Cost Controller / Junior Accountant

Fruitful Day (FFD) is a UAE-based premium healthy food and wellness group headquartered in Dubai Investment Park, operating four sub-brands: Fruitful Day (fresh fruit subscriptions, gifting, events & catering), Juice Joy (cold-pressed juices), Pop Culture (artisan ice pops) and Lemon Lane (boutique café). Fruit and ingredient cost is the single largest driver of profitability in the business, making disciplined cost control a core function rather than a back-office task.

Role Purpose

This is a hybrid role combining hands-on cost control (tracking fruit/ingredient cost, wastage, and purchasing discipline) with junior accounting support. The role exists to give management a daily, granular view of the cost drivers that determine whether FFD is profitable, while also strengthening the accuracy and timeliness of day-to-day bookkeeping.

Key Responsibilities

Cost Control (primary focus)

• Track daily/weekly fruit and ingredient cost % by SKU and channel; flag deviations from target immediately.
• Log all direct market purchases (bananas, watermelon, mango, etc.) same-day in Odoo, per the current direct-purchasing process.
• Maintain a weekly wastage log alongside cost %, since wastage is the direct offset to purchasing gains — track both together, never in isolation.
• Reconcile supplier invoices against purchase orders and delivery notes; investigate price or quantity variances.
• Support the Operations team with procurement: supplier selection, purchase order accuracy, and pricing input for kitchen and market purchases.
• Support standard and AVCO (average cost) costing/recipe costing for new products and menu items across all four sub-brands.
• Prepare weekly cost dashboards for the leadership meeting.

• Handle day-to-day transactional accounting: accounts payable/receivable processing, invoicing, and payment reconciliation.
• Support payroll data checks (e.g., verifying payroll files against confirmed HR arrangements before figures are used in reporting).
• Assist with month-end close tasks: accruals, inventory valuation, journal entries under supervision.
• Track and reconcile OPEX lines — utilities, subscriptions, and IT contracts — against budget; support periodic subscriptions/utilities audits.
• Maintain accurate, well-filed supporting documentation for VAT filing, corporate tax, and the annual audit.
• Escalate data discrepancies to the Lead Accountant rather than resolving unilaterally.

• 1–3 years' experience in cost control, F&B/hospitality accounting, or a junior accounting role; F&B/food cost experience strongly preferred.
• Working knowledge of inventory/cost accounting principles (COGS, wastage, standard and AVCO costing).
• Comfortable in Excel/Google Sheets; Odoo experience a strong plus.
• High attention to detail and comfortable with daily/weekly reporting cadence — this role lives in the numbers, not just the month-end close.
• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field (or actively pursuing ACCA/CMA).
• UAE experience preferred; Arabic a plus but not required.

• Fruit/ingredient cost % and wastage are tracked and reported weekly without prompting.
• Direct purchases are logged same-day, every time, with no backlog.
• Supplier invoice variances are caught before payment, not after.
• The Lead Accountant has reliable junior support, freeing capacity for higher-value accounting work.

Cost Controller / Junior Accountant is a recognized hybrid — pairing food-cost/inventory control with general accounting duties is standard in UAE hospitality and F&B businesses of this size, where a dedicated cost controller alone wouldn't be full-time work. As FFD scales, the two halves can split into separate cost control and accounting hires.