Finance Business Partner - Manufacturing Costing

Company Description

Element Six (E6), is a global leader in the design, development and production of synthetic diamond and tungsten carbide supermaterials. Part of the De Beers Group, our primary manufacturing sites are located in UK, Ireland, Germany, South Africa and the US.

Our mission

We put our customers first. Using our technological expertise and industrial leadership we deliver innovative solutions to achieve competitive advantage.

Our vision

With access to the most sophisticated R&D technology and the best minds in the business, the future is full of possibilities…

Employment Equity & Inclusion and Diversity

We are committed to fostering a vibrant workplace culture that is inclusive and embraces our diversity, where we value and respect every colleague for who they are and provide equality of opportunity so that everyone can fulfil their potential, and thrive.

Background checks

Successful candidates will be required to complete a background screening check which may include a criminal check and validation of qualifications.

You can find out more about who we are and what we do on our website:

e6.com/en/about/corporate-information

Job Description

Job overview

The Finance Business Partner – CVD Costing will report directly to the Senior Finance Business Partner – CVD and provide financial costing across the CVD business. The role supports CVD cost accounting, budgeting, forecasting, costing scenarios, R&D Tax Credit submissions, manufacturing variance analysis and CVD-wide performance reporting. It will also use digital tools, including AI-enabled solutions and Power BI, to improve the quality, efficiency and insight of financial analysis and reporting.

This is a key business partnering role supporting US CVD operations in Oregon and California, while also providing insight across the wider CVD global footprint, including Ireland and the UK. The successful candidate will partner closely with operations, engineering, supply chain, finance and business leadership to translate operational performance into clear financial insight, challenge assumptions constructively, and support effective decision making.

Duties and tasks

Cost Accounting and Inventory

• Own and maintain Oregon and California standard costing processes, including manufactured product standards, purchased material costs, bills of material, routing times, work center rates and relevant costing assumptions.
• Understand and maintain standard costing and weighted average costing methodologies, ensuring the appropriate treatment of discrete and process manufactured items.
• Support the setup and analysis of outside processing costs, including comparison of external processing costs to internal manufacturing or processing alternatives.
• Calculate and update work center recovery rates based on budgeted costs, activity levels, manufacturing assumptions and approved planning inputs.
• Maintain and review AAIs (automatic accounting instructions) to ensure inventory, recoveries, work order variances, price variances and currency variances are posted accurately to the general ledger.
• Perform periodic simulation and freezing of updated standard product costs and prepare clear bridges explaining movements from previous to new standards.
• Review branch inventory item data periodically to ensure GL class codes, costing methods, item master information and financial reporting attributes remain accurate.
• Reconcile finished goods, raw materials and work in progress balances from inventory reports to the general ledger, and coordinate corrective action where discrepancies are identified.
• Review inventory for excess, obsolete or slow-moving balances and support write-down assessments in accordance with Group policy.
• Prepare monthly journal entries required to accurately reflect variances, recoveries, inventory balances, revaluations, accruals and deferrals.
• Prepare and present costing scenarios to support business decisions, including the financial impact of changes in activity levels, product mix, yield, cycle time, utilization, outside processing, material cost, labor cost and manufacturing footprint assumptions.

Budgeting, Forecasting and 5-Year Planning

• Lead the compilation of the annual budget for CVD Operations and prepare and present annual forecasts, including the current 2+10, 6+6 and 10+2 forecast cycles, working with operations, engineering, supply chain and finance stakeholders to develop robust assumptions for activity, cost, headcount, inventory, recoveries, capital expenditure support and manufacturing performance.
• Prepare and present the 5-year plan for Oregon, California and CVD Ireland, ensuring assumptions are aligned with operational strategy, activity levels, capacity, cost base, investment requirements and long-term CVD business planning.

Variance Analysis and Reporting

• Own Oregon and California weekly and monthly variance analysis, including under/over activity, work order variances, recovery variances, price variances, currency variances, inventory revaluation impacts and variance deferral requirements, ensuring key drivers are clearly understood and corrective actions are agreed where required.
• Prepare monthly analysis of manufacturing costs and reports comparing actual production costs to standards by product, process, site and variance driver.
• Monitor monthly inventory balances, inventory ageing and related operational KPIs, ensuring drivers are understood and corrective actions are taken where required.

Digital Finance and Continuous Improvement

• Use digital tools, including Power BI, Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT and other AI-enabled applications, to improve financial analysis, automate or streamline reporting, enhance dashboarding, identify trends and support clearer business insight, while applying appropriate judgement, data validation and confidentiality controls.

CVD Consolidation and Business Partnering

• Combine and understand CVD variances across all CVD locations, including plants in Ireland, Oregon, California, and in the UK, ensuring performance is presented consistently across the business.
• Prepare CVD variance summaries and bridges that explain site-level and consolidated performance, including activity, yield, recoveries, work order variances, price, currency, inventory revaluation and variance deferral impacts.
• Provide financial insight and recommendations to management on the cost, profitability, cash flow and operational impact of changes in products, processes, manufacturing routes, activity levels, service arrangements or investment decisions.
• Lead the compilation, preparation and submission of R&D Tax Credit claims for relevant US CVD Oregon and California activities, working with engineering, operations, finance and external advisors to identify qualifying activities, validate eligible costs, and retain appropriate supporting documentation.
• Prepare dashboards and reporting packs detailing work order, recovery, inventory and variance performance for the US CVD entity and the broader CVD business.

Qualifications

Criteria and Skills

• Education. Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance or a related discipline. Certified Management Accountant is preferred.
• Experience. Relevant experience in manufacturing finance, product costing, cost accounting, budgeting, forecasting, financial planning, variance analysis or finance business partnering.
  • Strong understanding of standard costing, weighted average costing, manufacturing variances, recoveries, inventory accounting and cost absorption.
  • Experience preparing and presenting annual budgets, forecast cycles, financial scenarios and cost models for manufacturing or operational environments.
  • Experience preparing and presenting 5-year plans for multi-site manufacturing or operational environments.
  • Ability to analyse under/over activity, work order variances, price variances, currency variances, inventory revaluation and variance deferrals.
  • Experience supporting the compilation, preparation and submission of R&D Tax Credit claims, including documentation of qualifying activities, eligible costs and supporting evidence.
  • Strong financial modelling and analytical skills, with the ability to convert detailed operational data into clear business insight.
  • Proficient in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel and PowerPoint; experience with JD Edwards or similar ERP systems is preferred.
  • Strong capability using digital finance tools, including Power BI, Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT or other AI-enabled applications, to improve analysis, reporting, dashboarding, process efficiency and decision support, with an understanding of data quality, validation and confidentiality requirements.
  • Ability to prepare financial reports, management commentary and recommendations based on available data.
  • Strong understanding of financial controls, accounting policies, inventory valuation and general ledger integrity.
  • Excellent attention to detail, with the ability to work across multiple sites, stakeholders and reporting timelines.

Behavioral Competencies

• Customer Centric.  Provides clarity and responsiveness to internal and external customers and partners.  Understands underlying needs and issues and communicates clearly in both written and verbal formats.

• Decision Making. Makes clear, timely decisions and provides explicit guidance based on sound financial analysis, operational understanding and business context.
• Simplifies and Avoids Complexity. Focuses on the problem being solved, avoids over-engineering solutions, and considers the implications of local decisions across the wider organization.
• Accountability. Takes ownership of responsibilities, follows through on commitments, holds self and others to account, and values perspectives from across the business when forming conclusions.
• Adaptability. Works effectively in a fast-moving environment, remains self-motivated, and is comfortable taking responsibility for complex and evolving priorities.
• Collaboration. Builds effective relationships across finance, operations, engineering, supply chain and leadership teams, and communicates financial insight clearly to support aligned decision making.

Additional Information

Element Six offers an excellent suite of employee benefits including:

• Choice of excellent health plans
• Dental and vision plans
• 401k plan and safe harbor with company match up to 6%
• Discretionary annual bonus plan
• Generous vacation, maternity/paternity paid leave, and sick leave benefits.