Director, Financial Planning & Analysis

Job Title: Director, Financial Planning & Analysis

Location: Tyler, Texas

Department: Finance & Accounting

Reports To: Chief Financial Officer

Direct Reports: 2–3

Travel: Regular visits to manufacturing facilities in Tyler, Texas; Valley, Alabama; and Gainesville, Georgia, as determined by business needs

Status / Schedule: Exempt; full-time, with typical core business hours and additional flexibility as business needs require.

Overview of Company

Soules Foods is a thriving family-owned food company that has made a positive difference for its customers and consumers for nearly 50 years. Our purpose and promise of Great Food, Made Simple® drives us. Based in Tyler, Texas, the company is a leading national producer of ready-to-eat and ready-to- cook chicken and beef products and is the number one producer of chicken and beef fajitas in the USA. We proudly serve a broad portfolio of great-tasting, high-quality products sold throughout the US via retail, food service distributors, and restaurants. Our wide array of national customers includes prominent organizations such as Walmart, Costco, Sam’s Club, Sysco, and HEB. The company was established in 1975 by John Soules Sr., and the business is now in the second generation of family leadership. The organization has expanded dramatically over the past decade, and with its continued growth, it now has annual sales of approximately $1 billion. The company employs over 2,000 individuals and has three manufacturing facilities in Gainesville, Georgia; Valley, Alabama; and its headquarters in Tyler, Texas.

Job Summary

The Director, Financial Planning & Analysis is responsible for enterprise financial planning, business performance analytics, and strategic decision support across our growing food manufacturing business.

This highly visible role will partner closely with Finance, Operations, Supply Chain, Sales, Commercial and senior leadership to improve forecasting, performance management, cash and working-capital visibility, capital governance and profitable growth. This is a hands-on builder role. This individual will be equally comfortable working through detailed financial and operational data, developing executive-level insights, challenging assumptions and partnering directly with business leaders to improve performance. This role will help build scalable FP&A processes, reporting capabilities, analytical tools and decision routines as Soules Foods continues to grow.

Qualifications

· Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, economics or related field.

· 10+ years of progressive experience in FP&A, manufacturing finance, supply-chain finance, commercial finance or related areas.

· Strong background with budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, financial modeling and performance management.

· Proven ability to influence senior business leaders, constructively challenge assumptions and decisions and communicate effectively with C-suite executives.

· Demonstrated ability to analyze financial and operational data and translate findings into actionable business recommendations.

· Experience partnering with Operations, Supply Chain, Sales, Commercial and other business functions.

· Deep understanding of P&L drivers, cost structures, margin analysis, working capital and business profitability.

· Advanced Microsoft Excel, Power BI, financial modeling and comparable analytical capabilities.

· Hands-on professional that has a proven track record of developing executive level reporting, KPIs, and financial analysis for business leadership.

Preferred Qualifications

· Master’s degree in finance, accounting, economics or related field.

· Experience within food manufacturing, consumer packaged goods, food service or other high-volume manufacturing environment.

· Experience with customer, product, channel or SKU-level profitability analysis.

· Experience with S&OP/Integrated business planning, capital governance and finance transformation.

Key Responsibilities

NOTE: This description is not intended to be all-inclusive. An employee may perform other related duties to meet the organization's ongoing needs; these duties are considered marginal.

Financial Planning & Performance Management

• Own and drive the annual budgeting, forecasting and long-range planning processes across the business.
• Develop driver-based financial forecasts and scenario analyses incorporating revenue, volume, pricing, product mix, raw material costs, labor, overhead, margin, and operating assumptions.
• Partner with the S&OP leader, who owns the demand and supply planning process. FP&A owns translation of the approved operating outlook into the financial forecast, challenges assumptions, and ensures volume, pricing, mix, capacity, inventory and financial expectations reconcile.
• Lead the 13-period performance management cadence, identifying key business drivers, risks, opportunities and actions.
• Develop driver-based variance analysis that connects financial results to underlying operational and commercial activity.
• Partner with business leaders to develop actionable plans addressing performance gaps and emerging opportunities.
• Continuously improve forecasting methodologies, financial models, and planning processes.

Cash Flow & Working Capital

• Own cash-flow forecasting and improve visibility into the key drivers of cash generation and liquidity.
• Develop working capital analytics covering inventory, accounts receivable/DSO, accounts payable/DPO and other cash conversion drivers.
• Partner with Supply Chain and Operations to improve visibility into inventory levels, turns, excess and obsolete inventory, holds and the financial impact of inventory decisions.
• Identify opportunities to improve cash conversions and translate working capital opportunities into clear actions and accountability.

Manufacturing & Supply Chain Finance

· Partner with Operations and Supply Chain leadership to analyze manufacturing performance, productivity, cost, capacity, and profitability.

· Analyze key cost drivers including raw materials, labor, production volume, yield, distribution, capacity utilization, and product mix.

· Develop financial models supporting capacity decisions, productivity initiatives, sourcing alternatives, manufacturing investments, and other operational decisions.

· Improve visibility into manufacturing costs and identify opportunities to improve margins and operating efficiency.

· Work effectively within Soules Foods’ actual-costing methodology for inventory valuation, which requires close plant integration and transaction-level accuracy, while helping evaluate and improve cost allocation, manufacturing cost visibility and operational performance measures.

Commercial & Profitability Analytics

• Partner with Sales and Commercial teams to analyze customer, product, channel, and SKU profitability.
• Evaluate the financial impact of pricing, volume, product mix, customer investments, and new business opportunities.
• Develop financial models to evaluate customer economics, new products, capacity tradeoffs, and strategic initiatives.
• Identify revenue and margin opportunities through detailed profitability and performance analysis.
• Translate complex financial analysis into clear recommendations for business leaders.

Capital Governance & Strategic Decision Support

• Own the financial governance of the capital planning process, including business-case standards, hurdle rates, prioritization, approval cadence and financial tracking.
• Develop and challenge business cases, ROI analyses, and financial models supporting growth initiatives, capital investments, new products, customer opportunities, acquisitions and operational improvements.
• Perform scenario and sensitivity analyses to help leadership evaluate alternatives and understand financial tradeoffs.
• Identify financial risks and opportunities and communicate recommended actions to leadership.
• Lead financial analysis supporting strategic planning and other high-priority business projects.
• Perform post-investment reviews comparing actual results to approved business case assumptions and identifying lessons for future decisions.

Reporting, Analytics & Finance Transformation

• Develop and enhance management reporting, dashboards, and KPI frameworks that provide clear visibility into business performance.
• Distill complex financial and operational performance into concise executive-level insights that clearly identify the key issue, financial impact, root cause and recommended action.
• Identify opportunities to automate and simplify financial reporting, forecasting, and analytical processes, including the practical application of AI and advanced analytics tools.
• Reduce manual processes and disconnected financial models by developing scalable and repeatable solutions.
• Partner with Finance, Operations, and Information Technology to improve financial systems, data quality, reporting capabilities, and analytical tools.
• Establish consistent financial definitions, reporting structures, and performance measures across the organization.
• Lead the evaluation, selection and implementation of the company’s FP&A planning and forecasting platform, establishing requirements, evaluating alternatives and ensuring the solution supports scalable planning, reporting and decision-making. Support optimization of ERP, reporting and analytics solutions.

Business Partnership

• Serve as a trusted financial partner to Operations, Supply Chain, Sales, Commercial, and Finance leadership.
• Develop a strong understanding of business operations and connect operational decisions to their financial impact.
• Present financial analysis and recommendations clearly to both financial and non-financial audiences.
• Constructively challenge assumptions, identify root causes and drive fact-based decisions and accountability.
• Work cross-functionally to solve business problems and improve financial and operational performance.
• Balance financial discipline with practical business needs in a fast-moving, growth-oriented environment.

Leadership & Team Development

· Lead, develop and mentor a small team of finance professionals, building capability as the function scales.

· Set clear expectations, priorities and accountability; provide candid coaching, feedback and development; and address performance gaps when expectations are not met.

· Raise the analytical standard across finance, establishing consistent approaches to modeling, reporting and business case development.

· Build bench strength and succession for key analytical roles as the business grows.

What Success Looks Like:

· Leadership has a clear, forward-looking view of financial performance, cash flow, risks, opportunities, and the operational drivers behind the numbers.

· A disciplined monthly forecast cadence is established that leadership trusts, with clear ownership of assumptions, risks and opportunities and accountability for forecast performance.

· Forecasts become more driver-based and actionable, with tighter linkage between demand, volume, pricing, mix, manufacturing performance, inventory, margin, and cash.

· The 13-period performance-management cadence consistently answers three questions: What happened? Why did it happen? What should we do about it?

· Operations, Supply Chain, and Commercial leaders have better financial visibility and stronger accountability for the economics of their decisions.

· Capital is governed through a disciplined process that prioritizes the highest-return opportunities, challenges assumptions before approval, and measures results after investment.

· Manual reporting and disconnected models are reduced as repeatable, scalable FP&A capabilities and tools are built.

· The FP&A function develops from a hands-on capability into a scalable team that can support the company’s continued growth.

Work Environment

This job is carried out in a professional office setting and involves using standard office equipment like laptops, desk phones, and smartphones. Regular visits to production facilities may also be required. During those visits, the employee is occasionally exposed to cold and/or humid conditions. The employee occasionally works near moving mechanical parts. The employee is occasionally exposed to fumes or airborne particles, cold temperatures, electrical shock and vibration risks. The noise level in the work environment is moderate.

Physical Demands

· Employees must be able to stand, walk, or sit; use their hands for tasks; reach with their arms; and communicate verbally. Occasional lifting or moving objects is necessary, along with close, distance, color vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

The applicant who fills this position will be eligible for the following:

· Incentive Pay: This position is eligible for the Company’s bonus plan, with target amounts varying based on program terms.

· Vacation / Sick days

· Medical, Dental, Vision Benefits

· Telemedicine

· Onsite Clinic – Tyler and Valley

· 401 (k) with company match

· Company provided STD and LTD

· Life insurance & other voluntary benefits

· Career Development: We support professional growth through continuous learning and development opportunities.

Soules Foods is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected status.

Applicants with disabilities needing accommodation during the application process can contact Human Resources at the relevant location.

Soules Foods will not discriminate against applicants who discuss their compensation. We also participate in the E-Verify program where required by law.

Unsolicited Assistance: Soules Foods does not accept unsolicited support from external recruitment vendors for U.S. positions. Resumes or candidate profiles submitted without a valid written request and search agreement from HR will be considered the property of Soules Foods. No fees will be paid for candidates hired through unsolicited referrals.