Director, Commercial Finance

The Role


Working closely with senior Sales, Marketing, Customer Operations, R&D, and Finance leaders, the Director, Commercial Finance, will supervise pricing, top-line reporting, planning, and analysis, collaborating closely with the H&V Commercial teams (sales account management and product management) to offer insightful perspectives on business operations. Reporting to the Senior Director of Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), this role will support the development of the annual revenue and sales incentive plan, revenue projections, monthly revenue and customer reporting, as well as comprehensive commercial Key Performance Indicator (KPI) reports, analysis of significant business and market trends, actual versus budget/standard variances, and detailed executive-level explanations of business performance drivers. Additionally, the position will entail long range planning responsibilities and strategic investment ROI analytics for potential new business expansion opportunities and product development.


The Director, Commercial Finance will oversee a team of pricing and commercial finance analysts to collaborate with the Commercial and R&D functions on crucial strategic initiatives, including pricing dynamics, margin management, contract administration, and investment prioritization.


Essential Functions and Responsibilities:


• Serve as a finance partner to the Commercial organization, offering financial leadership, guidance, and insight including opportunity pipeline conversion, gross-to-net accounting, and financial reporting of monthly/quarterly results for the Commercial group, as well as pricing analysis.


• Spearhead efforts to enhance the Company's capability to provide revenue guidance and periodically report against such guidance to steer commercial practices, including aligning product margins, devising pricing increase strategies, and exploring potential pricing tools.


• Champion the Revenue Council who will be responsible for developing, reviewing, maintaining, and governing the global pricing guidelines for the organization.


• Oversee all pricing, rebate schemes, discount requests, and consignment inventory programs to thoughtfully manage the enterprise's top and bottom-line.


• Manage the Sales Incentive Plan (SIP) in coordination with the HR function, including program design, quarterly payments, special incentive programs, and SIP Committee.


• Collaborate with a multidisciplinary team on the Sales, Inventory, and Operations Planning (SIOP) process to ensure alignment of sales/demand plans, resulting in seamless supply chain operations.


• Co-lead the new product development process to bring financial rigor and governance into the stage-gate process to maximize returns on R&D investments; develop Key Performance Indicator (KPI) reports to measure post-launch success rate.


• Identify and lead special projects and analyses that offer strategic, financial, and analytical insights for decision-making, advocating for continuous improvement initiatives.


• Support the strategic planning process, including the long-range plan, including customer/competitor trending and potential market expansion and/or new product development analytics.


• Assist in preparing analysis, commentary, and presentation materials for monthly and quarterly financial review meetings, including those with the Board of Directors.


• Lead initiatives beyond budgeting and planning, collaborating across departments to drive operational efficiencies while scaling the business.


• Demonstrate flexibility and a willingness to assume new responsibilities and assignments as they arise, assisting with various ad hoc projects as needed.


Profile


The Director, Commercial Finance, will exhibit the ability to handle detailed, complex concepts and problems requiring timely decisions using sound judgment. The ideal candidate is also adept at "rolling up their sleeves" with the team to produce high-quality work products; a collaborative team player who builds strong relationships across functional lines and thrives on adding value and making a difference. A flexible and nimble style coupled with rigorous attention to detail and high ongoing service delivery is critical for success.


Education and Experience:


• Experience with commercial product pricing, market analysis, contract negotiation, supply side (including raw materials), and the commercialization process highly preferred.


• Experience with global sales and manufacturing footprint desirable.


• Experience with process industry, commercial analysis in the process industry and customer/contract negotiations, particularly related to index-linked pricing preferred.


• Strong strategic thinking and problem-solving skills, including the ability to develop strategic frameworks to facilitate decision-making around complex opportunities.


• Flexibility and the ability to leverage ad hoc financial opportunities and innovative thinking to adapt to rapidly evolving situations and meet challenging timelines.


• Strong analytical and financial modeling skills (e.g., product forecasts, P&L, NPV models, etc.)


• Strong MS Excel skills required; experience with Oracle, Salesforce or other CRM, and PowerBI are advantageous.


• Experience leading and motivating cross-functional teams, with the ability to deliver on project timelines, progress, and outcomes in small company/startup environments.


• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to present to senior executives and the board effectively.


• Bachelor's Degree in Accounting or Finance required; Advanced/Master's Degree in Business Administration, Business Analytics, or a similar field preferred.


• 10+ years of experience in a corporate finance role required.