Cost Control Specialist

Job Purpose You will be based on-site at the Gluten Free Centre. You will own product and recipe costing, inventory and waste control, and margin analysis. You will also process routine transactions in the Sales/AR, Accounts Payable and Inventory ERP modules. You will work closely with Head Office Finance, which keeps responsibility for the General Ledger, period-end adjustments and tax. Key Responsibilities -Build and update cost cards for all factory products and branch menus. Review menu pricing against raw material costs, seasonality and market conditions. Analyze margins by SKU, category and branch. Flag underperforming items and recommend pricing or cost actions. -Visit factory departments regularly to check that production follows the approved, costed recipes. -Investigate deviations, substitutions and unauthorized changes. -Maintain a signed-off recipe library. Give cost feasibility input during new recipe development. -Monitor raw material consumption, waste, spoilage and yield losses against standards. Work with procurement on purchase price variances. -Track branch consumption, returns, transfers and waste against benchmarks. -Check that POS selling prices match the approved price list. Present anomalies to the CFO. -Prepare monthly cost and margin reports with variance analysis, plus ad hoc pricing and cost benchmarks for management. -Maintain a cost control dashboard. -Process sales invoices, credit notes, customer receipts, supplier invoices and inventory transactions in the ERP. -Coordinate stock counts and investigate inventory variances. -Provide schedules, reconciliations and documentation to Head Office Finance for month-end and year-end closing. Desired Candidate Profile -Bachelor s degree in Business Administration, Food Science, Industrial Engineering or a related field. A finance background is a plus. 2+ years of experience in cost control, preferably in food & beverage, bakery or FMCG. -Strong knowledge of product costing, recipe costing and food cost management. -Hands-on experience in factory or production environments, and the ability to work directly with chefs and production teams. -Proficiency in ERP systems (SAP, BIM or similar) and advanced Excel. Solid understanding of pricing strategy, margin management and variance analysis. Familiarity with Lebanese market cost structures and food industry supply chains.