Project Controller

Duties / Responsibilities 

Reporting and updating the financial performance of primarily vehicle development projects, as well as other projects (IT/Infrastructure) within the business as required. In addition, support the Group Controller and CFO to provide a financial service covering monthly reporting, budgetary control, forecast projections and estimating cost of future development activities.

The role will form part of the Projects and Engineering finance team that will provide the financial control, reporting and forecasting services for over £2Bn of investment in Group Lotus over the next 5 years. This investment will significantly change the Lotus business and provide a truly exciting growth trajectory for the next ten years and beyond. This role will help support that growth.

General deliverables:

  • Business support-individual needs to be a proactive member of the Projects and Engineering management team. They need to be seen as a key focal point for decision making within the business area. The role will only succeed if the individual is seen to take control of the financial management of the division. For this reason they need to actively engage with the business to ensure that targets and issues are addressed and understood.
  • Support to finance department-ensuring that the data as presented within the project reporting area is accurate and reliable. They need to ensure full financial integrity for the divisions financial results and that these results comply with company and relevant accounting standard.

Day to day deliverables:

  • Preparation of individual vehicle lines business cases
  • Forecasting product cost (including Bill of Materials) ensuring that these align to the factory standard cost
  • Forecasting product investment cost, ensuring that the funding/purchasing requests align to approved budgets
  • Providing accurate costing per vehicle line in order that margins and producing strategies are understood
  • Scenario planning for different product mix, currency fluctuations and volume changes
  • Develop project specific cash flow models which will support currency hedging contracts-ensure that these cash flow projections align to product profitability business cases
  • Provide inputs by project to the ten year business plan and support this process by becoming the primary point of contact for project data for all financial stakeholders including banks and shareholders
  • Support control, reporting and forecasting of other business projects as and when required

Qualifications and Experience

  • Highly experienced accountant with experience in Business Case development and control through to delivery
  • Key understanding of cash flow management and forecasting
  • Intermediate Excel skills
  • Collaborative
  • Change agent
  • High level of communication skills
  • CIMA/ACA/ACCA qualified
  • Project accounting experience
  • Commercial finance experience
  • Presentation skills

Other information

Based in a multi functional project team environment, which sites in a wider Engineering function.

Likely to be predominantly UK/Hethel based with some travel to Coventry and potentially China.