Senior Director, Commercial Finance

Senior Director, Commercial Finance, Food & Beverage – Level 18

Let’s be unstoppable together!

At Circana, we are fueled by our passion for continuous learning and growth, we seek and share feedback freely, and we celebrate victories both big and small in an environment that is flexible and accommodating to our work and personal lives. We have a global commitment to diversity,equity,and inclusion as we believe in the undeniable strength that diversity brings to our business, employees, clients, and communities. With us, you can always bring your full self to work. Join our inclusive, committed team to be a challenger, own outcomes, and stay curious together. Circana is proud to be Certified™ by Great Place To Work®. This prestigious award is based entirely on what current employees say about their experience working at Circana.

Learn more at www.circana.com.

What will you be doing?

Circana is evolving the Commercial Finance function to develop finance leaders who will provide thoughtful analysis, insights, and decision support to Commercial sales leaders. Commercial Finance is responsible for streamlining processes, leveraging new systems, and adding more value for the Commercial partners who drive the business. The Sr. Director of Commercial Finance will play a key role in helping shape Circana’s Commercial Finance function and will drive improved business results through detailed forecasts, insightful analysis, and thoughtful process improvement recommendations. This role will be the key business partner supporting the Food & Beverage (F&B) client practice, one of CPG’s largest business units comprised of global manufacturers in center store, frozen foods, perimeter, fresh foods, and foodservice. This highly visible role will be the main point of contact for all day-to-day, bi-weekly, monthly, and annual Commercial Finance support and financial planning and analysis (FP&A) processes and activities for the North America CPG F&B business, inclusive of all Circana products and services. The Sr. Director will support the pipeline reviews, KPI development, and performance analysis on both revenues and expenses. Additionally, the role will work collaboratively with Solution partners, Client Insights teams, and other Commercial Finance teammates.

Job Responsibilities

• Full P&L ownership, acting like a CFO, for the F&B business—full revenue top line and bottom line/expense management.
• True business partner, “right hand” for the F&B commercial sales leader, helping the team solve problems and drive better outcomes for the overall business.
• Drive budgeting and forecasting support for both revenue and expenses, enabling improved forecast accuracy, ability to elevate business trends, and identify potential risks and opportunities.
• Proactively improve current processes, perform root cause analysis for ongoing issues and identify areas of efficiency with reporting and forecasting.
• Play a significant role in leading key projects by driving insights through compelling analytics across the Americas F&B commercial portfolio.
• Prepare reporting packages, analyses, and narratives for business partners and senior management with emphasis on identifying variance drivers and recommending actions.
• Track and maintain reporting on people count, direct expenses, and key operational metrics.
• Maximize the use of Circana’s financial systems (Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Adaptive, NetSuite) to drive growth (revenue pipeline review & forecast, recurring revenue streaming, and booking accuracy).
• Assist solution leaders and their teams with forecast, revenue, billing, and contract inquiries as needed.
• Partner on business case development and ongoing, insightful post-mortem tracking on key strategic initiatives.
• Ad hoc analysis, reporting and other miscellaneous projects as assigned.

Requirements

• Experience and Education:
  • 5+ years in Commercial Finance, FP&A, Sales Operations, Investment Banking, and/or Consulting.
  • Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, or related field; MBA preferred.
• Technical Skills:
  • Advanced Excel proficiency (required).
  • Experience with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Power BI (preferred), and Workday Adaptive (a plus).
• Industry Knowledge:
  • Exposure to the Tech/Software industry (recurring revenue) or CPG sectors (preferred).
• Key Attributes:
  • Strong problem-solving mindset with a bias for action in fast-paced settings.
  • Exceptional analytical skills with a proven ability to derive and communicate insights.
  • Skilled in executive-ready presentations and communicating financial concepts to non-experts.
• Leadership:
  • Demonstrated ability to lead and influence peers and business partners.
  • Aspiring or experienced people leader (includes one direct report).

Circana Behaviors

As well as the technical skills, experience and attributes that are required for the role, our shared behaviors sit at the core of our organization. Therefore, we always look for people who can continuously champion these behaviors throughout the business within their day-to-day role:

• Stay Curious: Being hungry to learn and grow, always asking the big questions.
• Seek Clarity: Embracing complexity to create clarity and inspire action.
• Own the Outcome: Being accountable for decisions and taking ownership of our choices.
• Center on the Client: Relentlessly adding value for our customers.
• Be a Challenger: Never complacent, always striving for continuous improvement.
• Champion Inclusivity: Fostering trust in relationships engaging with empathy, respect, and integrity.
• Commit to each other: Contributing to making Circana a great place to work for everyone.

Location

This position can be located in the following area(s): strong preference for the Greater Chicago area. This position is 100% remote so must be willing to work Central Standard Time zone hours.

Prospective candidates may be asked to consent to background checks (in accordance with local legislation and our candidate privacy notice )Your current employer will not be contacted without your permission.

The below range reflects the range of possible compensation for this role at the time of this posting. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in the future. An employee’s position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to, relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, seniority, geographic location, performance, shift, travel requirements, sales or revenue-based metrics, any collective bargaining agreements, and business or organizational needs. The salary range for this role is $140,000 - $170,000.

This job is also eligible for bonus pay.

We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off, medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.

You can apply for this role through the Circana Careers website or Intranet site for internal candidates.