Operations Finance Manager

Operations Finance Manager

As an Operations Finance Manager, you will serve as a seasoned finance professional and strategic business partner across U.S. Operations. You will use advanced analytics, financial expertise, and business insight to identify performance drivers, shape decisions, and improve profitability and operational effectiveness. You will lead end-to-end finance processes and cross-functional initiatives, influence senior leaders and business partners, champion technology, and continuous improvement, and safeguard the integrity of financial reporting.

This is a regional position with the ability to work hybrid, approximately three days per week from home with the remainder at a plant site. The right fit must be flexible regarding their weekly schedule and willing to travel to any Missouri facility as needed. Candidates must live within 100 miles of all Southwest Missouri locations, including Carthage, Monett, and Mount Vernon, to accommodate same-day trips. Overnight travel is estimated at 10% to 15% annually, primarily to the Clinton, Missouri site.

What you'll do:

• Strategic business partnership and influence: Build trusted relationships with plant, operations, category, and corporate leadership. Advise senior leaders on financial and operational matters, challenge assumptions, and align stakeholders on priorities, resource decisions, and actions that improve business results.
• Analytics, insights, and technology leadership: Lead the design and advancement of analytics, dashboards, reporting, and decision-support tools that benchmark performance and reveal underlying business drivers. Champion scalable technology, automation, and responsible AI adoption that improves finance capability and decision quality.
• Enterprise financial analysis and scenario planning: Own complex financial analyses, forecasting, and scenario modeling that support corporate, category, and operations objectives. Translate findings into clear recommendations and measurable actions within the broader business strategy.
• Profitability and performance improvement: Identify and lead opportunities to reduce costs, improve EBITDA margin, strengthen working capital, and increase operational effectiveness. Partner across multiple departments and sites to move opportunities from diagnosis through implementation and benefit realization.
• U.S. Operations management reporting: Lead key elements of U.S. Operations management reporting, including executive-ready financial storytelling, performance-driver analysis, and progress reporting for corporate savings initiatives. Establish consistent approaches that improve transparency and accountability.
• U.S. obsolete inventory process ownership: Manage the U.S. obsolete inventory FP&A process end to end, including reporting, reserve oversight, governance, and cross-functional actions to improve inventory health and working capital.
• Accounting and costing standards: Evaluate accounting and costing practices across U.S. business units, resolve moderately complex issues, and lead moderate to significant improvements in processes, controls, and standards. Recommend and help implement enterprise-consistent practices where standards are absent or variation exists.
• Site FP&A leadership and continuity: Independently lead critical site FP&A processes, including product costing and financial close support. Provide experienced finance leadership across Missouri locations when emerging issues, vacancies, or absences create a business need.
• Controls, compliance, and risk management: Safeguard company assets and reporting integrity by assessing financial risk, strengthening internal controls, and ensuring adherence to GAAP and applicable requirements.
• Project and talent leadership: Lead end-to-end regional and cross-functional finance projects. Organize project work, review deliverables, coach other finance professionals, and share expertise that strengthens team capability without requiring direct people-management responsibility.

What you need to succeed:

• Candidates must live within 100 miles of all Southwest Missouri locations, including Carthage, Monett, and Mount Vernon, to accommodate same-day trips and must be willing to meet the position's travel requirements.
• A bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, or a related business discipline is preferred; equivalent relevant experience will be considered.
• Typically, seven or more years of relevant FP&A, operations finance, accounting, or related experience. Manufacturing cost accounting experience is strongly preferred.
• Extensive knowledge of operations finance or a related specialty, with working knowledge of accounting, costing, FP&A, internal controls, and manufacturing or industry practices.
• Demonstrated success independently owning a wide range of moderately complex projects or end-to-end processes that materially affect departmental, functional, or multi-site results.
• Proven ability to diagnose moderately complex, cross-functional problems; integrate financial and operational information; and implement moderate to significant improvements in processes, systems, reporting, or controls.
• Strong business judgment and influence, including the ability to advise senior leadership, challenge assumptions constructively, and align with partners across departments on new concepts, practices, and approaches.
• Exceptional communication and financial storytelling skills, with the ability to translate complex analysis into clear recommendations, decisions, and measurable business outcomes.
• Demonstrated ability to lead end-to-end projects by organizing work, reviewing deliverables, coaching project contributors, and managing competing priorities with limited supervision.
• Advanced analytical and technology capabilities, with intellectual curiosity and a continuous-learning mindset. Willingness and ability to responsibly adopt modern analytics, automation, and AI tools to improve financial effectiveness.