Director, Strategic Finance – US

Sterling Pharma Solutions Limited; Town of Germantown (WI); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Sterling Pharma Solutions seeks a Strategic Finance Director to partner with US leadership, guiding financial strategy, investment prioritisation and resource allocation across the regional US operations. You will translate data into strategic recommendations, oversee budgeting and forecasting, and drive cross-site finance excellence in a global, matrixed organisation.

The role requires a senior finance leader with strong commercial judgement, experience in manufacturing or life sciences, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, economics or related discipline required; MBA preferred.
• 10+ years in senior finance partnering, FP&A or divisional finance leadership, preferably in pharma/manufacturing.
• Experience leading cross-site finance teams and partnering with senior leaders.
• Strong budgeting, forecasting, management reporting, variance analysis and revenue recognition knowledge.
• Proven ability to translate complex data into practical recommendations for executives.

Responsibilities

• Act as strategic finance partner to US leadership, driving growth, margin and disciplined investment.
• Lead and develop cross-site finance team across locations with strong governance.
• Own regional US FP&A, budgeting, forecasting and long-range planning aligned to priorities.
• Prepare executive-ready analyses and presentations for resource allocation and capex.
• Provide monthly performance reporting, variance analysis and forward-looking commentary.
• Collaborate with tax, treasury and operations to support month-end close and statutory reporting.
• Drive standardisation and data quality improvements using SAP HANA and related tools.

Skills

Strategic Thinking

Leadership Influence

Business and Financial Acumen

Commercial Judgment

Regional Collaboration

Results Orientation

Education

Bachelor’s degree in finance/Accounting/Economics

MBA preferred

Tools

SAP HANA

Planning/Reporting systems

Data visualization tools

Job description

Strategic Finance Director, Regional US

Summary of Company

Sterling Pharma Solutions is a leading small molecule Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation (CDMO) with a 50+ year track record of delivering comprehensive small molecule services spanning pre-clinical development to full commercial manufacturing , as well as Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) research and development bioconjugation services. Widely recognised for its expertise in complex, hazardous chemistry and its service-oriented customer experience, Sterling is a trusted partner to innovative biotech and pharmaceutical companies. Sterling now operates across six sites in the UK, US and EU and has grown significantly through organic growth and strategic acquisitions, supported by GHO Capital and Partners Group.

Summary of Role

The Strategic Finance Director, Regional US is accountable for providing strategic financial partnership, insight and challenge to regional US operations and leadership. Working within a global matrix organisation, this role supports the US region whilst being part of a global Finance leadership team. Reporting to the Chief Financial Officer with a dotted line to the regional leader (President of Americas & APAC). The Strategic Finance Director role will translate financial and operational data into clear recommendations, support investment prioritisation and resource allocation, and help business leaders deliver sustainable performance. This role requires experience in a similar senior finance business partnering role, strong commercial judgement, and the ability to lead and develop a cross-site finance team.

Your Responsibilities

• Act as the strategic finance partner to regional US business leaders, providing insight, challenge and recommendations that support growth, margin improvement and disciplined investment.
• Lead, coach and develop a cross-site finance team, building capability, consistency and accountability across multiple locations and business areas.
• Own financial planning, budgeting, forecasting and long-range planning for the regional US business, ensuring assumptions are robust and aligned with operational and strategic priorities.
• Prepare clear financial analysis, business cases and executive-ready presentations to support resource allocation, capital investment, programme prioritisation and operational decision-making.
• Provide monthly performance reporting, variance analysis and forward-looking commentary for site and group leadership, identifying risks, opportunities and corrective actions.
• Partner with business leaders to improve forecast accuracy, cost transparency, cash visibility and accountability for delivery against financial commitments.
• Oversee cash forecasting, working capital visibility, customer invoicing assumptions and forecast cash inflows and outflows for the relevant business areas.
• Support site capex forecasting, investment appraisal and tracking of associated additions, phasing and cash outflow forecasts.
• Ensure financial processes, controls and reporting are aligned with Group finance policies, while continuing to improve standardisation, efficiency and quality of insight.
• Responsible for all US territory specific financial tasks, for example: tax and statutory reporting.
• Collaborate with accounting, tax, treasury and operational teams to support month-end close, audit requirements, US tax processes and statutory reporting requirements.
• Drive continuous improvement in reporting, systems, data quality and financial processes, including standardisation with SAP HANA and other Group finance tools where applicable.
• Build trusted relationships with financial and non-financial stakeholders, influencing decisions through clear communication, commercial curiosity and well-supported challenge.
• Plays a key role on the US multi-site Senior leadership Teams (SLT). As an active member on both the Germantown and Cary teams.

Other

• Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.
• Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Key Competencies

• Strategic Thinking: Connects financial performance and operational priorities, providing strategic financial partnership.
• Leadership Influence: experience leading, motivating and developing cross-site finance teams, including building capability, improving ways of working and creating consistent standards across locations
• Business and Financial Acumen: Applies sound commercial judgment and financial insight to improve profitability, cash flow, operational performance.
• Commercial Judgment: Handles sensitive financial, governance, regulatory information with integrity and provides sound commercial judgement.
• Regional Collaboration: Builds trust across multi-site finance team, regional US operations and stakeholder groups to provide strategic direction and enable sustainable performance.
• Results Orientation: Prioritizes initiatives that create measurable financial and operational value while improving regional P&L accountability.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, Accounting, Economics or a related discipline required; professional accountancy qualification or MBA preferred.
• 10+ years’ experience in a similar senior finance business partnering, FP&A or divisional finance leadership role, ideally supporting regional operations, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, life sciences or technical business environments.
• Demonstrable experience leading, motivating and developing cross-site finance teams.
• Strong technical finance background across budgeting, forecasting, management reporting, variance analysis, standard costing, inventory reporting and control, revenue recognition, accruals and deferred revenue.
• Proven ability to build financial models, evaluate business cases, support investment decisions and translate complex data into practical recommendations for senior leaders.
• Excellent communication, influencing and stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to challenge assumptions and partner effectively with operational, commercial and technical leaders.
• Experience with SAP HANA, planning/reporting systems and data visualization tools is desirable.

Travel Requirement

• Regular travel between regional US sites will be required, with additional travel for leadership meetings, planning cycles and key business reviews.

Sterling values diversity and we are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All employment decisions are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, past or present military service, marital status, gender identification or expression, medical condition (including genetic characteristics) or any other protected characteristic as established by law.