Director of Finance - Operations

The Director of Finance - Operations is a strategic business partner to global operations, business unit leadership, and corporate finance and is responsible for driving financial performance across manufacturing and distribution operations. The Director will sit at the intersection of finance and operations, driving profitability, improving efficiency, and enabling smart investment decisions across our manufacturing and distribution network. This role will be key in shaping how operational performance translates into financial results -- bringing visibility, discipline and insight to help scale the business and drive long-term value.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Business Partnership

• Serve as the primary finance leader supporting global operations, including the global procurement function, safety/quality, continuous improvement and our distribution/manufacturing operations.
• Partner with business unit and corporate finance leaders to align operational performance with enterprise financial goals
• Provide forward-looking insights to influence strategic decisions related to capacity, footprint, sourcing, and investment
• Act as a trusted advisor to senior leadership, balancing financial discipline with operational realities

Capital Planning, Investment Governance & Controls

• Lead enterprise-wide capital planning processes for manufacturing and distribution
• Establish and enforce disciplined processes to evaluate and track capital investment decisions, including IRR and payback standards
• Ensure alignment of capital deployment with strategic priorities and growth initiatives

Continuous Improvement (CI), Cost Savings & Operational Transformation

• Own the financial validation and governance of continuous improvement (CI) initiatives across business units along with business unit finance leaders
• Establish standardized frameworks for developing, measuring, and sustaining operational cost savings from continuous improvement actions.
• Partner with operations to identify and execute productivity, automation, and process improvement opportunities
• Support enterprise transformation initiatives including footprint optimization, digital enablement, and operational scaling
• Embed a culture of accountability for cost savings and operational efficiency

Costing, Margin & Pricing Strategy

• Drive enterprise consistency in product costing methodologies (standard costing, job costing, or hybrid approaches)
• Enhance cost transparency across products, customers, and channels
• Partner with commercial and operation teams to inform pricing and margin strategies to improve profitability
• Identify key margin drivers and lead actions to improve performance and results

Operational Performance & KPI Leadership

• Establish and standardize key operational and financial performance metrics across business units, including:
• Labor productivity and efficiency
• Cost of quality / cost of non-conformance
• On-time delivery and service performance
• Scrap, yield, and throughput
• Translate complex operational data into clear financial insights to support executive decision making and actionable recommendations
• Lead development of dashboards and reporting to drive transparency and accountability
• Support regular operating reviews with data-driven performance analysis

Working Capital & Inventory Optimization

• Support initiatives to reduce inventory and improve working capital efficiency across the enterprise
• Provide financial support to the business unit finance leaders in S&OP processes, make/buy analysis and scenario planning
• Drive alignment between operational plans and financial targets

Planning, Forecasting & Scenario Analysis

• Lead operations-related components of the annual operating plan (AOP), forecasts, and long-range planning
• Develop scenario analyses related to volume variability, cost inflation, supply chain disruptions, and capital investments to support strategic decisions

Standardization & Best Practice Deployment

• Drive consistency in financial processes, costing methodologies, and reporting KPIs across business units
• Benchmark performance across sites and lead adoption of best practices
• Support integration of acquisitions and expansion of operational capabilities

Qualifications

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field (required)
• MBA and/or CPA/CMA strongly preferred
• 10–15 years of progressive finance experience, with significant leadership in manufacturing and/or distribution environments
• Experience supporting multi-site or global operations required
• Strong expertise in cost accounting, capital investment analysis and financial modeling
• Experience in industrial, electrical, or engineered products industries preferred
• Experience with ERP systems and business intelligence tools (e.g., SAP, Oracle, Power BI, Tableau)

Leadership & Personal Attributes

• Proven ability to influence senior leaders and drive alignment across functions without direct authority
• Strong executive communication skills, with the ability to simplify complex financial concepts
• Strategic thinker who can also roll up your sleeves and drive execution
• High level of business curiosity and operational engagement
• Demonstrated ability to lead change and drive cross-functional initiatives
• Willingness to spend time in manufacturing plants and distribution centers to build deep operational understanding

Additional Details

• Travel requirements: 20-25% to manufacturing and distribution sites nationally and globally

Role Impact

This is a high-impact leadership role with the opportunity to shape how operations and finance work together to drive growth, improve margins, and build a more scalable, data-driven organization.

*The above represents the essential job functions that you are assigned to perform in your job. If you are unable to perform these essential duties, please see Human Resources as IEWC may be able to provide reasonable accommodations against the ADA requirements.