Commercial Finance Business Partner

GE Aerospace•Sterling, VA

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

In this high-impact leadership role, the successful candidate will hard-line report to the Dowty CFO and dotted line to the Head of Commercial Operations. This is a strategic position offering significant visibility and influence across organization. The successful candidate will be responsible for driving commercial excellence through process optimization, standardization, simplification and strict adherence to financial processes - enabling data driven decision making and improved profitability. The role requires strong financial leadership to guide and own the Contract Margin Review (CMR) and Product Based Logistics (PBL) accounting processes, as well as to create and drive commercial model supporting customer service contract bids (strategic captures), in collaboration with the Programs and Sales teams. The successful candidate will also play a pivotal in strategic financial and contract performance management for multi-million-dollar contracts, ensuring financial accuracy, regulatory compliance, and cost efficiency, while collaborating with various stakeholders. This is a senior leadership opportunity for a forward-thinking leader with a track record of success in financial strategy, commercial finance and cross-functional collaboration.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or other business-related field and strong progressive accounting or finance experience.
Solid experience in finance, preferably within defence and aerospace, or manufacturing and through life support.
Audit Background (KPMG, Deloitte, PWC, E&Y, Accenture).
Exceptional analytical skills with the ability to interpret complex financial data and provide actionable insights.
For roles outside of the USA - This role requires significant experience in the long term accounting, commercial finance, project accounting and audit. Knowledge level is comparable to a Master's degree from an accredited university or college (or equivalent relevant experience).
For roles in USA - Master's degree from an accredited university or college (or a high school diploma / GED) with at least 6 years of experience in long term accounting, commercial finance, project accounting and audit.

Nice To Haves

Deep knowledge of IFRS and US GAAP Accounting.
Deep knowledge on Long Range accounting.
Deep knowledge of accounting closing processes and procedures.
Strong oral and written communication skills.
Strong commercial acumen and deal orientated approach.
Adaptable/Flexible: being open to change in response to new information, different or unexpected circumstances, and/or to work in complex situations.
Demonstrated ability to lead teams, properly manage priorities and drive execution.
Advance computer skills: Microsoft Office Suite (excel, PowerPoint, Word, etc.).
ERP systems knowledge (Oracle/HFM).
Sound understanding of global process and transactional flows.
Experience working in a matrixed environment.
Chartered Accountant (FCMA/CGMA/CPA).

Responsibilities

Define and implement standard PBL accounting process in line with GEA/GEAS financial policies and procedures.
Improve and develop standard work in all areas of responsibility including successful implementation and integration of the forecast tool for PBL accounting.
Develop and/or make recommendations and implement Dowty specific policies and procedures in line with GE Aerospace mandates.
Lead financial modelling of new deal Booking Rate estimates, and existing Contract Margin Reviews for CSA/PBL commercial products.
Drive operational and technical modelling partnership to develop P&L level analytics, variance analysis, financial tracking, and sensitivity analysis.
Communicate to leadership the key drivers and range of outcomes for all PBL/CSA financial models.
Drive improvement in CMR process by changing the frequency of the annual CMR process to quarterly updates and thus stabilising the Income Statement and Balance Sheet impact.
Demonstrate a proactive approach to support continuous improvement initiatives by collaborating and partnering with Programs to drive cost control and productivity improvements by using breakdown structure methodologies to estimate the labour & material requirements.
Lead the introduction of new tools for the modelling and management of PBLs.
Ability to drill into ERP level transactions, and from a strategic perspective develop countermeasures to improve first time yield and error proofing in the data accumulation process.
Partner with controllership to oversee the CSA/PBL policy and procedures including updates and interaction with key stakeholders, transfer pricing, long term accounting, and Backlog/Order presentation.
Assist in preparing and documenting escalation commercial constructs and providing guidance to the team on best practices.
Key contact for internal and external auditors related to the CSA/PBL CMR process.
Manage timely & accurate reporting and variance analysis for month end closing process, forecast and budgets.
Ensure proper control, integrity, and reconciliation for all PBL accounting activities.
Focus on business strategic captures while creating and maintaining models based on both commercial and technical inputs from multiple business functions.
Outputting a robust business case and being able to articulate areas and levels of risk within the financials.
Completing sensitivity analysis to quantify the impact of acknowledged risks triggering and understanding the likelihood of them triggering.
Creating and maintaining accurate records of models, including storage, configuration control and documentation of assumptions & their sources.