A bit about the role

We’re looking for a Head of Finance – Operations to join our squad at a truly exciting time in our growth journey. With expansion into new markets, a big increase in our in-house manufacturing & fulfilment footprint, and greater operational complexity, this role will sit at the heart of how we scale efficiently and sustainably.

You will be the finance lead and strategic partner for our Operations organisation, covering manufacturing, warehouse, logistics, supply chain, and order fulfilment. This is a role for someone who thrives in fast-paced, asset-heavy environments and wants to make a tangible impact on cost, efficiency, and operational performance.

You will partner with the Group Operations leadership team and their respective site teams to help make balanced financial decisions and identify opportunities. You will oversee the on-site Management Accounting teams who are responsible for local reporting, analysis and control. Your remit will span costing, reporting, financial control, budgeting, forecasting, investment appraisal, risk mitigation and operational performance improvement.

This role reports into our CFO, while working extremely closely with our COO and Operational Leadership teams. There will be a clear development plan to support your progression toward Operations Finance Director.

A bit more detail

In this role, you can expect to…

Be the financial owner of Operations

• Lead all financial management across Manufacturing, Warehouse, Fulfilment and Logistics (including UK, Poland facility and 3PL interactions).
• Own operational P&L lines (COGs, labour, utilities, waste, packaging, logistics, overheads) and drive clarity on performance and variances.

Drive robust financial control and reporting

• Be accountable for accurate, timely and impactful operational reporting, cost centre reviews, and period end close for Ops.
• Maintain strong financial controls across end to end operational processes to ensure robust foundations which enable scalable growth.

Partner deeply with operational leaders

• Work hand-in-hand with Operations Leadership to translate performance into actionable insights.
• Lead conversations that highlight key deviations from budget across labour efficiency, throughput, waste, scrap, and logistics costs — both proactively and retrospectively.
• Own the budget & rolling forecast inputs - acting as the bridge between the Operations Leadership team, key budget owners and the FP&A team. 

Enhance profitability & efficiency

• Manage key initiatives across labour optimisation, OEE uplift projects, production efficiency, procurement & materials usage, waste reduction, and utility ratio improvements.
• Deliver working capital improvements through stock optimisation, SKU efficiency and smarter replenishment.

Support capital investment and expansion

• Provide financial evaluation of capex for new equipment, production lines, automation, storage, and fulfilment upgrades (pre- and post- investment). 
• Play a key role in developing the economics of new operational sites, international expansion, and network design.

Be a systems, data & process leader

• Own the Ops Finance change roadmap – including ERP improvements (e.g. SAP B1), automation opportunities, costing system enhancements and more accurate operational data capture.
• Champion AI-led and digital automation for Ops Finance processes.

Ensure we stay ahead of risk

• Identify and mitigate operational risks (supply chain, production, labour, asset utilisation, capacity constraints).
• Support scenario modelling for demand spikes, network disruption and international fulfilment strategy.

🔎 A bit about you

• 6+ years post-qualified CIMA/ACCA/ACA/equivalent experience, ideally gained in an operational setting.
• Strong background in operations finance, manufacturing finance, cost accounting or supply chain finance.
• Experience working in an FMCG, manufacturing, or food production business.
• Deep understanding of:
• OEE
• standard costing, variance analysis, yield & waste
• labour and overhead absorption
• stock valuation & inventory control
• manufacturing KPIs and operational performance metrics
• Experience working closely with operational teams on the ground — not afraid to “go to the line” to understand the drivers behind the numbers.
• Demonstrated ability to act as the finance lead and strategic partner to non-financial operational departments. Must be able to influence decisions to achieve cost and efficiency targets.
• Strong problem-solver, able to adapt quickly and thrive in a fast-paced environment with shifting priorities.
• Experience leading and developing a team, ideally across site/office locations.
• Excellent communicator and storyteller, including an ability to explain operational finance concepts to non-finance teams.
• Highly solution-orientated with a continuous improvement mindset.
• Proven capability to horizon-scan and identify efficiency opportunities before they arise.
• Experience with SAP/SAP B1 is very beneficial, likewise involvement in ERP upgrade projects.
• A love for dogs (naturally) and our Butternut values resonate strongly with you.

Note: This role typically works from our UK manufacturing site, with travel required to London and Poland.

🐶 A bit about Butternut At Butternut, the mission is to deliver health and happiness to dogs and their humans all over the world. In order to do just that, we need a team of forward-thinking, driven people who love dogs as much as we do. And we need quite a big kitchen too. Which is why we have built one in 2021.

Located in Doncaster, Rudie’s Kitchen and Ace’s Pantry are where all the magic happens, so to speak. It’s where the tasty Butternut meals and treats will be gently cooked, using human-quality ingredients because, the way we see it, we wouldn’t serve food to dogs that we wouldn’t be happy to eat ourselves. Due to continued business growth, across Europe, we are also expanding our production footprint with an even bigger second factory in Poland, Sam’s Kitchen, which will be operational early in 2026.

At Butternut, we believe dogs deserve better, and if that’s something you think too, we want to hear from you.

Butternut has come a long way since Kev & Dave (co-founders) hand-delivered the first Butternut Box, and we are now looking for brilliant people to join the team for this next part of the story.Are you up for the challenge?

🥳What's In It For You?🥳

• Enjoy 257.5 hours of holiday per year (equivalent to 33 days holiday)*
• Plus an extra day for each year of service (up to 5 days).*
• 39 hours of pre-booked paws days to support good wellbeing and self care.* (equivalent to 5 days)
• Unlock a £500 annual budget for personal learning and development.
• Enhanced parental leave
• Get discounted Private Medical Insurance with Vitality Healthcare.
• Discounted Gym membership with “MyGymDiscounts” helping you stay fit and healthy
• Satisfy your taste buds with subsidised food from a variety of street food vans, and of course, pay day pizza!
• Treat your furry friend with an employee discount on Butternut Box.
• Say goodbye to parking woes with free parking and electric car charging.
• Team socials & events
• Prepare for adorable office dog overload—meet Cleo, Otto, Cali, Ronnie, Harvey, Ralph, and many more!

*Holidays and Paws days are pro-rata for those working part time or job share

‼️  A few things to note

• There is no closing date for this role. However, we normally experience a high volume of applications so if you are interested we suggest applying as soon as possible.
• We aim to respond to all applicants personally. Our recruitment team is small so do bear with us.
• Butternut Box is an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity and inclusion. We welcome people of different nationalities, backgrounds, experiences, abilities and perspectives.
• We're not afraid of putting extra weight on candidates from underrepresented groups. We want strong, diverse teams built from different backgrounds, experiences, and identities. We're ready for the ongoing work that goes into building an inclusive, supportive place for you to do the best work of your career.
• We are not looking for external agency support with this role.