CONTROLLING MANAGER

For our client, we are looking for:

Position: CONTROLLING MANAGER

Location: Warsaw - Flexible, with frequent travel to key business locations in Poland

Form of Employment: FTE

Reports To: CFO / Board Member

Department: Finance & Controlling

Team Leadership: Yes – 3 Finance Controllers with plans to expand the team

Job Description:

The Controlling Manager is responsible for leading financial controlling processes across production, logistics, sales, and marketing. This includes ensuring accurate financial reporting, budgeting, and forecasting, while providing strategic insights to support key business decisions. A core focus of the role is to identify financial trends, detect performance gaps, and proactively manage risks and opportunities.

You’ll work closely with senior leadership and cross-functional teams to align financial goals with operational reality and business growth. Success in this role requires both strategic vision and strong leadership of a high-performing controlling team.

Key Responsibilities

A. Strategic Financial Planning & Cost Control

• Define cost allocation logic and ensure accurate profitability analysis by product, customer, and channel

• Lead budget planning, forecasting, and long-term financial modeling

• Conduct variance analyses and monitor key KPIs

• Oversee working capital, cash flow, and CAPEX planning

B. Business Partnering

• Act as a financial advisor to operations, logistics, commercial, and marketing teams

• Identify cost inefficiencies and propose actionable improvements

• Support investment decisions, pricing strategies, and product portfolio optimization

C. Operational & Supply Chain Controlling

• Partner with operations and supply chain to optimize production and logistics costs

• Define and monitor efficiency metrics (OEE, waste reduction, scrap)

• Track inventory and warehouse costs, driving continuous improvements

D. Commercial Controlling

• Measure ROI of marketing activities and customer acquisition strategies

• Analyze profitability by product, customer, and region

• Support sales planning with accurate, timely financial insights

E. Data & Performance Management

• Design and improve dashboards, management reporting, and KPI tracking

• Leverage BI tools to enhance financial visibility and benchmarking

• Provide data-driven recommendations to the Board

F. Compliance & Risk Management

• Ensure compliance with internal/external financial policies and standards

• Support audits, transfer pricing, and statutory reporting

• Identify and mitigate financial and operational risks

G. Team Leadership

• Build, structure, and develop a high-performing controlling team

• Implement career paths, development plans, and succession strategies

• Foster a culture of performance, ownership, and continuous improvement

Candidate Profile

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Finance, Economics, or Accounting

Experience

• 10+ years in controlling in production/retail/FMCG

• Proven experience with ERP systems, BI tools, and advanced Excel modeling

Competencies

• Strong financial and analytical skills

• Understanding of end-to-end value chains: from supply chain to sales

• Team leadership capabilities and cross-functional collaboration skills

• Proactive and solution-oriented mindset

• Fluent in Polish and English; German is a plus.

What We Offer

• Strategic role with real impact on business performance

• Exposure to a multi-functional and multi-location organization

• Autonomy to design processes and drive transformation

• Professional development and future growth opportunities

• Open, performance-driven culture focused on innovation and excellence

Send your CV: a.lis@stepupsearch.com