Business Analyst

Summary:

We are looking for an experienced Business Analyst to join our Finance team at our Keilor Park Head Office.

As a Business Analyst at Ferguson Plarre Bakehouses, you will be responsible for reviewing business processes, analysing financial and operational performance and identifying opportunities to improve efficiency, cost management and business controls. Working closely with Finance, Manufacturing, Procurement, Retail Operations and Digital teams, you will provide meaningful analysis and practical recommendations to support business performance and management decision-making.

Who We are:

For over a century, Ferguson Plarre Bakehouse has been creating food for people to fall in love with. Our brands exist to make people smile and we delight in serving up little moments of joy for all the family.

Ferguson Plarre is a family-owned, multi-award-winning business with over 80 stores across Victoria, supported by our bakery and head office teams.

We are looking for a Business Analyst who can bring together financial and operational information, identify opportunities for improvement and work with teams across the business to help deliver better outcomes.

Responsibilities:

• Review and analyse business processes across manufacturing, costing, inventory and reporting to identify inefficiencies, gaps and opportunities for improvement.
• Maintain and improve product costing frameworks, including ingredient, packaging, labour and overhead costs.
• Analyse financial and operational variances, including ingredient costs, labour efficiency, production yields, waste and overheads.
• Review manufacturing performance, including production efficiency, throughput, downtime, capacity and labour utilisation.
• Develop and maintain Power BI, Excel and FlexiBake reports and dashboards to support management reporting and business decision-making.
• Analyse product profitability, margins, category sales, promotions and commercial performance.
• Review system processes and data accuracy across FlexiBake, Sage and associated reporting systems.
• Identify opportunities to improve inventory management, stock controls, waste reduction and operational efficiency.
• Develop and improve standard operating procedures, reporting processes and internal controls.
• Work collaboratively with Finance, Manufacturing, Procurement, Retail Operations and Digital teams to develop recommendations, support implementation and monitor improvements.

Qualifications and Experience:

• Degree in Business, Operations, Finance, Analytics, Information Technology or a related discipline.
• Previous experience in business analysis, operational improvement, management reporting, costing or manufacturing performance.
• Experience with product costing, profitability, budgeting and variance analysis.
• Strong Power BI and Excel skills, including the ability to develop meaningful reports and interpret data.
• Experience working with manufacturing or ERP systems such as FlexiBake or comparable platforms.
• Understanding of manufacturing processes, labour efficiency, production performance, waste and inventory management.
• Experience reviewing business processes, identifying improvement opportunities and supporting implementation.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving and organisational skills.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to present findings and recommendations to different areas of the business.
• A practical, hands-on approach, with the ability to combine financial analysis with an understanding of operational processes.

Experience working in a food manufacturing or bakery production environment would be highly regarded.

This is a great opportunity to join a well-established, family-owned business and play an important role in improving business performance across our Finance, Bakery and Retail operations.