Senior Financial Analyst

Aston Carter•Toronto, ON

8d•CA$85,000 - CA$95,000•Hybrid

About The Position

This Senior Financial Analyst role is an onsite position at a bakery manufacturing facility in East York for at least the first six months, transitioning to a hybrid model with a minimum of three days per week on-site thereafter. The role sits within the plant finance function and closely supports plant leadership. You will combine strong technical financial expertise with leadership potential and a proactive, forward-looking mindset. The successful candidate quickly understands the business, takes ownership of results, and actively drives performance improvements rather than waiting for direction.

Requirements

4–5 years of experience in a Senior Financial Analyst role or a similar level finance position.
Strong end-to-end P&L management experience, including ownership of plant or business unit financials.
Hands-on experience with labor variance analysis and broader variance analysis in a business environment.
Proven ability to lead month-end close processes, including preparation of journal entries, accruals, and reconciliations.
Experience with forecasting on a weekly and longer-term basis, using data-driven methods.
Advanced Excel skills, including complex formulas, modeling, and data manipulation.
Practical experience using SAP or S/4HANA and ERP systems for financial and operational reporting.
Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Finance.
Strong analytical skills with the ability to break down complex data sets and communicate insights clearly.
Demonstrated leadership capability and comfort operating in a Senior role within a team.
Proactive mindset with a focus on future performance, not only historical explanations.
Ability to manage strict deadlines and prioritize work effectively in a fast-paced environment.

Nice To Haves

Manufacturing industry experience, ideally in a bakery or consumer packaged goods (CPG) environment, is preferred but not strictly required.
Canadian education background is preferred.
Experience building dashboards and using Power BI for data visualization and reporting.
Familiarity with programming, scripting, and automation tools to support process efficiency and reporting enhancements.
Digitalization mindset with openness to leveraging AI tools and other emerging technologies in finance.
Professional accounting designation (such as CPA) is considered an asset.
Growth mindset with a willingness to learn, adapt, and continuously improve processes.
Strong sense of ownership and care for the business, viewing the company’s success as your own.
Ability to collaborate effectively with plant leadership and cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

Manage end-to-end profit and loss (P&L) for the plant, ensuring accuracy, transparency, and insight into key performance drivers.
Perform detailed labor variance analysis and other variance analyses to explain performance against budget, forecast, and prior periods.
Lead weekly and longer-term forecasting activities, providing clear, data-driven projections and recommendations to plant leadership.
Conduct financial data analysis to identify trends, risks, and opportunities, and present findings in a clear and actionable format.
Own project costing activities, particularly for capital investments, ensuring robust financial evaluation and tracking of project performance.
Lead and coordinate month-end close processes for the plant, including journal entries, accruals, reconciliations, and reporting.
Use SAP or S/4HANA and other ERP tools to extract, validate, and analyze financial and operational data.
Build and maintain advanced Excel models and reports to support forecasting, variance analysis, and decision-making.
Develop and enhance dashboards, ideally using Power BI, to visualize key metrics and support real-time performance monitoring.
Leverage programming, scripting, and automation tools to streamline reporting, improve data accuracy, and support digitalization initiatives.
Partner with plant leadership and cross-functional teams to interpret financial results and recommend actions to improve efficiency and profitability.
Demonstrate leadership within the department by setting direction, influencing stakeholders, and leveraging team support to drive outcomes.
Take ownership of the plant’s financial performance, treating the business as your own and showing strong commitment to its success.
Adopt a proactive, forward-looking approach by focusing on future risks and opportunities, not only explaining historical variances.
Support continuous improvement and digitalization initiatives, including the use of AI tools to enhance analysis and reporting.
Be willing to put in extra hours when necessary to meet strict deadlines, support busy seasons, and deliver on project work.