Commercial Finance Leader

Albemarle•Houston, TX

About The Position

The Commercial Finance Leader leads Ketjen’s enterprise Commercial Finance Center of Excellence (COE) and serves as a strategic partner to business and commercial teams. This role supports profitable growth by strengthening pricing, mix, customer and product profitability, and commercial decision-making. The ideal candidate brings deep commercial and business finance expertise, strong analytical judgment, and the ability to translate financial insights into clear, actionable recommendations.

Requirements

Minimum 10 years of progressive experience in commercial finance, business finance, financial planning and analysis, or a related discipline, with strong commercial and business finance expertise.
Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business, or a related field; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Demonstrated experience supporting pricing, mix, customer or product profitability, and commercial decision-making.
Strong financial modeling, analytical, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to connect financial results to business drivers.
Proven ability to influence senior leaders and partner effectively across commercial, operational, and finance functions.
Ability to communicate complex financial concepts clearly and translate analysis into practical recommendations.
Strong alignment with Ketjen’s core values: curiosity, care, collaboration, humility, accountability, and integrity.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree or relevant professional certification, such as an MBA, CPA, or CMA.
Experience leading a commercial finance team, Center of Excellence, or enterprise-wide finance capability.
Experience in petrochemicals, refining, specialty chemicals, manufacturing, or another complex business-to-business environment.
Experience with pricing analytics, profitability tools, business intelligence platforms, and enterprise financial systems.
Demonstrated success improving profitable growth, margin performance, or commercial finance processes.

Responsibilities

Lead and develop the enterprise Commercial Finance COE, establishing consistent approaches, standards, and tools across the organization.
Partner with business and commercial leaders to shape growth strategies and evaluate financial implications, risks, and tradeoffs.
Provide financial leadership for commercial planning, performance management, and strategic decision support.
Promote a commercially focused, data-driven mindset that balances revenue growth, margin improvement, and long-term value creation.
Lead financial analysis and recommendations related to pricing, product and customer mix, contract economics, and margin improvement.
Evaluate customer, product, channel, and market profitability to identify opportunities and inform commercial actions.
Develop and monitor commercial performance measures, including pricing effectiveness, margin trends, and profitability drivers.
Support the development of pricing strategies and governance that improve discipline, transparency, and accountability.
Deliver timely financial insights, scenario analyses, and business cases to support commercial decisions and investments.
Translate complex financial and commercial data into concise recommendations for senior leaders and cross-functional stakeholders.
Partner with Sales, Marketing, Product Management, Operations, and other Finance teams to improve forecasting and business performance.
Identify opportunities to improve commercial finance processes, reporting, analytics, and decision-support capabilities.