Regional Plant Controller

Job Purpose

Serve as the senior finance leader responsible for financial performance, reporting integrity, and operational finance capability across all manufacturing sites in the region. Drive consistency and discipline in financial processes across all plants in the region while serving as a trusted finance partner to one or more Operations Vice Presidents. Translate plant and regional financial data into insights that improve EBITDA, sharpen capital expenditure prioritization, drive continuous improvement, and inform operational decisions aligned with the company’s value creation plan.

Essential Functions

• Multi-Site Financial Reporting & Close Oversight

o Own the consolidated regional or category plant P&L, ensuring accurate and on-time monthly, quarterly, and annual close across all plants in the region

o Standardize and enforce a consistent close calendar, chart of accounts, and reporting package format across all Plant Controllers in the region

o Review and approve plant-level financial packages prior to submission to Operations and Finance leadership; identify material discrepancies or anomalies and resolve with Plant Controllers

o Prepare and deliver concise financial analyses and presentations to company leadership team, providing critical insights that drive awareness and support future business decisions

o Identify cost savings, productivity, and efficiency opportunities related to material, labor, and overhead

• Reporting Consistency & Process Standardization

o Define and govern regional finance standards: close procedures, variance analysis templates, forecast formats, KPI definitions, and presentation standards

o Conduct periodic cross-plant process reviews; identify best practices at top-performing sites and drive structured adoption across the region

o Drive consistent ERP usage, cost center structures, and reporting hierarchies across all plant sites in the region

o Partner with corporate finance to ensure regional reporting fully aligns with enterprise consolidation and PE sponsor requirements

o Lead or support finance system implementations, upgrades, and integrations that affect regional plant sites

• Budgeting, Forecasting & Financial Planning

o Lead the regional annual operating plan (AOP) process; consolidate plant-level submissions into a coherent regional plan and present to senior leadership

o Maintain and continuously improve the regional rolling forecast; hold Plant Controllers and Operations Vice Presidents accountable to timely variance explanations, always driving to leading indicators and root cause

o Build and maintain regional scenario and sensitivity models for capacity utilization, input cost volatility, volume/mix shifts, and productivity initiatives

o Serve as the primary finance partner to one or more Operations Vice Presidents, providing financial context and decision support for capacity planning, cost reduction programs, and operational initiatives

o Actively participate in regional S&OP, production planning, and operational review meetings; connect plant-level KPIs to regional P&L outcomes

o Support Finance leadership in preparing board-level materials, quarterly business reviews, and PE sponsor deliverables

• Capital Expenditure Review & Prioritization

o Own the regional CapEx review process: assess business need, challenge financial assumptions, and ensure ROI models are rigorous and consistent across plant submissions

o Consolidate and prioritize regional CapEx requests against the annual CapEx budget; develop recommendations for the VP of Finance and Operations VPs

o Partner with plant engineering and operations to ensure CapEx authorizations are complete, properly supported, and appropriately sequenced for execution

o Track regional CapEx spending vs. authorization throughout the year; escalate overruns or scope changes promptly

o Lead post-implementation reviews on significant capital projects across the region to validate return assumptions and capture learnings for future investments

• Continuous Improvement & Special Projects

o Benchmark financial and operational performance across plants within the region and against industry peers; identify structural cost gaps and lead root-cause resolution

o Lead cross-plant continuous improvement initiatives targeting material yields, labor efficiency, overhead absorption, and working capital turns

o Support and challenge plant-level productivity pipelines; ensure savings are real, trackable, and reflected in updated forecasts

o Identify and escalate pricing, mix, or volume risks that threaten regional EBITDA; develop and recommend mitigation strategies

o Promote a continuous improvement mindset in operational and financial processes at all levels of the regional organization, including leverage of ERP and other systems

o Lead or co-lead regional finance workstreams on M&A integrations, carve-outs, facility expansions, or closures as directed by the VP of Finance or PE sponsor

o Design and implement scalable finance infrastructure — processes, controls, reporting tools — in advance of anticipated business growth or portfolio changes

• Production Uptime & Operational Finance Partnership

o Quantify the financial impact of unplanned downtime, line changeovers, maintenance events, and quality holds; support the business case for uptime improvement investments

o Develop and maintain a regional operations finance dashboard tracking OEE, cost-per-unit, yield rate, labor efficiency, and working capital turns across all sites

o Provide financial support for customer-specific pricing decisions, new product launches, and co-manufacturing arrangements that affect regional plant capacity

• Team Leadership

o Lead, coach, and develop a plant finance team (typically 2–5 direct reports)

o Set clear goals and performance expectations; conduct regular one-on-ones and formal reviews

o Build cross-training depth to eliminate single points of failure in month-end close, reporting, and variance analysis processes

• Internal Controls & Compliance

o Ensure a consistent and robust internal control environment across all plants in the region, aligned with corporate policies and any applicable SOX or PE diligence requirements

o Serve as the regional liaison for internal and external audits; coordinate across Plant Controllers to deliver timely and complete audit responses

o Identify control weaknesses at any plant in the region and drive timely remediation; escalate material issues

o Ensure all sites maintain compliance with food industry-specific financial record-keeping and traceability requirements (FDA, USDA, FSMA)

• Support food safety program, quality standards, and legality of manufactured products

• Perform other job-related duties as assigned

Qualifications (Education, Experience, Competencies)

• Bachelor's degree in accounting or finance

• 10+ years of progressive accounting/finance experience, including at least 5 years managing or overseeing plant finance across multiple manufacturing sites

• Direct experience in food production, food & beverage, consumer products, or other process manufacturing environments

• Proven experience in a PE-owned company or similarly high-accountability, metrics-driven environment

• Experience supporting a PE sponsor through a full hold period, including onboarding, value creation plan execution, and exit preparation preferred

• Prior involvement in M&A due diligence, integration, or carve-out transactions in a manufacturing context preferred

• Experience with Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma or continuous improvement initiatives from a finance leadership perspective preferred

• Strong ERP proficiency (SAP or equivalent); advanced Excel and financial modeling skills working with large, multi-site data sets

• Demonstrated mastery of cost accounting: standard costing, activity-based costing, multi-site variance analysis, and inventory management

• Track record of leading or significantly improving financial processes across multiple locations simultaneously

• Familiarity with food safety financial implications: FSMA, HACCP cost tracking, SQF certification costs preferred

• Exceptional communication and presentation skills; comfortable presenting to CFO and Operations leadership

• Willingness to partner cross-functionally to solve problems and pursue opportunities

California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Washington, D.C. Residents Only: The salary range for this role is $150,000 to $185,000 annually. Pay is based upon several factors including but not limited to local labor markets, education, work experience, certifications, etc. Rise Baking Company complies with all minimum wage laws as applicable. In addition to your annual salary, Rise Baking Company offers benefits such as, a comprehensive benefits package, annual bonus eligibility, incentive and recognition programs and 401k contributions (all benefits are subject to eligibility requirements). At Rise Baking Company, our people are our finest ingredient.