Finance Lead

**ntroduction**

**Thompsons Horticulture Limited (THL) is a second-generation family business located in the Gisborne and Bay of Plenty regions. We take pride in growing great crops of kiwifruit, grapes and more recently have diversified into growing apples.**

**Employing approximately 200 employees during peak seasons (including both seasonal and permanent staff), THL is a future-focused business that is continually building on its success to achieve its core value of growing our people, to grow great crops.**

**THL is looking for one Finance lead to be located primarily in Opotiki, New Zealand. This role will be responsible for all accounting workflow and budgeting matters within the company, and the completion of any associated transactional tasks. The Finance lead will provide technical advice on business decisions to the Managers within THL so that they have key information required to set up policies and procedures. This will require the individual to have the ability to succinctly present accurate information. This role will report directly to the Commercial Manager, and this role will have three direct reports. This is not a beginner finance role.**

**This role is primarily located in Opotiki, New Zealand. However, this role will be required to travel to Gisborne, New Zealand and work from our Gisborne office for 2 working days every fortnight.**

**Terms**:
**Pay rate: Salary of $65,000 - $80,000 per year**

**Type of employment: Full time, permanent position**

**Days and hours of work: Normal hours of work are expected to be 40 hours per week, Monday to Friday between 7:30am and 4:00pm. Maximum hours per week is expected to be 50 hours.**

**Location: Opotiki (primarily), must travel to Gisborne for 2 working days every fortnight.**

**Tasks and responsibilities**:

- ** Manage financial processes, information systems and reporting**:

- ** This is a main part of this role (35%) and will require the individual to complete the following tasks. Lead planning initiatives through financial and management information analyses, reports and make recommendations to the Commercial Manager and Director. This role will work in conjunction with the Commercial Manager to establish and implement financial goals, objectives, policies and operating procedures, and manage the preparation of annual budgets and periodic forecasts on time and to the standard set by the Commercial Manager. This role will require the individual to manage the planning and policy making processes for THLs finance team, oversee financial management of subsidiary operations to include developing financial and budget policies and procedures, and manage the relationship with accountants and other external advisors.**
- ** Accounts Payable / Receivable**
- ** This is a main part of this role (30%) and will require the individual to complete the following tasks. For the Thompsons Group of Companies, this individual will reconcile bank accounts and process all financial and IRD reporting as required. This individual will complete end of month consolidation and end of year accounts, oversee the invoice process within Thompson Horticulture and ensure invoices are coded correctly to ensure a high level of accuracy, ensure the filing system for all financial documentation is up to date and stored in accordance with current applicable legislation, manage day to day tasks of the finance team, ensure that all customer and supplier details are correctly entered into the system, maintain confidentiality at all times, review budget to actual reports weekly discussing any exceptions with Managers and highlighting major overruns to the Commercial Manager and Director, investigating any major underspends to ensure everything has been correctly on charges, and provide back up to the Bookkeeper to ensure all client invoices are processed and with clients by the 15th of each month.**
- ** Technical**
- ** This is a smaller part of this role (10%) and will require the individual to complete the following tasks. Develop and maintain a companywide stocktake process, set up and provide support for winter pruning calculators, and work with commercial manager and director on rate setting to ensure rates are set and available to the finance team in a timely manner.**
- ** Payroll**
- ** This is a small part of this role (10%) and will require the individual to check the weekly consolidated spreadsheet against the calculated weekly pay run for staff (salaried and waged), in times of other staff members absence, loan and calculate weekly pay run for staff and contractors in IMS efficiently and accurately update the weekly payroll spreadsheet summarising hours of all staff and any leave of pay related changes, liaise with management team on payroll related queries, advise on payroll reporting to meet internal and statutory obligations and always maintain confidentiality.**
- ** Strategic and business planning**
- ** This is a minor part of this role (5%) and will r