Material Cost Specialist 3

Key Responsibilities:

Cost Analysis & Reporting

Analyse manufacturing and operational costs (materials, labour, overhead), which includes tracking cost variances and investigating root causes. Prepare detailed cost reports and dashboards using Excel; proficiency in Power BI and Tableau will be highly advantageous

Budgeting & Forecasting.

Assist in developing annual budgets and rolling forecasts, and monitor actual vs. budgeted costs and provide variance analysis.

Product Costing

Estimate costs for new products and engineering changes. Maintain and update standard costs in ERP systems (Oracle)

Process Improvement

Identify cost-saving opportunities across procurement, production, and logistics. Support lean manufacturing and continuous improvement initiatives.

Cross-functional Collaboration

Work with engineering, procurement, and operations to understand cost drivers. Participate in new product introduction (NPI) and supply chain optimisation projects

Compliance & Audits

Ensure cost accounting practices comply with internal controls and external regulations. Support internal and external audits with cost-related documentation.

Variant Configuration (VC) Management

Design and implement variant configuration models for new products and maintain/deploy existing models.

Utilize best practices and efficiently utilize Variant Configuration (VC) objects like characteristics, classes, configuration profiles, constraints, procedures, selection conditions, super BOM, super recipe, variant table, user interface, and variant pricing.

Understand material variants, price linking, and sales order costing to ensure accurate configurations.

Examine existing models/processes and identify opportunities to improve and/or add automation.

Document model requirements in work instructions/job aids for product support.

Qualifications and Competencies

A bachelor’s degree in finance, Accounting, Economics, Industrial Engineering, or Supply Chain Management with at least 5 years of relevant experience in cost analysis, preferably with semiconductor, electronics, or high-tech manufacturing. A CPA, CMA or CIMA certification is highly advantageous.

Four (4) years of experience in SAP Variant Configuration (VC) with at least 1-2 full cycle SAP implementations.

VC system configuration and relevant cross-functional knowledge of integration points with other modules.

Adapt to communication and strong collaboration within cross-functional teams, including Planning, Commodity Business Management, Operations, Logistics, Purchasing, and Quality Management.

High proficiency with BOMs, work orders, and manufacturing cost structures processes and possess working knowledge and experience with ERP systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle, NetSuite).

Knowledge of cost accounting standards and inventory valuation methods. Strong analytical and problem-solving mindset.

Excellent communication and presentation skills. Ability to work cross-functionally and influence stakeholders, including managing the Costing Specialist.

Ability to work with business partners in different locales/time zones and collaborate with a global team.

Preferred Qualifications:

Experience building VC models in a manufacturing sector.

Attention to detail.

S/4 HANA project experience.