Vice President Finance

Core responsibilities Executive finance leadership

• Serve as the senior finance executive and strategic partner to the CEO, leadership team, owners and Board of Directors.
• Translate business performance, risks and alternatives into clear recommendations regarding profitability, cash generation, capital allocation and enterprise value.
• Lead long range financial planning, scenario analysis and evaluation of strategic options, including financing, refinancing, restructuring, transaction readiness, and a potential sale or ownership transition.
• Communicate financial results, outlook, risks and required actions with precision and credibility to internal and external stakeholders.
• Build an effective, results focused, and accountable finance team through clear expectations, ongoing coaching, cross training, development planning, and recognition.

Reporting and controls

• Own the integrity, timeliness and GAAP compliance of financial statements, consolidation, close, account reconciliations, estimates, policies and management reporting.
• Continuously improve the month-end close process discipline, balance sheet ownership and account reconciliations
• Partner with the Assistant Controller/Cost Accounting Lead to ensure the completeness of the general ledger, intercompany accounts, accruals, product costing, utility costing, and tenant billing
• Ensure and effective internal control environment exists, audit readiness and related documentation of processes.
• Improve accountability across the organization for source data quality.
• Oversee external reporting and technical accounting, including cash-flow reporting, discontinued operations and M&A transaction-related accounting where applicable.

Treasury, liquidity and risk

• Own liquidity strategy, cash forecasting, debt management, banking relationships, borrowing base reporting, covenant compliance and funding requirements.
• Ensure a credible13-week cash forecast and integrated balance-sheet and cash-flow outlook; improve forecast accuracy and reconciliation with actual results.
• Provide governance over working capital, collections, vendor payments, insurance and financial/commodity risk management.

• Maintain proactive, trusted relationships with lenders and owners, anticipating issues and presenting solutions before deadlines or covenant events.

FP&A, operations and value creation

• Lead the FP&A function through long range planning, annual budgeting, monthly forecasting, scenario modeling, segment performance, capital planning and management reporting.
• Connect commercial, production, inventory and cost assumptions to integrated P&L, balance-sheet, cash-flow and borrowing-capacity outcomes.
• Partner with operations, commercial, supply chain and executive leaders to improve margins, working capital, capital productivity and cash generation.
• Support SIOP and operating decisions with financially grounded alternatives, sensitivity analysis and clear ownership of assumptions.

Organization, systems and transition

• Lead an accelerated, structured handoff from the CFO and current Corporate Controller/Treasurer covering financing, lenders, board and owner matters, close, accounting judgments, treasury, reporting, systems, audit and institutional knowledge.
• Validate and implement the target finance organization, including role charters, decision rights, workload balance and performance expectations.
• Reduce key person and contractor dependencies through standard work, cross-training, backups, process ownership and appropriate staffing decisions.
• Prioritize finance system, data and automation improvements after process ownership and controls are stabilized; reduce reliance on spreadsheets and rework.
• Develop leaders and individual contributors who take ownership, respond to coaching and continuously improve the quality of finance work.

Required experience and qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance or related field; CPA strongly preferred. MBA or other relevant advanced qualifications are valued.
• 15 years of progressive finance and accounting experience, including 3 or more years of leadership as a Controller, VP Finance, divisional CFO or comparable senior finance executive.
• Demonstrated command of close, GAAP reporting, audit, controls, accounting policy, balance sheet integrity and finance systems.
• Experience evaluating and executing M&A transactions, including financial modeling, due diligence, valuation, financing, negotiation support, integration planning, and realization of expected synergies and business value.
• Experience in manufacturing, chemicals, industrial products, distribution or another inventory and capital-intensive operating environment.
• Working knowledge of standard costing, inventory accounting, plant economics, material/labor/overhead variances, working capital and operational finance.
• Direct experience with liquidity management, debt, covenants, lenders, borrowing base facilities and 13-week cash forecasting; leveraged or constrained-liquidity experience is highly desirable.
• Experience leading FP&A, integrated forecasting, scenario modeling and business decision support.
• Track record of improving ERP-enabled processes, data quality, controls, close cycles and management reporting.
• Experience presenting to CEOs, boards, owners, lenders, auditors and other sophisticated stakeholders.

• Demonstrated success assessing talent, developing teams, managing change and building accountability in ambiguous or transitional environments.

Leadership attributes

• Hands-on and decisive: willing to engage in the details, identify root causes and establish control while keeping enterprise priorities in view.
• High-integrity and evidence-driven: creates trust through accurate information, transparent communication and sound judgment.
• Commercially minded: connects financial discipline with operating realities, customer economics, growth choices and enterprise value.
• Calm under pressure: anticipates liquidity, covenant, reporting and operational issues and responds without creating unnecessary organizational disruption.
• Clear and respectful leader: sets high standards, gives direct feedback constructively, develops people and avoids dependence on individual heroics.
• Builder and simplifier: establishes durable processes, decision rights and systems rather than adding layers or complexity.
• Adaptable and resilient: effective amid changing priorities, imperfect information and an accelerated succession timeline.