Senior Manager, Commercial Finance and Transformation

Univar Solutions•Downers Grove, IL

5d•$150,000 - $185,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Manager, Commercial Finance & Transformation plays a critical role in driving financial, commercial, and operational performance across the organization. The role leads a portfolio of high-impact initiatives focused on accelerating revenue growth, optimizing pricing, and improving margin through data-driven insight, disciplined execution, and cross-functional partnership. As part of the Transformation Office and the UnivarONE program, this role partners closely with the business, Finance, and the Innovation Office to identify opportunities, shape solutions with subject matter experts, and move initiatives from idea through pilot to validated, finance-signed value. The role is expected to leverage AI, automation, and analytics capabilities delivered through UnivarONE and the FRONTIER Factory, ensuring commercial initiatives are grounded in real business context and translate into measurable EBITDA and cash impact. The ideal candidate brings a strong background in Commercial Finance, Sales Finance, Strategy, or Consulting, exceptional analytical capability, and a proven ability to lead complex, cross-functional projects. This role works in close partnership with Sales, Operations, and Finance leadership to influence strategy and guide critical commercial decisions.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree (MBA or quantitative field such as Finance, Economics, Statistics) preferred.
Minimum of 7 years of experience, preferably in Commercial Finance, Sales Finance, Strategic Finance, Consulting, or similar.
Experience leading multiple large ($1M+) projects, preferably around process improvement or finance/commercial transformation.
Proficient in financial software and tools; experience with ERP e.g., SAP & OneStream systems preferred.
Proven ability to lead projects across Commercial, Operations, and Finance functions.
Exposure to AI, automation, or analytics-enabled business initiatives, and comfort partnering with technology and data teams.
Strong analytical skills with a proven track record in data analysis and reporting.
Strong communication (written and verbal), planning, and organizing skills.
Experience managing consultants, contractors, and internal project teams.
Influence strategy and outcomes without formal operational authority.
Open-minded questioning: “What would need to be true for this to work?”
Creativity in problem solving, especially complex processes involving many teams and decisions.
Familiarity with AI/automation use cases in commercial, pricing, or finance (e.g., pricing tools, Next Best Action, margin management, agentic workflows).
Understanding of value realization discipline and finance validation in a private-equity-backed / value creation plan environment.
Project management best practices across all lifecycle phases, including risk management.
Business process mapping, future-state design, and change management.
Technology and analytics fluency, including agile development approaches.
Adaptable communication across diverse stakeholder groups; ability to work across all levels including frontline, analysts, executives, and Board.
Strong data fluency and data storytelling. MS Office (PowerPoint, Excel, Word, Outlook) and Tableau required.

Responsibilities

Analyze commercial, operational, and financial data to develop and test hypotheses about performance drivers, particularly for complex, multi-stakeholder decisions with downstream impact.
Translate pain points, observations, and current-state KPIs into clearly defined opportunities, partnering with the business and SMEs to get the context and problem statement right before jumping to recommendations.
Model and quantify the financial and operational impact of proposed improvements, mapping value levers to the P&L and sizing opportunity at proof-of-concept, pilot, and scale.
Monitor and interpret sales and margin performance to generate actionable insight supporting revenue growth and margin expansion.
Identify where AI, automation, and analytics capabilities delivered through UnivarONE can accelerate commercial and margin outcomes, partnering with the Innovation Office and FRONTIER Factory.
Route qualifying AI and technology ideas through Factory intake, and partner with product owners and SMEs to co-develop solutions grounded in business context.
Support adoption of AI-enabled tools (e.g., pricing, Next Best Action, margin management) within commercial workflows, driving behavior change and sustained usage, not just deployment.
Ensure initiatives progress through stage gates with clear value hypotheses, and align technology work to proven business value rather than technology for its own sake.
Build comprehensive business cases to validate ROI, assess feasibility, and secure funding for high-impact initiatives.
Partner with Finance/FP&A so value is validated and signed off before it is counted, and reflected in OneStream, the AOP, and Strategic Plan.
Distinguish opportunity sizing, targeted value, and finance-validated value, maintaining credible, investor-grade reporting.
Track realized versus committed value and drive corrective action when results deviate from plan.
Lead development and execution of go-to-market and growth strategies across priority end markets, applications, customer segments, products, and geographies.
Identify and prioritize attractive growth opportunities based on market attractiveness, competitive position, customer needs, profitability, and the company’s differentiated right-to-win.
Lead customer segmentation, value proposition development, channel strategy, sales coverage, and commercial operating-model design.
Lead commercial transformation initiatives spanning sales effectiveness, strategic account management, pricing, channel optimization, pipeline management, and commercial capabilities.
Drive pricing and margin improvement through improved commercial governance, optimized pricing strategy and/or model, customer/product profitability transparency, and disciplined commercial terms.
Identify cross-selling and customer white space opportunities across business units and establish mechanisms to capture enterprise-level customer value.
Support M&A strategy, commercial due diligence, synergy identification and post-merger commercial integration when/where appropriate.
Lead cross-functional projects through structured frameworks, ensuring delivery aligns with scope, timeline, budget, and quality.
Identify and document risks and dependencies, coordinating mitigation proactively across the enterprise.
Run steering and review cadences with project sponsors to report progress, escalate issues, and drive decisions through a stage-gate review process.
Align diverse stakeholders around a shared vision, priorities, and understanding of portfolio value, timelines, risks, and status.
Bring business owners and SMEs in early so solutions reflect the nuance of the business and stay owned by the business.
Organize portfolio and value reviews for multiple audiences, including executive and Apollo-facing forums.
Escalate roadblocks quickly and with urgency to mobilize resources proactively.