Responsibilities

As Third-Party Standard Cost Management Analyst, you will own the accuracy and completeness of standard cost lists across our UK and France operations. You will interrogate cost data, identify where standard costs have drifted from actual supplier pricing, and drive the updates needed to close the gap. This is a cost accounting role at its core — your work directly protects margin by ensuring the business is billing and recovering at the right rates.

This role suits someone who is comfortable digging into large data sets, has a methodical approach to reconciliation, and takes genuine ownership of cost accuracy rather than waiting to be told something is wrong.

Key Responsibilities

Standard Cost Maintenance — Own and maintain third-party standard cost lists for the UK and France, ensuring all costs reflect current supplier pricing and contractual rates.

• Perform scheduled and triggered reviews of standard costs across all third-party categories, including parts, consumables, and contracted services.
• Update standard costs in SAP and related systems in a timely and controlled manner, in line with change governance requirements.

Data Mining and Cost Analysis — Extract and analyze cost data from SAP and other internal systems to identify gaps, anomalies, and costs that are overdue for review.

• Build and maintain data queries and reports that surface cost discrepancies before they cause financial impact.
• Identify patterns in cost drift and escalate systemic issues to the Global Strategic Account Finance Operations Leader with clear supporting analysis.

Revenue Leakage Prevention — Proactively identify instances where outdated or incorrect standard costs are causing under-recovery, overbilling, or margin erosion.

• Quantify the financial impact of identified leakage and prioritise remediation by value at risk.
• Track resolution of identified issues through to close, ensuring updates are reflected in live billing and reporting.

Supplier and Market Price Management — Monitor supplier price changes, contract uplifts, and market rate movements across UK and France third-party spend categories.

• Liaise with procurement and sourcing teams to obtain current pricing and ensure standard cost lists are updated ahead of billing cycles.
• Maintain a clear audit trail of price change justifications and approval records.

Cost Variance Analysis — Produce regular variance reports comparing standard costs to actual invoiced costs, flagging material differences for investigation.

• Present variance findings clearly to finance and operations stakeholders, with root cause commentary and recommended actions.
• Track variance trends over time and report on the effectiveness of cost maintenance activity.

SAP and Systems Management — Maintain master cost data in SAP with accuracy and discipline, adhering to data governance standards and change control processes.

• Support system updates and testing related to cost configuration changes.
• Raise and follow up on system issues that prevent timely cost maintenance.

Governance, Controls, and Audit Readiness — Maintain complete and auditable records of all cost list changes, approvals, and supporting documentation.

• Adhere to internal controls and financial governance frameworks at all times.
• Support internal and external audit requests related to third-party standard costs.

Stakeholder Collaboration — Work closely with procurement, operations, and commercial finance teams in both the UK and France to gather cost inputs and resolve discrepancies.

• Communicate clearly and promptly with stakeholders when cost issues are identified that affect billing or reporting.
• Build effective working relationships across both countries, navigating any language or process differences constructively.

Qualiications

• Solid grounding in cost accounting or management accounting, with hands-on experience maintaining or reconciling cost data in an ERP environment.
• Strong analytical and data skills — comfortable extracting, querying, and interpreting large data sets to find problems and tell the story behind the numbers.
• Experience working in SAP, particularly in cost or material master data.
• High attention to detail and a systematic approach to reconciliation and data quality.
• The initiative to identify issues without being prompted and see them through to resolution.
• Good communication skills and the ability to work effectively with colleagues across finance, procurement, and operations.
• Experience in a life sciences, pharmaceutical, or other regulated services environment.
• Exposure to standard costing in a managed services or outsourcing context.
• Familiarity with PerkinElmer billing and cost structures.
• Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field — or equivalent professional experience.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel; experience with SAP required.
• Fluent in English oral and written.
• Standard cost accounting and cost master data management
• Data mining, extraction, and analytical problem-solving
• Financial controls, governance, and audit readiness
• Revenue leakage identification and remediation
• SAP cost and material master data proficiency
• Cross-functional and cross-country stakeholder collaboration
• High accuracy and attention to detail

What we offer

• Private healthcare including dental care  
• Life and long-term disability insurance, 
• MyBenefit Cafeteria system, 
• Multisport Card, 
• Social Fund Subsidies, 
• Home Office allowance,  
• Tuition reimbursement, 
• Referral awards, 
• Internal career development opportunities in multiple business areas, 
• Day off to celebrate your birthday, and up to 3 additional days of vacation by length of service in the company.