Cost Manager

Job Description Cost Manager Reporting to: Nabil Key Responsibilities 1. Real-Time Cost Surveillance & Monitoring • Live Tracking: Move beyond monthly reviews to weekly cost variance tracking across all studios. • Operational Visibility: Maintain real-time dashboards for key cost drivers, including: o Labour and Contractor spend. o Film and Consumables. o Reworks and material wastage. • Budget Alignment: Own the Actual vs. Budget relationship per studio, ensuring every pound spent is continuously tracked against approved limits. 2. Threshold Management & Escalation • Define Limits: In collaboration with the SLT, establish pre-defined spending thresholds for every cost line (e.g., film, labour, utilities). • Automated Flagging: Implement systems to trigger immediate alerts when: o A studio exceeds its allocated budget. o Spending trends indicate a projected overspend. o Wastage exceeds defined tolerance levels. • Escalation Path: Manage the corrective action process, ensuring the right stakeholders are notified and an intervention plan is executed immediately. 3. Granular Wastage & Performance Analysis • Film Attribution: Conduct deep-dive analysis into Paint Protection Film (PPF) and material usage against expected norms. • Accountability Mapping: Attribute wastage and inefficiencies down to the Studio, Job Type, and Individual Installer level. • Root Cause Correction: Identify the why behind wastage and recommend training or process changes to mitigate future loss. 4. Commercial Strategy & Supplier Aggression • Continuous Renegotiation: Actively challenge and renegotiate terms for trade accounts, contractors, utilities, and service providers. • Group Consolidation: Identify opportunities to consolidate spend across multiple studios to leverage volume discounts and drive group-wide savings. • Re-tendering: Lead regular re-tendering exercises to ensure the group is always receiving the most competitive market rates. 5. Cost Justification & Ownership • Line-by-Line Auditing: Ensure every cost line (recurring or ad-hoc) has a designated Owner, a clear Justification, and a defined Expected Value. • Value Alignment: Challenge any spend that does not directly contribute to operational value or strategic goals. Candidate Profile • Proactive Mindset: You don't wait for the month-end report; you seek out variances as they happen. • Analytical Rigor: Ability to dissect complex data (specifically in materials/labour) and turn it into actionable intelligence. • Commercial Edge: A tough-but-fair negotiator who is comfortable challenging long-standing supplier relationships. • Operational Insight: Ideally experienced in a multi-site automotive, manufacturing, or studio-based environment where material wastage is a critical KPI. • Communication: Able to hold studio managers and installers accountable while maintaining a collaborative working environment.