Commercial Finance Manager

Beak & Johnston; Sydney; On-site; AUD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Beak & Johnston is seeking an experienced Commercial Finance Manager to partner across Sales, Operations, Supply Chain, Procurement and Product Development to drive profitable growth and improve business performance.

You will lead a small Commercial Finance team, oversee costing, pricing and margin analyses, and drive productivity initiatives across manufacturing and distribution. This role demands strong stakeholder influence and hands-on financial modelling.

Qualifications

• CPA, CIMA or equivalent professional qualification.
• Minimum 7 years' experience in commercial finance, FP&A or related leadership role.
• Experience supporting commercial and operational decision-making.
• Experience developing business cases and evaluating investments.
• Strong profitability, pricing and margin management knowledge.
• Ability to influence stakeholders and lead finance professionals.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and relationship-building skills.

Responsibilities

• Partner with Sales, Operations, Supply Chain, Procurement and Product Development to provide financial insights and recommendations.
• Deliver analysis and commentary on business performance, identifying risks, opportunities and trends.
• Lead a small Commercial Finance team responsible for costing and profitability analysis.
• Analyze cost drivers across manufacturing, procurement, distribution and product portfolios to improve productivity and margins.
• Lead financial modelling and develop robust business cases for projects and capital investments.
• Support budgets, forecasts and performance reporting, aligning cross-functional plans.
• Coach and develop team members to foster accountability and continuous improvement.

Skills

Commercial Finance

FP&A

Financial Analysis

Costing

Team Leadership

Stakeholder Engagement

Pricing & Margin

Education

CPA or CMA or equivalent

Job description

We are seeking an experienced and commercially astute Commercial Finance Manager to partner across Sales, Operations, Supply Chain, Procurement and Product Development to drive profitable growth and improve business performance.

Key Responsibilities

Commercial Business Partnering

• Partner with Sales, Operations, Supply Chain, Procurement and Product Development teams to provide meaningful financial insights and recommendations.
• Deliver analysis and commentary on business performance, identifying risks, opportunities and emerging trends.
• Actively contribute to the development of strategies that improve profitability and support sustainable growth.

Leading the Team

You will lead a small Commercial Finance team comprising:

• Cost Accountant responsible for new product development (NPD) and existing product development (EPD) costing, ensuring accurate and timely product cost information.
• Finance Analyst responsible for pricing, promotional effectiveness, margin, revenue, customer and product profitability analysis.

Cost, Productivity & Margin Management

• Analyse key cost drivers across manufacturing, procurement, distribution and product portfolios.
• Identify and quantify opportunities to improve productivity, reduce costs and enhance margins.
• Evaluate operational improvement initiatives and track savings realisation.
• Assess customer investments, growth incentives, rebates and trading terms.
• Support pricing reviews and commercial negotiations through robust financial analysis.
• Evaluate promotional activity and measure return on investment.

Business Cases & Commercial Governance

• Lead financial modelling and evaluation of operational projects, strategic initiatives and capital investments.
• Develop robust business cases with appropriate financial analysis, assumptions and risk assessments.
• Establish benefits tracking processes to ensure expected returns are realised.

Planning, Forecasting & Performance Management

• Support the preparation of budgets, forecasts and performance reporting.
• Support cross-functional alignment of operational and commercial plans.
• Deliver insights that improve forecasting accuracy and business performance visibility.
• Coaching, mentoring and developing team members.
• Creating a culture of accountability, continuous improvement and commercial curiosity.
• Driving efficiency, consistency and discipline in commercial finance processes.

Leadership & Personal Attributes

The successful candidate will be a commercially driven finance professional who combines analytical excellence with strong business influence.

They will:

• Demonstrate strong commercial acumen and a deep understanding of profitability drivers.
• Be comfortable challenging assumptions and influencing decision-making across all levels of the organisation.
• Balance analytical rigour with pragmatic business recommendations.

Skills & Experience

• CPA, CIMA or equivalent work experience
• Minimum 7 years' experience in commercial finance, business partnering, FP&A or a similar finance leadership role.
• Demonstrated experience supporting commercial and operational decision-making.
• Experience developing business cases, investment evaluations and performance analysis.
• Strong understanding of profitability drivers, pricing and margin management.
• Ability to influence and challenge stakeholders constructively.
• Proven experience leading and developing finance professionals.
• Strong communication, presentation and relationship-building skills.

Why Join Us?

This is an opportunity to play a key role in shaping commercial and operational decision-making within a growing Australian food manufacturing business.