Finance Manager

Thomas Brooke International; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Thomas Brooke International is seeking an execution-focused finance leader to become the top finance executive for the business unit in Chicago. You will shape business plans, provide financial insight, and partner with local leadership to drive forecasting, profitability, and inventory decisions.

The role requires hands-on leadership, experience with distribution-oriented businesses, and SAP proficiency to build robust reporting and planning processes that align with the parent organization.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business, or a related discipline is preferred; practical experience and proven business impact will be especially important
• Experience and ambition to thrive in a builder role within a growing, entrepreneurial business where flexibility, ownership, and adaptability are essential
• Experience in a customer-, commercial-, or business-partner-facing finance role is highly valuable
• Experience in distribution-oriented businesses is especially relevant; exposure to product transformation, cost analysis, or similarly practical operating environments would be helpful
• Hands-on finance leadership experience in analyzing business performance, creating meaningful reports, influencing decisions, and partnering with leadership is required; candidates should be comfortable working with both detail and strategy
• SAP experience is required
• Direct experience improving reporting, forecasting, inventory analysis, and financial visibility is very helpful
• High EQ, sound judgment, and the ability to work effectively with different stakeholders in a small-company, international, change-oriented environment are essential

Responsibilities

• This is an execution-focused finance leadership role; as a key member of the local leadership team you will help shape business plans and provide the financial insight to support their execution
• Provide effective leadership in financial analysis and business support, bringing structure, visibility, and accountability to reporting, forecasting, and decision-making
• Build out and strengthen the reporting capability needed to support a growing business, including sales, profitability, inventory, receivables, and related performance analysis
• Lead the design and implementation of effective financial processes, reporting routines, and planning tools that improve local independence while aligning with the broader organizational structure
• Support and facilitate budgeting, forecasting, and ongoing business planning, helping translate company objectives into actionable financial insight and practical plans
• Lead execution of the company’s financial and analytical priorities to improve visibility into profitability, inventory performance, forecasting accuracy, and overall business health
• Uncover obstacles and create actionable recommendations to improve commercial performance, inventory decisions, and reporting-driven business outcomes

Skills

SAP

Financial analysis

Leadership

Forecasting

Inventory analysis

Reporting

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, or Business

Experience in builder roles

Customer-/commercial-/partner-facing finance experience

Experience in distribution-oriented businesses

Hands-on finance leadership

SAP experience

Reporting/forecasting/inventory analytics

Job description

• Growing industrial distributor with additional product activities — small BU, part of larger parent company.
• High-impact role – partner closely with local leadership and key stakeholders at the parent company to create the reporting, planning, and financial visibility needed for the next level. You will be the top finance leader for the BU! Support smarter forecasting, stronger inventory management, and better decision-making as the company continues to expand

What You’ll Do

• This is an execution-focused finance leadership role; as a key member of the local leadership team you will help shape business plans and provide the financial insight to support their execution
• Provide effective leadership in financial analysis and business support, bringing structure, visibility, and accountability to reporting, forecasting, and decision-making
• Build out and strengthen the reporting capability needed to support a growing business, including sales, profitability, inventory, receivables, and related performance analysis
• Lead the design and implementation of effective financial processes, reporting routines, and planning tools that improve local independence while aligning with the broader organizational structure
• Support and facilitate budgeting, forecasting, and ongoing business planning, helping translate company objectives into actionable financial insight and practical plans
• Lead execution of the company’s financial and analytical priorities to improve visibility into profitability, inventory performance, forecasting accuracy, and overall business health
• Uncover obstacles and create actionable recommendations to improve commercial performance, inventory decisions, and reporting-driven business outcomes

The Profile

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business, or a related discipline is preferred; practical experience and proven business impact will be especially important
• A core requirement is the experience and ambition to thrive in a builder role within a growing, entrepreneurial business where flexibility, ownership, and adaptability are essential
• Experience in a customer-, commercial-, or business-partner-facing finance role is highly valuable
• Experience in distribution-oriented businesses is especially relevant; exposure to product transformation, cost analysis, or similarly practical operating environments would be helpful
• Hands-on finance leadership experience in analyzing business performance, creating meaningful reports, influencing decisions, and partnering with leadership is required; candidates should be comfortable working with both detail and strategy
• SAP experience is required
• Direct experience improving reporting, forecasting, inventory analysis, and financial visibility is very helpful
• High EQ, sound judgment, and the ability to work effectively with different stakeholders in a small-company, international, change-oriented environment are essential