Director, Finance IMO

American Axle & Mfg., Inc.; Detroit (MI); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

American Axle & Mfg., Inc. is seeking a Director, Finance IMO to lead the Finance Integration Management Office at our headquarters in Detroit, MI. This pivotal role involves overseeing financial integration efforts, managing strategic initiatives, and ensuring alignment across cross-functional teams.

The ideal candidate will possess 8+ years of finance leadership experience, a strong background in transformation and post-merger integration, and excellent stakeholder management skills. An MBA or equivalent in Finance/Business is preferred.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of progressive experience in finance leadership roles.
• Experience in establishing integration governance frameworks.
• Strong financial acumen with the ability to translate operational execution into measurable outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Finance Integration Management Office for enterprise initiatives.
• Owns the integrated Finance master plan, tracks milestones and interdependencies.
• Prepares executive communications and presents updates to leadership.

Skills

Finance leadership

Transformation

Post-merger integration

Executive communication

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business

MBA or Master's degree in Finance/Business (preferred)

Tools

ERP systems

Financial modeling tools

Job description

Job Posting Title

Director, Finance IMO

Job Description Summary

Dauch is looking for a Director, Finance IMO to join our team at our World Headquarters in Detroit, MI. This individual will lead the Finance Integration Management Office for enterprise initiatives such as M&A integrations, major reorganizations, and Finance transformation efforts (e.g., ERP/process harmonization). The role establishes and runs the integration operating rhythm, governance, and reporting needed to deliver a single, coordinated plan across finance workstreams, while partnering closely with cross-functional leaders in IT, HR, Operations, Legal, and Commercial teams. This person is accountable for transparent management of plans, milestones, dependencies, risks/issues and for connecting integration actions to measurable financial outcomes through synergy/benefit tracking, integration cost tracking, and performance metrics.

Integration Governance & Operating Cadence (IMO)

• Stands up and runs Finance integration governance (steering routines, workstream check-ins, decision/issue escalation paths) to ensure timely decisions and consistent execution across the integration portfolio.
• Owns the integrated Finance master plan: milestones, interdependencies, critical path, readiness gates, and status reporting.
• Drives meeting rigor and audit quality (charters, decision logs, cutover plans, status dashboards, executive readouts).

Value Creation, Synergy & Integration Financial Tracking

• Coordinates with business leadership to build and maintain a value-capture tracker: synergy initiatives, owners, timing, financial validation methodology, and realization reporting.
• Tracks and reports one-time vs. run-rate synergy impacts, one-time integration costs, and dyssynergies. Ensures visibility to leadership on ROI, progress, and risks to the deal thesis/value plan.
• Establishes performance management routines and metrics (e.g., close stability, reporting accuracy, cash/working capital visibility, one-time-cost burn, benefit realization).

Financial Reporting, Modeling & Executive Communications

• Oversees integration-related financial modeling and reporting requirements to inform decisions, track progress, and communicate outcomes to senior leadership.
• Prepares concise executive communications (weekly status, key decisions needed, risks/issues, and mitigation plans) and presents updates to leadership forums including CEO.

M&A Activity and Support

• Provides guidance and support to Acquisition and Divestiture activities as appropriate for ongoing projects.
• Collaborate with M&A team on diligence, analysis, modelling, and valuation.

Systems / Data Integration Partnership (Finance + IT)

• Drives disciplined data/document management for Finance integration records, ensuring secure access and standardized templates and baselines.

Change Leadership & Stakeholder Management

• Leads stakeholder alignment across Finance and cross-functional partners; anticipates friction points and drives rapid resolution with clear ownership and decision pathways.
• Supports change management initiatives (communications, training coordination, adoption tracking) to ensure business teams transition to new processes/tools with minimal disruption.
• All other duties as assigned.

Required Skills and Education

• Bachelor's Degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business, or related field.
• 8+ years of progressive experience in finance leadership, transformation, and/or post-merger integration roles.
• Demonstrated experience establishing integration governance frameworks, building execution roadmaps, and leading cross-functional teams through complex change.
• Strong financial acumen: ability to translate operational execution into measurable financial outcomes (cost, cash, productivity, synergy capture).
• Excellent executive communication, structured problem solving, and stakeholder management skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Automotive or other manufacturing experience including plant-finance experience.
• MBA or Master's degree in Finance/Business.
• Certifications such as PMP/PMI, CPA, or CMA.
• Experience with large-scale finance process/ERP harmonization and data governance initiatives.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Dauch will not discriminate against any Associate or applicant for employment because of age, race, color, gender, religion, weight, height, marital status, sexual orientation, genetic history or information, gender identity or expression, disability, protected veteran status, national origin, or other characteristic protected by law. Dauch will take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that Associates are treated equally during employment, without regard to their age, race, color, gender, religion, weight, height, marital status, sexual orientation, genetic history or information, gender identity or expression, disability, protected veteran status, national origin, or other characteristic protected by law. For the Disabled Job Seeker: We offer reasonable accommodations for qualified disabled individuals who are applicants for employment. To request assistance or accommodations, please e-mail [e-mail]. Dauch is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.