John Lobb Industrial Management Controller
- Location
- Employment
- Full-Time
- Seniority
- Mid-Level
- Department
- Finance, Accounting & Revenue Management
- Industry
- Fashion, Apparel & Leather Goods
- Posted
- Apr 28, 2026
About John Lobb
John Lobb is a storied luxury shoemaker known for bespoke and ready-to-wear men's footwear, combining artisan craftsmanship with selective global retail. The maison operates a Paris bespoke atelier and a manufacturing site in Northampton and is part of the Hermès group, benefitting from the governance and standards of a leading luxury conglomerate.
John Lobb — Industrial Management Controller in Northampton. Lead manufacturing financial reporting, costing, budgeting and internal control for the Northampton factory.
Role & Responsibilities
- Own the financial performance of John Lobb’s Northampton manufacturing operations, delivering accurate monthly closes, variance analyses and management accounts to the Paris Finance team.
- Analyse sales performance, margins and full cost base (labour, raw materials, equipment), ensure accuracy of stock valuation and calculate stock provisions.
- Lead the annual budgeting process, periodic re-forecasts and the three‑year plan for manufacturing (P&L and CapEx), translating operational decisions into robust financial assumptions.
- Define and maintain standard industrial costs at article level, validate bills of material (BOM) and run costing exercises to support pricing and collection decisions.
- Prepare and develop reporting packs, KPIs and dashboards covering production volumes, productivity ratios, invoicing and order intake, and propose analytical improvements.
- Control CapEx: track spend versus budget, challenge investment requests and oversee bidding processes and approvals.
- Define, implement and monitor internal control procedures across procurement, stock management, CSR/security and HR; lead annual internal control plan and stock-take processes.
- Line-manage and develop one Assistant Management Controller and work closely with the local Accounting team, the Industrial Director and Paris-based Head of Management & Internal Control.
Qualifications
- Master’s degree in finance, accounting or equivalent from a university or business school.
- Minimum 3 years’ proven experience in industrial/management accounting within a manufacturing environment; experience in footwear or apparel manufacturing is advantageous.
- Demonstrable experience with budgeting, cost accounting, standard costing and inventory valuation.
- Proven capability in designing management reporting, KPIs and stakeholder-facing financial analyses.
- Familiarity with M3 (advantage) and comfort using ERP and financial systems to extract and validate data.
Skills
Experience
Minimum three years of progressive experience in industrial or management accounting within a manufacturing context; experience supporting operational stakeholders and leading budgeting, costing and internal control activities is required. Prior exposure to the footwear or apparel industry is desirable but not mandatory.
Education
Master’s degree in finance, accounting or equivalent.
Workplace
The role is situated in Northampton, Northamptonshire, UK — conveniently close to London.
Culture
John Lobb combines centuries-old artisanal savoir-faire with the rigour of a major luxury group. The Northampton site operates with an entrepreneurial, close-knit culture where cross-functional collaboration, initiative and commercial rigour are highly valued.
About Cerulean
Cerulean is the definitive career portal for the global luxury industry. We match exceptional professionals with exclusive opportunities at the world's most prestigious brands. From haute couture and fine watchmaking to prestige beauty, hospitality, and boutique retail, Cerulean centralises luxury employment to help you find the career for which you were destined.
Frequently Asked Questions
The luxury industry is characterised by a diverse and nuanced nomenclature. Esteemed houses frequently employ proprietary terminology, and even within a single organisation like John Lobb, titles may vary across global markets to reflect local conventions. To ensure absolute clarity, Cerulean assigns a standardised, industry-coherent canonical title to every listing. However, it is worth noting that this role is functionally synonymous with «Industrial Management Accountant», «Factory Finance Business Partner», «Cost Controller – Manufacturing», «Management Controller (Manufacturing)», and other variations. Our sophisticated search architecture anticipates these variations, ensuring that inquiries using related terms will seamlessly yield the exact roles you desire.