Commercial Finance Lead (Junior Business Partner)

We are Fonterra, one of the world's largest dairy nutrition companies.

At Fonterra, you’ll be inspired by purpose and guided by principles. Whether you're based in New Zealand or anywhere else around the world, you’ll be part of a team that creates goodness for generations and delivers global impact through local action. Our brands are trusted by families and individuals alike, delivering high-quality dairy nutrition to millions of people globally.

As a Co-operative created and owned by New Zealand dairy farmers, our collaboration, innovation, and passion have enabled us to share the goodness of our dairy with the world. We're committed to caring for the land, our animals, and every drop of milk, producing nutritious food with safe, quality ingredients loved in New Zealand and around the world.

As part of the Fonterra Co-op, you'll be solving for a better future alongside a team connected by solid values as we strive to be a leader in dairy sustainability, dairy innovation and science, with a focus on New Zealand milk.

When you join Fonterra, you'll open yourself to a career of opportunities where you can grow with us by developing your skills, sharing your knowledge, and exploring diverse career paths that ignite your passions.

About the role

The role is a strategic partner to the Sales, Marketing, and Operations Teams and a critical support to the Commercial Team in delivering our OpCo strategy and value commitments. Success in this role requires the ability to provide robust, timely, and fact-based financial analysis skillset to drive value add insights that enable agile decision making and actions.

To be effective in this role, you are expected to go beyond reporting and analytics by collaborating with your cross-functional partners, influencing them despite having no direct authority, and leveraging on internal and external information to gain insights about the company, competitors, customers and consumers.

Key Accountabilities

Performance Management and Reporting

• Provide robust analysis of exceptions (what) and the corresponding causal drivers (why) of monthly, quarterly, and annual performance; collaborate with respective partners to understand root causes and come up with corrective actions.
• Provide data-driven insights on performance and communicate them in simple, actionable parts.
• Deliver insightful monthly performance commentaries and provide timely, accurate commercial and financial reports to support informed business decision-making.
• Generate periodic P&L segmented by material, brand, category, channel, and customer to support detailed performance analysis.
• Ensure end-to-end understanding and smooth flow of data from source systems to reporting platforms, proactively resolving any issues that may arise.

Financial Planning and Forecasting

• Support monthly rolling P&L forecasts and system uploads as part of the Integrated Planning Process by critically reviewing assumptions and providing constructive feedback to ensure plans are both robust and realistic.
• Business support- analysis to assist management to identify appropriate action to enhance profitability.
• Support in 3-year Plan and Budget framework for the total business; proactively support the Commercial Team to ensure robust and timely submission to Group.
• Assist partners in assessing business decisions and issues holistically including financial viability through scenario/what-if analyses which guide the business to look at the things that matter the most.
• Enforce financial guidelines on innovations to ensure profitable, sustainable growth.

Spend Governance

• Facilitate the understanding and management of varying P&L components (Discounts, Cost of Sales, Operations and Supply Chain costs, Advertising and Promotion costs, Selling and Administrative costs, among others)
• Partner with the cost center owners (budget holders) to understand risks and opportunities in different spend lines particularly Discounts, Trade Spend, and A&P.
• Support the Accounting team in ensuring fit-for-purpose controls are in place and complied with.
• Provide insights or framework on spend management and dynamic resource allocation.

Other Value-add Initiatives

• Support/lead special projects and cross-functional initiatives aligned to the company’s strategic objectives and/or adhoc requirements directed by Management.
• Support the Revenue Growth Management (RGM) initiatives of the team by providing, analysing and forecasting financials.
• Support the cross-functional team on cost simulations for new products where necessary.

Integrated Business Planning

• Communicates clearly and timely plans, activities and spend to team ensuring understanding of the same
• Provides accurate, complete and timely bottom up forecast via historical data, business trends and insights
• Delivers 12-month rolling P&L segmented by brand, category, channel, and customer
• Provides quanititative and qualitative feedback on activities
• Reviews and improves processes to continuously improve forecast accuracy.

About You

Qualifications

• Finance degree (essential)
• Accounting degree with CPA certification (preferred)

Experience

• Exposure to Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) and business partnering
• Minimum 5 years’ experience in FP&A or external audit (preferred)
• Minimum 3 years’ experience in Dairy or FMCG industry (preferred)

Skills

• Commercial and financial analysis, including financial modelling
• Proficiency in MS Office (especially Excel) and ERP systems
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with experience managing complex databases
• Ability to meet deadlines under pressure while maintaining accuracy and compliance
• High commercial acumen with a track record of driving value and operational efficiency
• Experience in process improvement and project-based work
• Ability to simplify complex processes and deliver actionable insights
• ERP application proficiency (preferred)
• Expertise in pricing strategy and analysis (preferred)
• Proven success as a business partner in FMCG across finance functions (preferred)

Leadership Competencies

• Self-motivated and able to work independently
• Clear communicator who seeks clarity when needed
• Takes ownership and accountability for results
• Action-oriented with a focus on timely outcomes
• Growth mindset and adaptability
• Collaborative and inclusive team player
• Sound decision-making in ambiguous situations
• Strategic understanding of industry trends (preferred)

Are you excited about this opportunity but may only meet some requirements?

At Fonterra, we are committed to building a diverse workplace and, therefore, open to looking at applicants with excellent transferable skills. If that's you, we encourage you to apply as you may be the right candidate for this role or one of our other opportunities.

Or join our Talent Community by clicking [1] here, to be notified about new and relevant job opportunities.

The benefits of life at Fonterra

Our people and what they bring to our Co-op shape our success. We have a collaborative culture, inspiring leaders, and passionate people, making Fonterra a great place to work. We also offer competitive remuneration and a range of benefits, regardless of your role or location.

Fonterra is a place where everyone can be themselves, feel empowered to do their best, and are empowered to create goodness for generations.

Sound good to you? Come and join us, and let's solve for better, together. You, me, us together.

References

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1. https://fonterrakf.avature.net/talentcommunity?&source=jobads