Sr Analyst – Brand Finance

With our pioneering Horizon Organic, Silk, International Delight, Land O’Lakes, Earthbound Farm, So Delicious Dairy Free, Vega™ and Wallaby Organic brands in North America and Alpro and Provamel brands in Europe, WhiteWave Foods has made healthy, alternative food choices mainstream, creating not just new categories, but a new consumer mind set. At heart, we are creators, engaged in the making of a new kind of Food Company. We are unique in possessing both the creativity and the scale not only to meet the world’s emerging needs, but to shape them, and help define the future of food.

As we experience growth, and as our portfolio of products grows, we maintain a constant focus on our environmental and social responsibilities. We pursue reductions against waste, water usage and greenhouse gas emissions throughout our operations, focusing on our plants and our company owned farms. We are also champions for food security, lending our support to national hunger relief organizations and those that operate in our local communities.

POSITION DESCRIPTION:

Senior level financial planning and analysis position responsible for reporting insights, analysis, forecasting and planning for the WhiteWave Foods finance organization. Key analytics include Volume, Gross Sales, Net Sales by channel and geography as well as cost of goods sold and distribution costs. This person will work with cross-functional partners such as Finance, Sales, Marketing, Trade Planning, and Supply Chain to drive insightful and timely business performance reviews, as well as provide budgeting, reporting, and insight for general and administrative expenses.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provide reporting and analysis of volume, sales, COGS, distribution and marketing spending
• Develop profit and loss statements for assigned area business units or activities
• Create models to provide financial insights enabling business leaders to evaluate new business ventures and/or changing business paradigms in an efficient way
• Serve as a financial partner to business leaders by organizing financial information in a manner that facilitates strategic business planning
• Effectively communicate monthly performance and key business drivers to senior management

Provide analysis to Marketing for the monthly S&OP volume forecasting by line of business
Assist in preparing materials for senior management on monthly, quarterly and annual basis
Co-lead the month end close process for assigned business unit
Financial modeling and reconciliation between different systems of reporting
Continuously work to streamline and automate processes
Create business cases as needed for, but not limited to, new manufacturing lines, new business propositions, and/or line extensions
Provide financial analysis on an ad hoc basis to management and field sales team
Proactively manage process, meetings and calendars to ensure timeliness and efficiency of budget and month end procedures
Preferred Candidate Qualifications:
Education and Experience:
Bachelor’s degree in a quantitative field, preferably Finance, Accounting, or Economics required; MBA or advanced business-related degree preferred
Minimum of 4+ years of progressive financial analysis and/or accounting experience required
CPG experience preferred, not required
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
Proven ability to interpret and analyze financial statements, including P&L, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow Statement
Advanced proficiency with MS Excel required
Strong financial modeling skills required
Understanding of GAAP
Understanding of Manufacturing processes preferred
High intellectual curiosity and passion for continuous learning
Results-oriented and committed to delivering high-quality work
Strong problem-solving and communications skills
Strong leadership and teamwork skills
Ability to work independently against tight deadlines in a cross-functional matrix organization
Experience with SAP, BW query language a plus
Strong financial acumen with
SALARY: WhiteWave Foods Company offers a competitive salary and bonus potential. The company also provides a comprehensive benefits package as well as many other company sponsored benefits.
Nothing in this job description restricts WhiteWave Foods, Earthbound Farm, So Delicious Dairy Free, Vega™ and Wallaby Organic rights to assign or reassign duties and responsibility to this job at any time.