Commercial Finance Manager - Strategic Partnerships

Sazerac Company•Louisville, KY

52d

About The Position

The Commercial Finance Manager - Strategic Partnerships plays a key role in driving insight-based decision-making to accelerate volume, revenue & profit growth for Sazerac's U.S. business. This position will oversee financial performance management for Sazerac's agency brand portfolio, ensuring the company and its supplier partners deliver sustainable growth and strong financial results. They will serve as a strategic business partner to Sales, and work cross functionally with Marketing, Finance, Operations, and IT.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or related field required; MBA or CPA preferred.
7+ years of progressive experience in Commercial Finance, FP&A, or Business Partnering, ideally within the CPG or Beverage Alcohol industry.
Strong understanding of spend management, pricing strategy, and brand-level P&L performance.
Experience managing external supplier or agency relationships preferred.
Advanced analytical, modeling, and data management skills with proficiency in Excel, Power BI, and ERP systems (Oracle or similar).
Proven ability to translate financial data into actionable business insights.
Excellent communication and presentation skills, including comfort presenting to senior leadership and external partners.
Collaborative, proactive, and solutions-oriented mindset.
Strong attention to detail and ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary financial liaison for Sazerac's agency brand suppliers, overseeing performance management, P&L delivery, budget management and alignment to commercial goals.
Lead the financial preparation and performance analysis for Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) and Annual Business Reviews (ABRs) with agency partners.
Develop standardized reporting templates to ensure consistent communication of brand performance, spend effectiveness, pricing trends, and execution metrics.
Ensure compliance with all Agency partner agreements
Present insights and recommendations to both internal stakeholders and supplier partners, highlighting opportunities to optimize growth, mix, and margin.
Partner with Trade Marketing and Sales teams to evaluate and optimize state-level spending by brand, assessing the impact of:
Discounting / Depletion Allowances (DA)
Promotional activities
POS spend
Trade activation and consumer sampling
Identify and communicate opportunities to reallocate funds toward higher-performing programs and markets.
Lead development of the annual operating plan (AOP) and Risk/Opportunities throughout the year for agency brands, ensuring alignment with Sazerac's overall financial targets and strategic direction.
Partner with Ops Finance to identify and execute cost savings initiatives across freight, logistics, and COGS.
Manage AMP budgets in partnership with Trade Marketing & Sales teams, ensuring compliance with agency partner agreements
Deliver timely and accurate financial reports, dashboards, and analytics to drive accountability and visibility across the business.
Drive a performance culture through active ownership of P&Ls, focusing on sales, gross profit, marketing spend, and operating income.
Analyze commercial trends (pricing, mix, channel, and geography) to identify opportunities to improve profit and eliminate inefficient spend.
Provide financial leadership to new brand development (NBD) and commercial innovation initiatives, supporting business cases and post-launch performance tracking.
Lead efforts to simplify, standardize, and improve financial processes, tools, and reporting to enable faster, more transparent decision-making.
Ensure strong internal controls, compliance, and alignment with company policies and finance procedures.
Partner with cross-functional teams to enhance chargeback management, trade spend governance, and commercial reporting accuracy.
Play a key role in developing annual and long-range strategic plans to drive Sazerac's financial performance.
Support the implementation of new systems, tools, and automation initiatives to improve efficiency and data accuracy.
Lead or contribute to ad hoc financial projects and strategic initiatives as required