FP&A Manager, Operations (Hybrid)

The FP&A Manager, Operations, serves as the primary Finance business partner to Operations Leadership and their plant teams, Procurement, FSQR, Ops COE, EHS, Transportation & Logistics, and Continuous Improvement. The role independently owns significant finance business partnerships and leads financial planning, forecasting, business analysis, management reporting, and decision support across supported functions. Exercising substantial independent judgment, this role advises business leaders and provides actionable financial insights to evaluate complex operational, investment, and performance decisions. The FP&A Manager, Operations, owns building a concise executive narratives that integrate performance, outlook, risks, opportunities, tradeoffs, and a clear call to action. This role plays an integral part in strengthening business performance and helping Ardent Mills achieve its financial and strategic objectives. • Drive cross-functional leadership with Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, EHS, FSQR, Ops. COE's and Continuous Improvement leaders as a trusted Finance business partner, translating business priorities into financial plans, insights, and actions. • Lead annual operating plans, monthly forecasts, and long-range planning for supported functions, including P&L, balance sheet, management reporting, margin and transportation costs, and other operating costs. • Analyze financial and operational performance, identify root causes of variances, risks, and opportunities, and recommend actions to improve results. • Develop scenario models and decision support analyses for network optimization, sourcing, product movement, capacity, cost reduction, and other strategic choices. • Evaluate capital investments and improvement initiatives through business cases, cost-benefit analysis, capitalization guidance, and financial return validation. • Monitor Continuous Improvement initiatives throughout the project lifecycle, validating assumptions, savings, financial returns, compliance, and progress against targets. • Drive KPI, scorecard, dashboard, and predictive-reporting development to provide clear, actionable insight into operational and financial performance. • Own and lead monthly performance reviews and management reporting, clearly communicating results, outlook, headwinds, tailwinds, and required actions to business and Finance leaders. • Partner with and constructively challenge business leaders to close performance gaps by focusing action plans on value drivers, timing, accountability, and measurable outcomes. • Support cost-management strategies across the operating network, including plant efficiency, procurement savings, transportation, inventory, and utilities risk mitigation. • Translate enterprise strategy into network, capacity, sourcing, and productivity choices and to influence resource allocation. • Ownership of operations financial forecast accuracy, sensitivity analysis, assumption governance, and standard planning methods across supported operations. • Strengthen financial acumen across partner teams by connecting operational decisions to financial outcomes and promoting consistent, enterprise-aligned practices. • Provide data modeling, data governance and standardization, self-service analytics, and automation or AI-enabled insight generation. • Lead adoption and value realization for new planning tools, reporting routines, operating processes, and Finance ways of working. Education • Bachelor's Degree OR equivalent experience. • MBA, CMA, CSCP, or other relevant advanced credential/certification preferred. Experience • 8+ years of relevant experience. • Progressive Finance & Accounting experience, including financial planning, business analysis, management reporting, or Finance business partnering; Operations or Supply Chain Finance experience preferred. • Demonstrated experience supporting Operations, Supply Chain, manufacturing, or other operationally intensive business functions and partnering directly with business leaders to drive financial performance and decision-making. • Experience with financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, and performance management, including translating operational drivers into financial outcomes. • Experience developing financial models, business cases, scenario analyses, and investment evaluations to support strategic and operational decisions. • Experience with capital investment analysis, cost management, productivity/continuous improvement initiatives, or manufacturing and supply chain economics preferred. Knowledge, Skills & Abilities • Serves as the primary Finance business partner for Operations and related functions, leading planning, forecasting, performance analysis, management reporting, decision support, and executive-level financial insights to help business leaders evaluate operational decisions, improve performance, and advance Ardent Mills' financial and strategic objectives. • Business, Financial & Analytical Acumen - Strong understanding of business and financial value[GB6.1] drivers, with demonstrated capability in financial analysis, modeling, planning, forecasting, management reporting, and translating complex commercial and operational data into actionable business insights. • Strategic & Critical Thinking - Ability to connect financial and operational performance to business strategy, identify risks and opportunities, challenge assumptions, and develop practical recommendations. • Business Partnership, Judgment, & Influence - Ability to independently manage significant Finance business partnerships, exercise sound judgment on complex financial and operational matters, advise and influence business leaders, and constructively challenge decisions while maintaining credibility and trust. • Communication & Business Presence - Excellent written, verbal, interpersonal, and presentation skills, with the ability to communicate complex financial concepts clearly and credibly to financial and non-financial audiences, including senior leaders. • Ownership & Results Orientation - Strong execution mindset and an owner's perspective, with accountability for driving outcomes and delivering high-quality results. • Collaboration & Emotional Intelligence - High degree of emotional intelligence and ability to work effectively across functions, perspectives, and organizational levels. • Change & Learning Agility - adaptability to leading adoption of new planning tools, processes, decision routines, and ways of working-including stakeholder readiness and sustained use-while demonstrating a commitment to continuous learning and quickly building knowledge of the business, industry, systems, and evolving Finance capabilities. Language Travel • Less than 10% travel required Physical Demands and Working Conditions