Director, FP&A (Finance)

Job Overview

The Director of FP&A provides strategic financial leadership for a multi-plant dairy manufacturing organization, reporting directly to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO). This role oversees all budgeting, forecasting, and financial analysis activities, ensuring that the company's financial plans align with its operational and commercial goals. The Director of FP&A partners closely with supply chain, operations, and sales teams to drive profitability and optimize cost efficiency. This leader will also be responsible for driving data-driven decision-making through automation, utilization of SAP, and cross-functional process enhancements.

Job Responsibilities

• Financial Planning & Forecasting: Lead the annual budgeting and periodic forecasting processes, consolidating financial plans for multiple manufacturing plants and business units. Develop robust financial models to project revenue, production volumes, costs, and margins, providing scenario analysis and sensitivity testing to support strategic decisions.
• Financial Analysis & Reporting: Oversee preparation of monthly and quarterly financial reports for different business channels, plants, and the consolidated enterprise. Conduct variance analysis (actual vs. budget/forecast) to identify key drivers, and present actionable insights and recommendations to senior leadership to improve financial performance.
• Business Partnership: Act as a strategic finance partner to Operations, Supply Chain, and Sales departments. Support cross-functional initiatives with thorough financial analysis and modeling. Provide decision support and financial insights that help other departments meet their goals while improving overall company profitability.
• Drive continuous improvement of FP&A processes and systems, leveraging technology and best practices to streamline reporting and automate internal processes.
• Cost Management & Profitability: Analyze production costs and cost of goods sold, working with plant operations to understand variances in raw material, labor, and overhead expenses. Oversee product pricing and margin analysis in collaboration with the commercial/sales team, ensuring pricing strategies align with cost structures and profitability targets. Identify opportunities to reduce operational costs and improve gross margins across product lines.
• Capital Planning: Manage the capital expenditure business case process by evaluating and prioritizing investment projects. Partner with plant managers and engineering teams to assess the financial viability and ROI of proposed projects (such as new equipment, facility expansions, or process improvements). Oversee the business case development for capital investments and track the performance of these investments against projections.
• Prepare board presentations and investor reports, ensuring data integrity and clear messaging.
• Team Leadership & Development: Lead and mentor the FP&A team, setting clear objectives and managing workloads to ensure timely and accurate outputs. Promote professional development through coaching and training, building the team's expertise in financial modeling, data analysis, and use of systems. Foster a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and collaboration within the finance team.
• All GLC employees are expected to perform any assignment or job task according to the stated safety policies and procedures.
• All GLC employees are expected to produce our products in a manner that exceeds the quality and value expectation of our customers and consumers by adhering to Good Manufacturing Practices, Policies and Procedures outlined in our Safe Quality Food Program.
• Other duties as assigned by the manager.

Required Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics or related field
• 10 years of progressive finance experience, with at least 3-5 years in a leadership role within FP&A. Strong experience in a manufacturing environment is required (multi-plant operation experience highly preferred). Prior exposure to dairy or food manufacturing industries is an advantage, with understanding of profitability and cost drivers
• Strong leadership and team management skills, with a proven ability to lead and motivate a high-performing team
• Deep knowledge of FP&A, forecasting, and data modeling techniques. Expertise in standard costing, variance analysis, and margin analysis is essential. Able to translate commercial and operational data into meaningful financial forecasts and actionable recommendations.
• Experience with enterprise ERP systems (SAP preferred) and financial reporting software. Advanced Microsoft Excel skills and familiarity with business intelligence or reporting tools (e.g. Power BI) for data analysis and visualization. Aptitude for driving process automation and leveraging technology to improve FP&A processes.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills with a keen attention to detail
• Strong communication and presentation skills, with the ability to convey complex financial concepts to non-financial stakeholders.
• High degree of independence, intuition, and initiative
• Skilled in database management and accounting software applications, including SAP and Microsoft Office Suite
• Availability to travel as needed, with an estimated requirement of up to 15%

Preferred Education and Experience

• Master's degree in Business Administration, Accounting, or Finance preferred
• Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation, with either an active or inactive license
• Dairy or food industry experience

Working Conditions

• Work is performed in an office setting.

• Occasional exposure to industrial operations including: temperature extremes from approximately 35°F to 100°F; noise levels in excess of 85 dB; moisture and moving machinery.

EEOC & Disclaimer

Great Lakes Cheese is an Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action Employer.