Financial Analyst

Select Division; Tulare (CA); On-site; USD 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Lactalis Heritage Dairy in Tulare, CA is seeking a Financial Analyst to support the profit center director with cost control and financial analysis. The role requires strong SAP FI/CO, material ledger, budgeting, and manufacturing cost experience.

Key duties include cost variance reporting, month-end close optimization, and collaboration with operations and procurement to drive savings. Bachelor's degree and dairy industry knowledge preferred.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• At least 3 years of proven experience in Standard Cost and Accounting within the Food Industry.
• Two to five years’ related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience preferred.
• Knowledge of Dairy processing is required.
• Strong communication abilities, written and verbal.
• Food Plant experience is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Internal Control experience.
• Budget and Forecast skills, collaborating with operations and corporate teams to prepare comprehensive documents.
• Conduct detailed cost analysis and variance reporting for manufacturing.
• Experience implementing and managing SAP FI/CO and Material Ledger processes (budgets and month end closings).
• Manage costing processes for multiple product lines, ensuring accurate standard costs and timely updates aligned with raw material fluctuations.
• Partner with production and procurement teams to identify cost-saving opportunities and improve margin performance.
• Develop automated reporting tools within SAP to streamline cost analysis and variance reporting.
• High level of Microsoft Excel skills (pivot tables, macros, queries, etc..), Power BI will be a plus.
• Ability to learn new finance/operations software tools.
• High skill of business communication.
• High level of collaboration with the operations team to reduce cost variances and improve month-end closing efficiency via SAP.

Skills

Internal Control

Budgeting & Forecasting

Cost analysis

Variance reporting

GAAP

Excel

Power BI

Communication

Collaboration

Adaptability

SAP FI/CO

Material Ledger

Education

Bachelor's degree

3 years experience in Standard Cost and Accounting in Food Industry

Tools

SAP FI/CO

Material Ledger

Job description

Full-time

Description

Ready for more than just a job? Build a career with purpose.

At Lactalis in the USA, we’re committed to providing meaningful opportunities for our people to learn, grow, and thrive—whether you’re just starting your journey with us or looking to take the next step in your career. From day one, we offer the tools and support to help you succeed.

As the world leader in dairy, Lactalis is a family‑owned company with over 85,000 pragmatic and ambitious professionals across the globe. Each day, we’re proud to produce award‑winning dairy products that bring people together.

In the US, we proudly offer an unrivaled house of beloved brands, including Galbani® Italian cheeses and ricotta, Président® specialty cheeses and butters, Kraft® natural and grated cheeses, Breakstone’s® cottage cheese, Cracker Barrel®, Black Diamond® cheddar, and Parmalat® milk. Our yogurt portfolio includes siggi’s®, Stonyfield Organic®, Brown Cow™, Oui®, Yoplait®, Go‑Gurt®, :ratio®, Green Mountain Creamery®, and Mountain High®, along with a growing family of ethnic favorites like Karoun®, Gopi®, and Arz®.

At Lactalis, we live by our core values—Ambition, Engagement, and Simplicity. We foster a workplace where innovation thrives, diverse perspectives are celebrated, and everyone’s unique background and ideas are valued.

Even if you don’t meet every qualification, we encourage you to apply. We want to hear about your PASSION, your STORY, and how your EXPERTISE can help us shape the future of dairy.

From your PASSION to ours

Lactalis Heritage Dairy, part of the Lactalis family of companies, is currently hiring a Financial Analyst based in Tulare, CA.

The Financial Analyst role works on an independent basis, performing a variety of activities in support of the profit center director. To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.

From your EXPERTISE to ours

Key responsibilities for this position include:

• Internal Control experience
• Budget and Forecast skills, collaborating with operations and corporate teams to prepare comprehensive documents.
• Able to conduct detailed cost analysis and variance reporting for manufacturing.
• Experience implementing and managing SAP FI/CO and Material Ledger processes (budgets and month end closings).
• Manage costing processes for multiple product lines, ensuring accurate standard costs and timely updates aligned with raw material fluctuations.
• Partner with production and procurement teams to identify cost‑saving opportunities and improve margin performance.
• Develop automated reporting tools within SAP to streamline cost analysis and variance reporting.
• High level of Microsoft Excel skills (pivot tables, macros, queries, etc..), Power BI will be a plus.
• Ability to learn new finance/operations software tools
• High skill of business communication.
• High level of collaboration with the operations team Reducing cost variances by implementing robust procedures and real‑time monitoring through SAP.
• Ability to improve month‑end closing efficiency by 30% through SAP‑driven automation and process standardization.
• Support new product launches with accurate cost simulations and profitability analysis.
• Lead the Internal Control applying GAAP
• Set up Operations results dashboards
• Eager to growth professionally and willing to relocate based on business needs

Requirements

Education

• Bachelor's degree required.
• At least 3 years of proved experience in Standard Cost and Accounting within the Food Industry

Experience

• Two to five years’ related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience preferred
• Knowledge of Dairy processing is required.
• Ability to perform a multitude of tasks.
• Strong communication abilities, written and verbal.
• Food Plant e