Director FP&A & PM

Required

Job Overview

This highly visible role reports to the Vice President of Finance for the Automotive Americas Business Unit.  The position is a key finance leadership role leading our Financial Planning & Analysis, Product Management, Cost Estimation and Master Data teams.  This is a key role serving as a business partner to the Americas Automotive leadership and their teams across North and South America. The finance leader will specifically support functions such as Sales & Product Management, Engineering, Marketing, HR, and General Management, but also broadly support across all functions.

Key Responsibilities

Direct Quarterly and Annual guidance forecasting process as well as monthly opportunity and risk updates to the guidance forecast, along with rolling six quarter forecasting updates.  Lead forecast gap closer calls on a quarterly basis.

• Direct coordination of five-year Strategic Planning process and accompanying one-year operating Budget process.
• Provide direction to analysts performing accounting and analytic tasks including, but not limited to in-depth operating expense (OPEX) analysis, sales commission calculations and payment interface, functional expense accounting and reporting, revenue recognition and acquisition accounting.
• Lead interface between our business unit and the Transportation Solutions Segment to ensure timely updates to the segment are provided on activities such as market drivers, sales growth, OPEX change and operating income analysis.
• Partner with functional leaders across the OPEX functions to drive strategic and tactical initiatives to support both short- and long-term goals.
• Lead our Product Management (PM) finance team supporting Product Management teams with business decisions and product line P&L analytics and program analytics.
• Lead Cost Estimation team supporting financial modeling for new product introduction and sustaining engineering projects.
• Lead Master Data team supporting creation and maintenance of operations master data.
• Drive financial aspects of any restructuring related activities.
• Prepare, consolidate, and analyze forecasted and actual results, bridging performance over time.
• Develop and drive KPI’s for team to drive Finance excellence and TE Operating Advantage-Finance (TEOA-F) mindset, lead sales & portfolio COE team to the next level by expanding network and best practices across the enterprise (tool sharing, dashboard development, etc.)
• Ensure strong control environment: policies, DoA, inventory/asset management, accounting activities have proper supporting documentation, reconciliation and sign-off’s, audit support & drive actions to mitigate any process weaknesses.
• Establish the finance function as a strong, effective partnership for the businesses.
• Partner with the VP of Finance to support functional and business objectives as needed.

What your background should look like:

Experience:

• 10+yrs experience in a finance leadership role, preferably in a manufacturing company.
• 5+yrs experience in FP&A roles.
• Prior responsibilities that entailed financial analysis, financial modelling, forecasting, and reporting.
• Motivating and managing local and remote teams with lower-level managers and individual contributors.
• Proven track record working effectively with senior, mid-level and junior colleagues to drive results across a broad organization.
• Must have the confidence, interpersonal awareness, and poise to work effectively with business and finance leaders.
• Efficient and works intelligently, with the initiative to identify and take on critical projects, as well as manage multiple projects simultaneously.  

Knowledge:

• Understanding of variance analysis, commercial accounting, budgeting, and planning.
• Understanding of financial driver and relations within a manufacturing environment and commercial matters.
• Understanding of Engineering, Sales / Marketing, Product Management, and HR functional needs.
• Experience with SAP, Hyperion, BPC, and other analytics tools.

Education:

• Bachelor’s in Finance or Accounting
• MBA preferred

Required

Leadership Attributes:

• Ethics and Integrity: Adheres to a set of core values and beliefs during both good and bad times; Practices what he/she preaches; Is widely trusted; Keeps confidences; Admits mistakes; Doesn’t misrepresent self or others for personal gain; Doesn’t shrink from personal responsibility.
• Organizational Agility: Maneuvers effectively through complex organizational situations; Knows how to get things done both through formal channels and the informal network.
• Business Partnership: Contributes to the creation and execution of the company/segment/business unit strategy; Serves as the key strategic partner to the Americas Automotive Business Unit Operations Lead on all finance related matters; Drive’s business performance and value creation by providing business insights.
• Decision Quality: Makes good decisions and exercises sound judgement based on objective analysis, wisdom gained from experience, and key stakeholder input; Sought out by others for advice and solutions.
• Enterprise Leadership: Demonstrates the ability to balance the goals of the segment/business unit along with the broader interests of the enterprise; Acts in the best interest of TE, not just the segment or BU; Delivers differentiated value by bringing the total resources of the company to customers.
• Communication and Interpersonal Savvy: Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills; Communicates effectively across all levels of the organization; Expresses himself/herself clearly and succinctly; Knows when to be direct as well as diplomatic; Embraces diversity and relates well to employees at all levels of the organization. 
• Composure and Personal Resilience: Exhibits calmness under pressure; Does not become defensive or irritated when times are tough; Handles stress with dignity and grace; Leads by example in a crisis. 
• Talent Development: Is a good judge of talent; Hires the best people available from inside or outside the organization; Demonstrates a track record of developing future leaders; Deals effectively with challenging personnel situations. 
• Followership: Creates a climate in which people want to do their best; Can motivate and align team members and peers around a common vision of the future; Invites input from each person and shares ownership and accountability for results; Creates strong morale and spirit in his/her team; Shares wins and successes; Fosters open dialogue. 
• Command Skills: Relishes leading; Takes unpopular stands if necessary; Encourages direct and tough debate but isn't afraid to end it and move on; Is looked to for direction in a crisis; Faces adversity head on; Energized by tough challenges. 
• Problem Solving: Innovative and thoughtful in solving difficult problems with effective solutions; Probes all fruitful sources for answers; Is excellent at honest analysis; Looks beyond the obvious.
• Self-Awareness & Development: Understands that different situations and levels may call for different skills and approaches; Picks up on the need to change; Is personally committed to and actively works to continuously improve. 

Competencies