Financial Planning and Analysis Manager at Seven Up Bottling Company

Created by the Howdy Corporation in St. Louis, MO, 7UP was an optimistic venture from the very start. After great success with the Howdy Orange drink, company founder C.L. Grigg decided to try his luck with lemons and limes. C.L. Grigg spent more than two years testing over 11 different formulas, all in search of a drink that was refreshing enough to prove irresistible to the people of Missouri and the world at large. In 1929, C.L. Grigg’s bubbliest drink was born. The public quickly developed a taste for Grigg’s caramel colored lemon-lime soda. Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda sold, and sold well. As the drink grew more and more popular, the original name was traded in for something short and sweet. Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda became known as 7UP. Early advertising featured a winged 7UP logo with copy that read "a glorified drink in bottles only. Seven natural flavors blended into a savory, flavory drink with a real wallop." The drink was so successful by 1936 that Grigg changed the name of The Howdy Corporation to The Seven-Up Company. By the late 1940s, 7UP had become the third best-selling soft drink in the world. In the decades to follow, 7UP developed iconic branding, setting it apart from industry front-runners. In 1967, 7UP brought the phrase UNCOLA into the national vernacular. The UNCOLA campaign set 7UP apart from its competition and became part of a counter cultural that symbolized being true to yourself and challenging the status quo. Always at the frontier of taste and pop culture, 7UP was also among the first sodas to introduce sugar-free and caffeine free options. Through the years, advertising for 7UP featured everything from a cartoon mascot named Spot, to the "It’s an Up thing" and "Make 7UP yours" taglines.
The Financial Planning and Analysis Manager will be responsible for providing senior management and executives with the analysis and information they need to make major operational, financial, and strategic decisions. You'll also for be responsible for running the annual budgeting process, as well as for managing cash flow forecast models, variance analysis, and other financial performance tools.

Job Details

Responsible for preparing and coordinating the annual budgeting process, for P or L, Cash flow, with variance analysis versus relevant bases.
Managing cash flow forecast models, variance analysis of Topline and Bottomline, and other financial performance tools.
Managing the Rolling Forecast for P or L and Cashflow, while delivering in line with the applicable timelines.
Deliver Strategic Business Planning Cycles, in line with the strategic business objectives, looking forward to improving the sustainability and growth objectives of SBC.
Continuous engagement with the relevant teams to ensure forecast accuracy are at acceptable limits, while improving the information pipeline YoY.
Performing ad-hoc analysis where required to assist in management decision making, producing
forward-looking financial models, offer strategic guidance, and provide actionable insights to drive growth and operational efficiencies.
Evaluate and forecast the financial viability and financial impact of expansion opportunities and new initiatives.
Assist with month-end close processes liaising with accounting to assemble accurate financials for management reporting.
Analyze and interpret financial results compared to budgets, forecasts and other benchmarks as may be relevant. Produce regular and ad-hoc financial reports and dashboards for senior management.
Monitor the topline as contributed by Key SKUs to strongly drive business profitability through better mix.
Liaise with the relevant personnel to ensure COGS is optimized and being tracked at high level to avoid surprises.
Act as a finance business partner and subject matter expert across relevant Units of the business
Collaborate with business units to develop financial models for new projects and business cases.
Partner with Business Intelligence team to create customized financial reports on dashboard systems to monitor business activities, develop operational benchmarks and automate manual processes.
Support the Commercial Team to ensure that their strategies lead to Net Sales Revenue and GP growth through the business planning and forecasting processes.
Provide analytical support in evaluation of all Commercial initiatives in terms of product launches, pricing promotional activities and direct marketing expenditure.
Support to drive initiatives in order improve Gross Profit (Pricing, Promo optimization, Mix optimization, Product profitability).
Prepare in-depth & insightful financial analysis and decision support to the sales and category team including identification of opportunities and risks with commentaries/analytics.
Evaluation and Monitoring of Trade Discount Incentive proposals/programs to drive promotional effectiveness/profitability.
Provision of robust analysis and insight into pack profitability and portfolio management and preparation of value chain analysis for existing and potential products.

Requirements

Minimum of 6 years’ experience in Financial Planning and analysis department.
Familiarity with Excel.
Good understanding of Systems and Core Accounting Concepts.
Strong negotiation skills.
Minimum of Bachelors in Finance, Accounting and or related fields.
Chartered Accountant (ICAN or a similar Professional Body)
Experience working with sizeable ERPs like Dynamics NAV, SAP.