Senior Analyst, Operations Finance - St. Louis, MO
About The Position
The Senior Financial Analyst, Operations Finance serves as a key business partner to Finance and Operations leadership, providing financial insights that drive operational performance, profitability, and strategic decision-making across manufacturing operations. Vice President, Finance Operations, this role works closely with the operations and business teams to evaluate operational performance, identify improvement opportunities, and support operational initiatives. This position is responsible for analyzing manufacturing and supply chain performance, including conversion costs, material variances, inventory metrics, freight spend, and other key operational drivers. The role plays a critical part in the forecasting, budgeting, and month-end reporting processes, delivering actionable insights that influence business outcomes and support continuous improvement initiatives. The ideal candidate combines strong analytical capabilities with a strategic mindset, proactively identifying trends, risks, and opportunities while translating complex financial data into meaningful business recommendations. This highly visible role supports the Annual Operating Plan (AOP), capital investment decisions, and ongoing performance management through timely, accurate, and insightful reporting and analysis.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, or a related field.
- Minimum of 5 years of progressive experience in financial analysis, FP&A, cost accounting, or operational finance.
- Strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint, including financial modeling and executive-level presentation development.
- Solid working knowledge of AI and use of copilot to improve data analytics and modeling.
- Strong communication and business partnering skills with the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels, from plant operations through executive leadership.
- Proven ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, results-driven environment.
- High degree of intellectual curiosity, analytical rigor, and attention to detail.
Nice To Haves
- Experience with SAP, OneStream, or other enterprise financial planning and reporting systems preferred.
- Manufacturing, industrial, or operational finance experience strongly preferred.
- Demonstrated ability to drive process improvements and leverage analytics to support better business decisions.
Responsibilities
- Serve as a trusted business partner to Finance and Operations leadership, providing financial analysis and recommendations that support strategic and operational objectives.
- Analyze and communicate financial performance across actuals, forecasts, budgets, and long-range plans, identifying key trends, risks, and opportunities.
- Lead operational finance analyses, including conversion cost variances, material variances, inventory performance, labor productivity, and freight optimization by transportation mode.
- Evaluate manufacturing and supply chain metrics to improve operational efficiency, cost management, and working capital performance.
- Develop, maintain, and enhance financial models that support forecasting, scenario planning, profitability analysis, and business decision-making.
- Extract, validate, and reconcile financial data across multiple reporting systems and organizational structures to ensure accuracy and consistency.
- Prepare and distribute monthly financial and operational reporting packages, including variance analyses and executive-level insights.
- Partner with business leaders on headcount planning, labor cost analysis, and departmental spending reviews to improve resource allocation and cost discipline.
- Identify cost drivers and performance indicators, providing actionable recommendations to improve profitability and operational effectiveness.
- Support capital expenditure planning and investment analysis, including development of business cases, ROI calculations, and post-investment performance assessments.
- Create presentations and financial narratives for senior leadership, translating data into clear recommendations and business actions.
- Champion process improvements, reporting automation, and analytics enhancements that increase efficiency, accuracy, and business insight.
- Support special projects, strategic initiatives, and ad hoc analyses aligned with company objectives and continuous improvement efforts.
- Travel up to 20% as needed to support operational reviews, business initiatives, and partnership with Operations leadership.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
