Director of FP&A

Job Description:

Our client is seeking a Director, Strategic Finance & FP&A to serve as a senior individual contributor reporting directly to the CFO. This role will lead and enhance the company's FP&A function while expanding finance's role as a strategic business partner to manufacturing and operational leadership.

The successful candidate will own forecasting, budgeting, reporting, and financial analysis while helping leadership better understand the operational drivers impacting profitability, cash flow, labor efficiency, inventory management, and overall business performance. This individual will be expected to move seamlessly between executive-level financial reporting and detailed operational analysis.

This is not a traditional reporting-focused FP&A role. The ideal candidate is intellectually curious, highly analytical, comfortable operating in ambiguity, and motivated by solving complex business challenges. Success in this role requires strong financial acumen, operational understanding, and the ability to influence decision-making across all levels of the organization.

Worksite Location:

Minneapolis Metro Area | On-Site

Salary Range:

$170,000 - $220,000 base salary plus bonus opportunity.

Benefits:

Comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, disability coverage, paid time off, and 401(k) with company match.

Roles & Responsibilities:

Financial Planning & Analysis

• Lead the annual budgeting, forecasting, and long-range planning processes.
• Own recurring FP&A deliverables, including variance analysis, KPI reporting, dashboards, and executive reporting packages.
• Develop and maintain financial models to support forecasting, profitability analysis, capital planning, and strategic initiatives.
• Partner with business leaders to identify risks, opportunities, and performance drivers.
• Support preparation of materials for executive leadership, ownership groups, lenders, and board-level audiences.
• Enhance reporting processes and improve the accuracy, consistency, and timeliness of financial information.
• Deliver meaningful financial insights and recommendations that support decision-making.

Manufacturing & Operational Finance

• Analyze profitability across products, plants, business units, customer segments, and distribution channels.
• Evaluate manufacturing cost drivers including labor, materials, overhead absorption, inventory management, and operational efficiency.
• Identify opportunities to improve margins through process improvements, cost controls, and operational enhancements.
• Partner closely with operations and supply chain leadership to improve performance measurement and financial visibility.
• Support inventory planning, capacity utilization analysis, and production performance reporting.
• Develop reporting that connects manufacturing activity to financial results.

Working Capital & Cash Flow Management

• Support and improve cash flow forecasting processes.
• Monitor and analyze key working capital drivers including inventory, receivables, payables, and production planning.
• Identify operational issues impacting cash conversion and liquidity.
• Provide leadership with actionable recommendations to improve cash flow performance.
• Develop reporting and analysis that improves visibility into working capital management.

Business Process Improvement

• Evaluate existing financial processes and identify opportunities to improve efficiency and scalability.
• Partner with Finance, Accounting, Operations, Supply Chain, and HR to improve data quality and reporting consistency.
• Standardize KPI definitions, reporting methodologies, and management reporting packages.
• Implement tools and processes that enhance decision support and business performance measurement.
• Assist with strategic initiatives, acquisitions, integrations, and operational improvement projects as needed.

Leadership & Business Partnership

• Serve as a trusted advisor to the CFO and senior leadership team.
• Present financial results, forecasts, risks, and opportunities to executive stakeholders.
• Build strong relationships across the organization and promote data-driven decision-making.
• Balance recurring reporting responsibilities with ad hoc strategic projects and executive support requests.
• Operate as a highly visible finance leader capable of providing insights and recommendations across the enterprise.

Required Skills & Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business, or related field.
• 7+ years of progressive experience in FP&A, strategic finance, corporate finance, finance operations, transaction advisory, or related disciplines.
• Strong financial modeling, forecasting, budgeting, and analytical skills.
• Experience managing financial planning processes in a manufacturing or industrial environment.
• Strong understanding of P&L management, cash flow, working capital, and operational KPIs.
• Experience developing executive-level reporting and management presentations.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building abilities.
• Ability to work effectively with leaders across finance, operations, supply chain, manufacturing, and executive management.
• High degree of ownership, accountability, and initiative.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, evolving environment with multiple priorities.

Preferred Skills & Experience:

• Experience working in a private equity-backed organization.
• Manufacturing, industrial products, engineered products, or multi-site operational experience.
• Experience with standard costing, inventory accounting, operational finance, margin analysis, and profitability reporting.
• Exposure to capital expenditure planning and manufacturing performance metrics.
• Experience supporting lender reporting, board reporting, or ownership reporting.
• Background in transaction advisory, investment banking, or financial due diligence combined with operating finance experience.
• MBA, CPA, CFA, or other advanced certification preferred.

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate combines strong FP&A capabilities with a deep interest in understanding how a manufacturing business operates. This individual is comfortable working across both strategic and operational finance, enjoys solving complex business problems, and can translate detailed analysis into actionable leadership insights.

Strong candidates may come from:

• Private equity-backed manufacturing companies
• Industrial products or engineered products organizations
• Multi-site manufacturing operations
• Strategic finance or FP&A environments with significant operational exposure
• Transaction advisory or investment banking backgrounds followed by operational finance experience

The successful candidate will be equally comfortable presenting board-level financial analysis, building forecasts, evaluating operational performance, and identifying opportunities to enhance profitability and cash flow.

About Versique

Versique: /ver-seek/ adj. being both versatile and unique; n. a high-performance recruiting firm specializing in executive leadership search, direct hire, and interim hiring solutions.

Versique Executive, Professional, & Interim Recruiting is a locally owned and operated hiring and placement firm based in the Twin Cities of Minnesota. With specialized practice areas across our three divisions, Versique delivers tailored expertise to a wide range of industries. What sets us apart is our team of recruiters—seasoned professionals who have worked in the very fields they now hire for, providing unmatched industry insight and connections.

We believe people are more than resumes—they are transformative, unlocking the potential for organizational growth and success.

Let's find your people, together.

Versique is an equal opportunity employer committed to creating a diverse workforce. We consider all qualified applicants regardless of race, religion, color, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or veteran status.

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