The Director, Operational Finance will serve as a strategic finance business partner to the Operations team, delivering critical financial insights, optimizing processes, and ensuring financial strategies align with operational objectives. This role oversees site profit and loss (P&L), Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), cost tracking, expense analysis, and financial forecasting to drive profitability and efficient resource allocation. By owning KPI reporting and analysis, the Finance Business Partner, collaborates with internal stakeholders to identify opportunities for cost reduction and operational efficiency. This role demands expertise in financial planning, analysis, and reporting, as well as strong cross-functional collaboration to achieve impactful and sustainable results.
Key Responsibilities:
Strategic Finance Leadership and Business Partnering
• Partner with Operations leadership to develop and execute financial strategies that align with business objectives.
• Act as a key advisor to the Operations team, providing financial insights to support data-driven decision-making.
• Collaborate with the Operations team to optimize cost management and improve profitability across product lines.
• Lead capital expenditure (Capex) planning, tracking, and ROI analysis to ensure alignment with strategic priorities.
• Evaluate and analyze major capital projects to provide recommendations on financial viability and strategic fit.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to assess the financial implications of operational strategies and investments.
• Drive post-investment reviews to evaluate the success and ROI of completed projects.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with operational stakeholders to influence and drive financial accountability.
• Ensure alignment between financial performance metrics and operational KPIs.
Financial Reporting and Analysis and Costing
• Monitor key financial metrics, identify trends, and provide actionable recommendations to mitigate risks and capture opportunities.
• Conduct in-depth analyses of cost structures, production efficiencies, and other operational drivers.
• Own and maintain standard costs for the facility, ensuring accuracy and alignment with cultivation and production processes
• Perform variance analysis to identify cost discrepancies, investigate root causes (i.e. material, labor, or overhead), and recommend corrective actions
Process Improvement and Optimization
• Lead initiatives to streamline financial processes and improve reporting accuracy and timeliness.
• Drive standardization and automation of financial systems and tools to enhance efficiency.
• Requirement to spend time within production facility to learn processes and identify opportunities for savings and operational efficiencies.
• Monitor and analyze waste in cultivation and production to identify inefficiencies, improve yields, and optimize overall costs
Compliance and Risk Management
• Ensure compliance with internal controls, financial policies, and regulatory requirements.
• Partner with internal audit and external auditors to address any operational finance-related issues.
• Proactively identify and manage financial risks within the operations function.
Qualifications:
Education and Experience:
• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, or a related field; CPA, CMA, or CFA designation preferred.
• 8+ years of progressive finance experience, with a focus on operational finance or similar roles.
• Experience in the cannabis industry, manufacturing, or a similarly complex, high-growth environment is an asset.
Skills and Competencies:
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a keen attention to detail.
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence and collaborate across all levels of the organization.
• Advanced proficiency in financial modeling, ERP systems, and data visualization tools.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and drive change in a dynamic and fast-paced environment.
• Proven track record of delivering results through effective financial planning and operational partnership.
• Financial acumen with the ability to assess and manage risks while identifying strategic opportunities for cost savings and efficiency.
• Experience in managing and analyzing operational KPIs to drive efficiency improvements.
• Knowledge of process automation and data integration techniques to enhance financial reporting accuracy.