Plant Controller - Danville

This role is to join the local Plant Leadership Team in Danville Virginia

AeroFarms is looking to hire a Plant Controller for our industry leading Indoor Vertical Farm in Danville Virginia.  

The world needs our help. By 2050, there will be 9 billion people on the planet with less arable land than ever before. We need a solution to cultivate more using less and define the future of farming for generations to come. In 2004, AeroFarms began transforming agriculture with people and our planet at the forefront.

Applying its award-winning technology platform, AeroFarms grows using up to 95% less water and no pesticides ever to deliver products with elevated flavor, taste, consistency, and nutrition. Some of the ways we’re growing the best plants possible for the betterment of humanity include:

• Researching and understanding plants at unprecedented levels to be better farmers
• Elevating local communities by increasing access to nutritious, high-quality, consistent, and safe products in a way that’s better for people and the planet
• Protecting and sustaining our environment for future generations
• Setting a new standard for food safety and traceability in our indoor vertical farms
• Investing in our AeroFarms team and fostering a diverse company culture of inclusion, equity, excellence, learning and growth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPX7ZS0wqWI

Position Summary: 

The Plant Controller is a key leader on the plant leadership team. Contributes to all areas of plant management and provide strong financial leadership.  The Plant Controller is responsible for planning and coordinating plant budget and business planning activities in alignment with corporate policies and practices.  The incumbent will provide financial direction to the plant and provide recommendations to improve site performance.    

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Manage all accounting operations including Billing, A/R, A/P, G/L, Inventory/Cost Accounting and Revenue Recognition
• Manage month-end closing and prepare monthly financial statements and other operational reports for site
• Analyze variances and communicates explanations to management with recommended actions
• Prepare forecasts of income statement, balance sheets, and statement of cash flows for the Plant
• Owns BOM (Bill of Materials) including loss factors in ERP system
• Leads COGS budgeting
• Implements and leads productivity program tracking
• Must work across organization boundaries and all levels of the company to achieve plant or corporate objectives
• Integrates and trains new staff while leading the continued professional development of the existing team
• Shares best practices across global finance team, e.g. process improvements, financial modeling and procedures changes
• Provides proactive / unsolicited consultation, interpretation and education of complex financial and operational matters to various departmental leaders used to drive business decisions
• Collaborates with Plant Manager, Plant accountants and senior management to explain results, make improvements, manage projects, identify inefficiencies, understand operations and lead the development of complex analysis
• Monitor and implement plant internal controls (in conjunction with corporate policies) as necessary to ensure reporting integrity, safeguard company assets, and identify risks
• Ensures proper accounting in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.
• Estimate product costs to support quoting activities

Experience/Skills/Specific Knowledge/Education: 

• At least 10 years’ experience in a similar position
• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or related field.    
• Knowledge of budgeting and forecasting techniques as well as proficiency with financial statement analysis and projection
• Strong knowledge of US GAAP
• Cost accounting experience
• Demonstrated expertise in MS Office and experience MS Dynamics a bonus
• Good planning and organizational skills
• Strong analytical skills
• Experience in handling multiple concurrent tasks and meeting strict deadlines
• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret financial reports and legal documents. 
• Ability to respond effectively to the most sensitive inquiries from the business. 
• Ability to effectively communicate with management, public groups, peers and staff.
• May be asked to travel for USA finance forums or site-specific events
• Excellent communication skills, internally and with clients
• Ability to build relationships with colleagues, clients and staff in charge
• Must demonstrate the highest standards of personal and professional integrity and character and promote ethical business behavior throughout the organization
• Demonstrate appreciation of and sensitivity toward a wide range of cultural and personal differences
• Must be a team player and act cooperatively with the business
• Ability to lead and motivate teams to reach a common goal
• Demonstrate strong and pragmatic business acumen

Personal Attributes:

• Collaboration: We know we cannot fix the world’s problems as individuals – we have to work together as a team to make change happen. Teamwork is how we get there! 
• Communication: We are a small company (in relative terms, 200+ employees) and we succeed because we communicate with each other. Everyone who works at AeroFarms has a strong link to the mission: we want to hear why it means something to you!
• Agility: What we do has never been done before. We are an innovative company and often there is no right or wrong way to do things. We challenge ideas to constantly improve how we operate and change directions to be the best that we can be.
• Accountability: We don’t micromanage but hire individuals who know what they need to do and can do so with minimal direction. We expect candidates to take ownership of their projects and deadlines.
• Respect: We are scaling around the world and we want our team to represent the customers and communities that we serve. We expect candidates to respect and include diverse people, ideas, and cultures in their work so that we can learn the most from one another.
• Empowerment: We provide an environment for growth and development. We will help you grow in your career and elevate your work with our team.

*Please note that AeroFarms does not work with any external staffing/recruitment vendors. Any unsolicited resumes shared with the AeroFarms team will be considered property of AeroFarms and no recruitment fees of any kind will be paid or owed unless an existing recruitment agreement exists alongside with specific engagement for the role in question.