Senior Manager, Innovation Finance

Job Description:

The Senior Manager Innovation Finance serves as the financial co-pilot across the category portfolio providing proactive financial stewardship and strategic leadership for growth-driving initiatives that optimize the P&L. This role is responsible for driving end-to-end innovation governancefrom crafting robust business cases and iterating project P&Ls to orchestrating pipeline reviews performance reporting and post-launch evaluations. By bridging R&D Industrial Engineering Marketing and Commercial teams the role ensures investment decisions are financially viable and aligned with Mars long-term value-creation -pilot team to ensure sustainable innovation that delivers across desirability viability or feasibility and if not create the tension to decide quickly on stopping immediately.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelors degree in Accounting Finance Economics or related quantitative discipline.
• Minimum of 810 years of progressive finance experience with significant exposure to financial modeling business planning or FP&A.
• Strong working knowledge of corporate finance principles P&L architecture and stage-gate innovation processes.
• Proven track record in building multi-year discounted cash flow (DCF) project P&Ls and capital justification models.
• Deep understanding of how manufacturing supply chain formula bill of materials (BOM) and commercial marketing drivers interconnect to impact gross margin and operating profit.
• Exceptional stakeholder management communication and executive presentation capabilities.
• Demonstrated ability to manage ambiguity prioritize across competing project deadlines and drive alignment across matrixed functions.
• Advanced technical fluency in Microsoft Excel financial modeling systems and business intelligence/reporting platforms (e.g. Power BI SAP).

Preferred Qualifications:

• MBA CPA CMA or equivalent advanced professional credential.
• Prior experience within Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) / Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG).
• Direct experience in Innovation Finance New Product Development (NPD) or Commercial Co-Piloting.

The most important and relevant responsibilities of the role:

Innovation Business Cases and P&L Modeling:

• Lead end-to-end financial evaluation and modeling for Horizon 3 and 4 innovation and portfolio expansion projects across the category.
• Build pressure-test and iterate dynamic P&Ls for individual projects by consolidating inputs from R&D (formulations/ingredients) Industrial Engineering (CapEx line capacity conversion costs) and Marketing (volume forecast pricing A&CP support).
• Conduct rigorous sensitivity scenario and risk/opportunity analyses to stress-test financial assumptions gross margin hurdles Net Present Value (NPV) Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and payback horizons.
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams to ensure innovation initiatives are financially sound well-governed and aligned with long-term business objectives.
• Lead integration of Kellanova innovation data & processes into Mars systems.

Pipeline Governance Reporting and Cadence:

• Ensure recurring innovation reporting and governance forums exist with cross-functional leaders.
• Ensure that innovation performance is reported across all horizons identifying potential risks and opportunities to ensure long-term pipeline sufficiency.
• Support the delivery of innovation pipeline health metrics tracking milestones launch readiness projected net sales value and margin delivery against annual operating plans and strategic targets.
• Require that innovation data is consistent and accurate across all category pipeline reviews and executive updates.
• Act as a key finance decision-maker within innovation forums (GTO ILT) guiding project funding requests by challenging teams to justify funding needs and encouraging agile decision-making on innovation portfolio.
• Establish global standards on innovation assessment and financial guardrails; lead adoption of global standard and best practices across the organization.

Post-Launch Analysis & Value Realization:

• Support post-launch reviews (Post-Launch Audits / Lookbacks) at established intervals (e.g. 6 12 and 24 months post-commercialization) to measure actual market performance against business case commitments.
• Require diagnosis of root causes of variance across volume realization trade rate supply chain efficiencies and promotional effectiveness.
• Collaborate with Innovation teams to translate analytical findings into actionable operational learnings to continuously refine future innovation assumptions hurdle rates and forecasting models.

Cross-Functional Financial Co-Piloting & Capabilities:

• Act as an objective trusted advisor to cross-functional teams proactively identifying financial risks and opportunities before decisions are locked.
• Guide project teams to evaluate material cost drivers trade-offs recipe optimization packaging options and distribution strategies to ensure margin accretive launches.
• Cultivate financial acumen across non-finance stakeholders embedding a mindset of return on investment and commercial accountability throughout the stage-gate lifecycle.
• Build finance skills amongst associates by creating turnkey business modeling templates deliver training on Mars P&L structures and finance fundamentals and emphasizing how different line items impact new business model success.

• Work with over 130000 diverse and talented Associates all guided by The Five Principles.
• Join a purpose driven company where were striving to build the world we want tomorrow today.
• Best-in-class learning and development support from day one including access to our in-house Mars University.
• An industry competitive salary and benefits package including company bonus.

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The base pay range for this position at commencement of employment is between the range listed below however base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors including but not limited to job-related knowledge skills and total compensation package for this position will include variable pay medical and dental benefits participation in 401k plan and paid time off of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an applicant receives an offer of employment.