Senior Manager – Manufacturing Finance & Cost Accounting

Role Purpose

TMGSL is expanding its Finance Operations team in India to support Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) UK manufacturing operations. The Senior Manager - Manufacturing Finance & Cost Accounting will lead manufacturing finance, inventory accounting, material cost accounting, product costing, financial controls, and reporting activities delivered from India. The role will drive transition of processes from JLR UK, establish a robust offshore operating model, ensure compliance and control, and build strong stakeholder relationships across Finance, Manufacturing, Procurement, and Supply Chain functions.

Key Responsibilities

Manufacturing Finance Operations

• Lead end-to-end manufacturing finance operations for JLR UK.
• Manage inventory accounting, material costing, product costing, and manufacturing accounting activities.
• Oversee month-end, quarter-end, and year-end close processes.
• Review financial results, investigate variances, and drive issue resolution.
• Ensure adherence to accounting policies, financial controls, and governance requirements.

Month-End Close & Financial Controls

• Review and approve journals and accounting entries.
• Ensure timely period-end close activities.
• Oversee balance sheet reconciliations and closure of reconciling items.
• Monitor aged/open items and coordinate resolutions.
• Support internal and external audits and maintain strong audit trails.

Inventory Accounting & Valuation

• Manage accounting for raw materials, WIP, finished goods, and inventory provisions.
• Review inventory valuations, movements, adjustments, and reconciliations.
• Investigate unusual inventory transactions and control issues.
• Ensure alignment between SAP records, operational data, and financial reporting.

Cost Accounting & Product Costing

• Lead standard costing, product costing, and material costing activities.
• Manage cost roll-ups, costing cycles, cost objects, and master data.
• Monitor costing accuracy and manufacturing cost allocations.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to resolve costing issues.

Material Cost & Variance Analysis

• Lead reporting and analysis of material and manufacturing variances.
• Investigate PPV, production, inventory, and material cost variances.
• Provide actionable financial insights and root-cause analysis.
• Identify cost risks, trends, and improvement opportunities.

SAP Governance & Process Management

• Oversee SAP FI, CO, MM, Product Costing, Material Ledger, and Inventory Management processes.
• Ensure accuracy of costing and inventory master data.
• Drive control, system enhancements, testing, and issue resolution.

Transition & Knowledge Transfer

• Lead transition of manufacturing finance processes from JLR UK to TMGSL.
• Manage knowledge transfer, process documentation, shadowing, and readiness assessments.
• Identify risks and ensure successful handover and service acceptance.

Stakeholder & Service Delivery Management

• Act as the primary TMGSL contact for manufacturing finance operations.
• Manage relationships with UK Finance, Manufacturing, Procurement, and Supply Chain stakeholders.
• Conduct governance reviews and communicate performance, issues, and risks.
• Ensure delivery against agreed SLAs and operational targets.

Team Leadership & Capability Building

• Build and lead a high-performing manufacturing finance team.
• Define roles, responsibilities, capacity plans, and process ownership.
• Develop team capability in costing, inventory accounting, SAP, and manufacturing finance.
• Drive performance management, succession planning, and business continuity.

Continuous Improvement

• Standardize, automate, and simplify finance processes.
• Improve controls, reporting quality, and operational efficiency.
• Use data analytics to support exception management and root-cause analysis.
• Lead transformation initiatives and track measurable business benefits.

Qualification & Experience

Essential Qualifications

• Chartered Accountant (CA), CMA, MBA Finance, M.Com, or equivalent.
• Professional accounting qualification preferred.

Experience

• 10-15 years of relevant experience in Manufacturing Finance, Cost Accounting, or Inventory Accounting.
• 3-5 years of people leadership or finance operations management experience.
• Strong exposure to month-end close, financial controls, and balance sheet reconciliations.
• Experience in inventory valuation, standard costing, product costing, and variance analysis.
• Hands-on SAP experience in manufacturing finance environments.
• Proven stakeholder management and process improvement experience.

Preferred Background

• Automotive or engineering manufacturing industry.
• Shared Services/GBS environment.
• Global process transition and offshore delivery setup.
• Exposure to UK or multinational finance operations.

Technical Skills

Finance & Accounting

• Manufacturing Finance
• Cost Accounting
• Inventory Accounting & Valuation
• Standard & Product Costing
• Material Cost Analysis
• WIP Accounting
• Inventory Provisioning
• Financial Controls & Reconciliations
• Variance Analysis
• Management Reporting

Systems & Tools

• SAP FI, CO, MM
• Product Costing
• Material Ledger
• Inventory Management
• Cost Centre Accounting
• Internal Orders & Cost Objects
• Advanced Excel
• Power Query and Power BI (preferred)

Leadership Competencies

• Strong people leadership and team development skills.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving ability.
• Strong financial control and risk management mindset.
• Effective stakeholder management across geographies.
• Strong communication and influencing skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and tight deadlines.
• Continuous improvement and transformation mindset.

Immediate Priorities

1. Build the manufacturing finance team and capability in India.
2. Lead knowledge transfer from JLR UK.
3. Transition inventory, costing, and manufacturing finance processes.
4. Establish robust month-end close and control processes.
5. Implement governance, reconciliations, and performance reporting.
6. Stabilize operations and identify automation opportunities.

Ideal Candidate

A qualified CA/CMA with 10-15 years of experience in Manufacturing Finance, Cost Accounting, and Inventory Accounting, preferably within automotive or engineering industries. The candidate should possess strong SAP FI/CO and costing expertise, leadership experience, and a proven ability to transition and manage global finance operations in a Shared Services or GBS environment.

Why Join?

• Lead a strategic JLR UK finance operation from India.
• Build and scale a specialized manufacturing finance team.
• Partner directly with senior global stakeholders.
• Drive transformation, automation, and process excellence.
• Gain exposure to complex automotive manufacturing finance operations.

Tata Motors Global Services Ltd. (TMGSL), equally and jointly owned by Tata Motors Limited and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Limited, serves as the strategic backbone for process optimization across Tata Motors’ businesses and enterprise functions. Going beyond execution, TMGSL delivers integrated, end-to-end solutioning that addresses complex organizational needs through scalable, future-ready models. It offers it services under the brand name Tata Motors XCELION—rooted in excellence, powered by passion and committed to delivering value with purpose. With deep domain expertise, advanced digital and analytical capabilities, a people-first mindset, and a culture of continuous improvement, TMGSL blends process innovation with agile service delivery to unlock efficiency and deliver sustained value, accelerating Tata Motors’ transformation into a more customer-centric and future-ready enterprise.