Cost Optimization leader

cargill•Duran, NM

About The Position

Cargill is a family company committed to providing food and agricultural solutions to nourish the world in a safe, responsible, and sustainable way. We sit at the heart of the supply chain, partnering with producers and customers to source, make and deliver products that are vital for living. By providing customers with life’s essentials, we enable businesses to grow, communities to prosper, and consumers to live well. This position is in our specialized portfolio enterprise where we serve diverse businesses who support unique customers or markets, including animal nutrition and health, bioindustrial, road safety salt and Cargill joint ventures. Job Purpose and Impact Lead cost optimization for the Ecuador and Mexico businesses, driving margin improvement through financial analysis, identification of opportunities, and effective execution of initiatives in conjunction with key teams. The role requires prioritizing high-impact actions, ensuring disciplined follow-up, and guaranteeing agile responses to capture value in both markets.

Requirements

Finance, Economics, Administration, or related degree.
Cost/margin analysis experience.
FP&A / commercial finance experience.
Experience leading initiatives or projects with impact on results.
Experience working with multidisciplinary and/or regional teams.
Advanced Excel (essential).
Power BI or other visualization tools (essential).
Financial modeling and profitability analysis.

Nice To Haves

Operations / supply / formulation experience (desirable).
Knowledge of formulation, ingredients, or supply chain (desirable).

Responsibilities

Lead the Cost Optimization initiative for Ecuador and Mexico.
Identify, evaluate, and quantify opportunities for cost reduction in formulations.
Prioritize initiatives based on margin impact and execution feasibility.
Ensure effective value capture in ingredients, reformulation, and operational decisions.
Provide clear visibility of financial impact (savings and margin improvement).
Analyze in-depth the cost structure of formulations in both countries.
Identify specific opportunities by business, considering local dynamics.
Evaluate margin impact from changes in raw materials, formulations, and market conditions.
Develop scenarios and simulations to support decisions.
Detect deviations from cost and margin targets.
Implement and manage continuous monitoring mechanisms for critical variables.
Generate timely alerts to activate SMT and RMS in case of risks or opportunities.
Ensure rapid reaction to avoid negative impacts or capture benefits.
Coordinate actions with multidisciplinary teams (SMT, RMS, commercial, operations, among others) in both countries.
Lead follow-up meetings focused on results and execution.
Define, assign, and follow up on actions until their closure.
Constructively challenge teams to ensure agile and effective decisions.
Develop and optimize analysis tools (Excel, Power BI).
Automate reports and improve visibility of key indicators.
Standardize metrics and follow-up between countries.
Ensure availability of reliable and actionable information for decision-making.