Enterprise Operations CI and Project Controller

Full-time | Leek, UK

Date posted: 15th September 2026

Reports to: CEO

Dotted-line relationship with Head of Operations, Enterprise Cost, Efficiencies and Automation Manager and Finance Controllers for operations and financial governance 

Role Purpose 

The Enterprise Project Controller is responsible for ensuring current and future operations enterprise-wide project discipline, financial control, and value realisation. This includes all current CAPEX, NPD, and customer delivery initiatives. 

Acting as an extension of the CEO and the Head of Operations, the role provides independent challenge and assurance across project costings, delivery economics, and capital deployment, while driving continuous improvement across operations. 

This role owns outcomes rather than day-to-day execution, delegating implementation to existing functional teams and leveraging a small direct team for analysis and improvement delivery. 

Core Outcomes 

  • Continuous improvement embedded across customer delivery and operations 

  • CAPEX and investment projects delivered on time, on budget, and with validated ROI 

  • Accurate, Finance-validated costings supporting project, NPD, and customer delivery decisions 

  • Improved margin control, cost transparency, and operational efficiency 

  • Executive confidence in project governance, performance reporting, and risk management 

Key Accountabilities 

1. Enterprise Project Control & Governance 

  • Establish and enforce enterprise standards for project planning, CAPEX approval, and reporting 

  • Independently review and challenge scope, timelines, cost assumptions, and delivery models across NPD, CAPEX, and customer delivery 

  • Provide escalation and decision-ready recommendations to CEO where projects are at risk of underperformance or misaligned value 

  • Project manage existing CAPEX 

  • Scada system  

  • Existing throughput CI 

2. Financial Costing & Commercial Validation 

  • Partner with Finance to validate costings, margins, and ROI across customer delivery and CAPEX investments 

  • Review assumptions and variances for labour, overhead, and resource allocation 

  • Identify cost leakage, margin erosion, and opportunities to improve commercial and operational efficiency 

  • Ensure financial insights translate into actionable recommendations and improved governance 

3. CAPEX & Investment Oversight 

  • Lead current CAPEX governance processes from business case to benefits realisation 

  • Track and report on CAPEX spend, ROI, and payback versus approved plans 

  • Ensure capital projects deliver agreed operational and financial benefits 

  • Escalate risks and variances to the CEO in a timely manner  

4. Continuous Improvement & Operational Effectiveness 

  • Collaborate with the Enterprise Cost, Efficiencies and Automation Manager to identify inefficiencies in delivery, NPD, and operations 

  • Sponsor and embed improvements into BAU processes across sites and functions 

  • Ensure improvements are measurable, sustainable, and aligned to enterprise goals 

5. Executive & Stakeholder Engagement 

  • Act as a trusted advisor to the CEO, Division Heads and Finance Managers on project performance, CAPEX, and operational risk 

  • Influence functional leaders including Portfolio Manager (NPD), Head of Commercial / Procurement, and Operations, without direct line management 

  • Provide clear, decision-ready reporting for the CEO and, where required, the Board 

  • Challenge assumptions constructively and escalate issues where necessary 

Direct Reports 

Matrix / Dotted-Line Influence

Delegation vs Direct Ownership 

Directly Owned by Controller (cannot delegate): 

  • CAPEX, NPD, and customer delivery costing review and validation 

  • Executive reporting and escalation to CEO 

  • Enterprise governance, standards, and framework enforcement 

  • Independent challenge of project assumptions, scope, and financials 

Delegated to Direct Reports: 

  • Operations Trainer: Process improvement implementation, KPI tracking, sustainability of change 

  • Cost Analyst: Detailed cost modelling, variance tracking, ROI calculations 

  • Optional analyst: Dashboards, reporting packs, and data integrity 

Delegated via Matrix Influence (no direct authority): 

  • Portfolio Manager – NPD: Project execution 

  • Head of Commercial / Procurement: Commercial delivery and procurement execution 

  • Operations / Site Managers: Operational implementation of improvement initiatives 

Measures of Success: including but not limited to: 

  • Accurate and reliable costings underpinning decisions and investments 

  • Improved margins and reduced cost leakage across delivery 

  • CAPEX and NPD projects delivered to budget, timeline, and benefit targets 

  • Tangible operational improvements realised and sustained 

  • Executive confidence in project governance, reporting, and independent challenge 

Skills & Experience 

Essential 

  • Bachelor’s degree in one of: Finance / Accounting /Business / Management /Engineering (especially industrial, manufacturing, or operations-focused)  

  • MBA or equivalent (especially with strategy, finance, or operations focus)  

  • Professional certifications such as: ACA / ACCA / CIMA  and PMP / PRINCE2  

  • Proven experience in enterprise project control, programme oversight, or transformation environments (continuous improvement) 

  • Proven track record delivering measurable operational improvements  

  • Experience embedding improvements into BAU (not just one-off projects)  

  • Experience working directly with:  CEO / COO / CFO level /Board or investors  

Ability to:  

  • Challenge senior leaders constructively  

  • Present complex data in clear, decision-ready format  

  • Operate without direct authority (influence-heavy role) 

  • Strong commercial and financial acumen; experience validating costings and ROI 

  • Experience with Enterprise Project / Programme Control 

  • Experience working with Finance to challenge assumptions and track investment performance 

  • Track record in continuous improvement initiatives with measurable outcomes 

  • Credible presenting at CEO and senior leadership level 

  • Highly commercial mindset 

  • Professional, collaborative, approachable demeanour 

  • Confidence to challenge without conflict 

  • Instinctively seeks improvement opportunities 

  • IT literate across Microsoft 365 and TEAMS 

  • Experience in NPD, CAPEX-heavy, or high-change environments 

  • Exposure to Board or investor reporting 

  • Familiarity with Lean, Six Sigma, or process improvement methodologies 

 Personal Attributes 

  • Commercially sharp and detail-oriented 

  • Structured, pragmatic, and outcomes-driven 

  • Comfortable challenging assumptions and escalating issues 

  • Influential, resilient, and highly accountable 

  • Trusted to act independently in the enterprise’s best interests 

  • Professional, collaborative, approachable demeanour 

  • Calm, credible, and authoritative  

  • Naturally inquisitive (“show me the numbers” mindset)  

  • Comfortable with ambiguity  

  • Persistent in driving standards  

  • Pragmatic (not theoretical) 

  • Hands-on, can-do attitude 

  • Solutions orientated 

How to apply:

If you fit the above criteria and would like to be part of a dynamic team of skilled professionals, please submit your application or send your CV to HR@allicio.com. Unfortunately, due to the number of applications we receive, we cannot reply to each application. If you have not heard from us within two weeks of submitting your application, we regret that you have not been shortlisted, and we wish you every success in your career search.

Apply now