JOB DESCRIPTION

Location: Warwick, Queensland | Leadership Team member
Reports to: General Manager, who reports to the Board of Directors
Functional responsibility: Finance, AR and AP, manufacturing financial control and commercial systems

Role purpose

Build a financially solid, disciplined and profitable manufacturing business. Lead the financial control and commercial systems that connect sales, marketing, design, purchasing, inventory, production and dispatch, giving OX Trailers reliable information and practical processes to improve margins, cash flow and operating performance.

This is a hands-on leadership role. The Commercial Manager must understand what happens on the factory floor, challenge the numbers, identify the causes of lost profit and work with the responsible managers to implement lasting improvements. Oversight of accounts receivable and accounts payable forms part of a much broader manufacturing financial control mandate.

Leadership accountability

The Leadership Team consists of the Sales & Marketing Manager, Operations Manager, Design Manager and Commercial Manager. All four roles report directly to the General Manager, who reports to the Board of Directors.

· Contribute to business strategy, budgets, capacity planning, investment decisions and the annual profit improvement plan as a full member of the Leadership Team.

· Drive progress towards OX Trailers’ business profitability goals of 45% gross profit margin and 25% net profit margin. Work with the Leadership Team to translate these goals into budgets and departmental actions, with clear owners, deadlines and measurable results.

· Build commercial understanding across the business so managers understand how quoting, design, labour, purchasing, stock and production decisions affect profit and cash.

Financial and manufacturing control

· Own the integrity of management accounts, balance sheet reconciliations, budgets, forecasts and financial reporting. Explain results, risks and corrective actions clearly.

· Establish reliable job costing covering materials, direct labour, design hours, subcontracting, freight and appropriate manufacturing overheads. Maintain and review costing rates.

· Control work in progress, inventory valuation, job completion and revenue cut-off so reported results reflect the actual position. Reconcile production records and stock to the general ledger.

· Compare quoted, budgeted and actual margins by job, product range and customer. Identify cost overruns, missing charges, rework and margin leakage while there is still time to act.

· Provide a monthly performance pack with profit and loss, balance sheet, cash flow, job margins, manufacturing variances and a tracked improvement action list.

Working across the manufacturing business

Work alongside each manager to improve performance and establish consistent controls from initial enquiry through to final payment. Department managers remain responsible for running their teams; the Commercial Manager owns the financial discipline and visibility supporting their decisions.

Sales Marketing and pricing

· Build accurate estimating and pricing tools, minimum margin guidelines and approval processes for discounts, special terms and commercially significant quotes.

· Review custom and project work for scope, engineering effort, materials, labour, freight and commercial risk before commitment. Ensure variations are costed, approved and charged.





· Work with Sales to improve product and customer mix, deposit and progress payment discipline, and the handover from quote to confirmed production order.

· Work with Marketing on budgets, campaign performance, agency costs and return on investment. Connect marketing spend and lead generation to sales conversion, customer acquisition cost and job profitability to guide investment decisions.

Design and engineering

· Work with Design to establish accurate bills of materials, routings, revision control and design labour allowances before jobs are released to manufacture.

· Assess the cost of customisation and design changes. Support standardisation, modular designs and component reuse where they improve cost, lead time and product quality.

· Ensure engineering changes flow through drawings, purchasing, inventory, production and costing, with clear approval and responsibility.

Operations and production

· Work with Operations to establish realistic labour standards, usable time capture and meaningful reporting of hours, material usage, scrap, rework and warranty costs.

· Analyse bottlenecks, utilisation, overtime, subcontracting and throughput. Quantify options and support changes that improve total business profit and delivery performance.

· Run regular job margin and variance reviews with Operations and Design. Record root causes, assign corrective actions and verify that improvements are sustained.

Inventory and purchasing

· Work with Stores and Purchasing to control stock receipts, job issues, returns, transfers, substitutions and adjustments, supported by accurate item data and units of measure.

· Establish cycle counts and stocktakes, investigate variances and manage slow-moving, obsolete and excess inventory. Improve availability while reducing cash tied up in stock.

· Analyse supplier pricing, landed costs, order quantities and purchasing commitments. Apply purchase order and invoice matching controls and support supplier negotiations.

ERP and business procedures

· Own the business requirements, data standards and financial controls of the ERP, working with department owners and external providers to connect quoting, bills of materials, purchasing, stock, time capture, job costing and finance.

· Build documented workflows with clear approvals and ownership. Train users, monitor adoption and resolve missing transactions, duplicate entry and unreliable reports at their source.

· Create a practical operating dashboard using reconciled ERP data. Maintain access controls, master data governance and change approval so information remains reliable as the business grows.

Cash flow and finance team leadership

· Lead and develop the finance and administration employees assigned to the role, including AR and AP. Set clear responsibilities, procedures, service standards and backup coverage.

· Maintain a rolling 13-week cash flow forecast and longer-term funding outlook. Plan for payroll, supplier commitments, tax obligations, capital expenditure and project cash requirements.

· Oversee collections, overdue debt, customer credit limits,



supplier payments, bank reconciliations and payroll controls. Maintain appropriate separation of duties and payment authorisations.

· Coordinate statutory reporting, tax and compliance obligations with internal finance resources and external advisers, ensuring accurate information and timely completion.

· Assess capital expenditure, make-or-buy options and major contracts using costs, capacity, cash requirements and expected returns. Track benefits after implementation.

Authority and working relationships

Lead commercial and financial reviews across departments, require accurate supporting information, and escalate material margin, cash, data or control issues to the General Manager, with Board reporting through the General Manager. Apply approval gates within the agreed delegation framework and refer exceptions for approval. Spending, pricing, credit and payment authority must be set in a documented delegation schedule.

Work closely with the Board of Directors and General Manager, fellow Leadership Team members, and the Sales, Marketing, Operations, Design, Purchasing, Stores and finance teams, together with ERP providers, external accountants and other advisers. Coordinate responsibilities with any existing CFO or external finance support to maintain clear ownership.

Experience and capabilities

· Demonstrated financial controller or commercial management experience in a manufacturing business, with practical responsibility for job costing, WIP, inventory and operational improvement.

· Hands-on understanding of engineered products, fabrication, assembly or project manufacturing. Trailer, equipment or similar engineering industry experience is highly desirable.

· Proven ability to improve manufacturing ERP processes, data quality, reporting and user adoption, supported by strong spreadsheet and analytical skills.

· Evidence of delivering measurable improvements in margins, working capital and operating efficiency, and of building procedures that teams continue to use.

· A confident, practical leader who spends time with the teams, asks direct questions, explains numbers clearly and holds people accountable while earning their cooperation.

· Accounting or finance qualifications, with CA or CPA highly regarded. Strong manufacturing judgement and a record of implementation are essential.

Expected outcomes and measures of success

First 90 days: validate financial and costing data; establish cash forecasting and a reliable reporting calendar; review WIP and stock accuracy; identify the largest profit leaks; agree a prioritised improvement plan, baseline measures and departmental owners.

By six months: demonstrate reliable job margin reporting, stronger inventory and WIP controls, consistent ERP workflows and measurable delivery against the agreed profit and cash improvement plan.

Ongoing scorecard: gross profit margin against the 45% goal; net profit margin against the 25% goal; EBIT against budget; quoted versus actual job margin; labour and material variances; rework cost; inventory accuracy and ageing; overdue receivables; cash forecast accuracy; reporting timeliness; and verified financial benefits from completed improvements. Agree numerical targets with the Leadership Team after establishing reliable baselines.

Success means stronger profit and cash flow supported by accurate information, disciplined decisions and systems that work consistently across the business.

📌 Manufacturing Financial Controller (Warwick)
🏢 OX Trailers
📍 Warwick