North America Senior Manager, Ops Finance

Carolina PRG has partnered with a $1B+ global manufacturer with a strong footprint across North America and an expanding international presence. They are committed to operational excellence, financial discipline, and continuous improvement across their manufacturing network.

The Senior Manager, Operations Finance – North America is a critical finance leadership role responsible for overseeing plant-level finance and accounting operations across four manufacturing facilities. This role partners closely with Operations, Supply Chain, and Corporate Finance to drive financial performance, cost optimization, and operational decision-making. The position leads a team of 4 Plant Controllers and serves as the primary financial leader for North American manufacturing operations.

Financial Leadership & Strategy

• Serve as the senior finance partner to North American Operations leadership, providing insight and guidance on financial performance, cost drivers, and operational efficiency
• Translate operational activities into financial outcomes and actionable insights
• Support long-range planning, annual budgeting, and rolling forecasts for manufacturing operations

Plant Finance Oversight

• Oversee financial performance for four manufacturing plants, including P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow responsibilities
• Ensure consistency and rigor in standard costing, inventory valuation, cost of goods sold, and variance analysis
• Review and challenge plant-level financial results, forecasts, and capital requests

Team Leadership & Development

• Directly manage and develop 4 Plant Controllers; provide functional leadership to ~8-10 accounting staff across sites
• Establish clear performance expectations, provide coaching, and build a strong succession pipeline
• Drive a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and business partnership within the finance organization

Cost Management & Operational Excellence

• Lead cost reduction and productivity initiatives in partnership with Operations and Supply Chain
• Analyze manufacturing variances (labor, material, overhead, scrap, yield) and drive corrective actions
• Support capital investment decisions, including ROI analysis and post-investment reviews

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Collaborate closely with Operations, Engineering, Supply Chain, HR, and Corporate Finance
• Act as a key liaison between plant finance teams and corporate leadership
• Support M&A integration, footprint optimization, and strategic initiatives as needed

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, or related field
• 10+ years of progressive finance experience, with significant exposure to manufacturing operations
• Proven experience leading plant controllers and/or multi-site finance teams
• Strong knowledge of standard costing, inventory accounting, and manufacturing financial metrics
• Demonstrated ability to partner effectively with senior operational leaders

• MBA and/or CPA/CMA preferred
• Experience in a large, complex, global manufacturing organization
• ERP experience (SAP, Oracle, or similar)
• Prior experience supporting capital-intensive manufacturing environments

• Strategic and operational financial acumen
• Strong leadership and people development skills
• Ability to influence without authority in a matrixed organization
• Excellent analytical, communication, and executive presentation skills
• Results-oriented with a continuous improvement mindset