Director of Finance

  • Waste Management
  • Foxborough, MA
  • Oct 11, 2021
Full time Financial Corporate Finance Finance MBA Financial Analyst Finance

Job Description

Equal Opportunity Employer: Minority/Female/Disability/Veteran

 

Waste Management (WM), a Fortune 250 company, is the leading provider of comprehensive waste and environmental services in North America. We are strongly committed to a foundation of operating excellence, professionalism, and financial strength. WM serves nearly 25 million customers in residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal markets throughout North America through a network of collection operations, transfer stations, landfills, recycling facilities and waste-based energy production projects.

 

Waste Management has an exciting career opportunity for an Area Director of Finance / Business Partner II within the New England market area. The market area is comprised of MA, Upstate NY, RI, NH & ME. This is a high-level financial position with visibility to corporate. The positions reports directly to the VP Business Partner of Operations with a dotted line the Area Vice President of New England. This is a hybrid role, but can have an office in Foxborough, MA. Travel will vary, but can be up to 50% within the market area

 

I.  Job Summary

The Area Director of Finance and Business Partner is the leader of the finance organization for the Area and the business partner to the Area Vice President and his/her leadership team. This role is a key member of the Area’s leadership team, providing financial reporting, forecasting, budgeting, profitability analysis, M&A valuation, and integration planning, capital investment support, market planning and accounting, for the Area.  The role also partners with sales, pricing, public sector, and operations team members in influencing short-term and long-term Area strategy and making key people decisions. The New England Area at WM generates about $900 million in annual revenue and is an integrated business providing collection, disposal, recycling, and other services across the region.

Working with the Area Vice President and the area leadership team, this role assists in creating and directing the Area’s business strategy and ensures that resources are allocated effectively to execute upon the strategy.  The Area Director of Finance has a deep understanding of WM’s strategic priorities, its tools, resources, and operating practices and uses these skills along with sound financial and business acumen to ensure that the Area’s strategy is well aligned with broader organization priorities.

The Area Director of Finance also provides functional leadership for all Area finance and accounting employees.  Leadership, professional development, coaching and building high-functioning teams are key elements of the role.  Given that WM is a decentralized organization, the Area Director of Finance must drive the priorities of both the Area and of the WM Finance organization.  In its capacity as a leader of the WM Finance function, the Area Director of Finance is actively engaged in supporting and advancing the strategic priorities of the Finance team.  This requires strategic engagement with corporate finance functions including: Corporate FP&A, Treasury, Accounting, Investor Relations, Tax, Internal Audit & Controls, Finance Technology & Process Automation, Shared Services and Supply Chain.

II.  Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following.  To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.  Other minor duties may be assigned.

• Continuously build an intimate knowledge of the business – its customers, profit drivers, operational capabilities (including organic growth drivers, innovation opportunities, supply chain dynamics, etc.) – and how competitive and market dynamics drive strategy and operating results.

 

• Actively partner with the AVP and the Area Leadership team in setting and executing their strategies and operating plans by providing timely financial information and business performance evaluation as well as insightful and focused analysis.  Sees around corners, anticipates trends and finds new opportunities for differentiated performance.

• With the AVP and their team, actively engage in the overall strategy development, including actionable business strategies with clear accountability, financial strategy and overall portfolio management enabled by corporate business development.

• Build and communicate logical annual operating and long-range plans consistent with near-term requirements and long-term strategic requirements.  Assure forecast accuracy and accountable action plans to deliver planned results and to mitigate risk.

• Develop and execute a compelling and logical strategy for the Area and the Finance function that is aligned with WM’s broader Finance function’s priorities as well as enterprise strategy. Ensures achievement of business plans/financials.

• Establish a strong “tone at the top” related to WM’s commitments and values.  Ensure that a strong framework for financial controls and business ethics is reinforced when carrying out all responsibilities.

• Provide energizing functional leadership with a focus on attracting, retaining, and developing top talent.  Build and lead a value-add and focused finance team that is integrally involved with the day-to-day plans and operations of the business.  Select and develop diverse, world-class talent for the Area.

• Continuously improve the function, looking for process standardization and automation opportunities, culling unnecessary work to free team members’ time for higher-value work and encouraging the delivery of business insights over report creation.

• Inspire teamwork across the Area, including the finance function and other business groups to maximize the WM opportunity and talent development. Ensure that the team has the required technical skills and abilities to produce accurate, complete, and timely financial statements.

• Be an engaged and respected member of WM’s Area and Corporate Finance leadership teams. Build relationships and partner to ensure effective team operations, transparency of reporting and decision-making and continuous high quality, strategic dialogue.

Desired experience and leadership traits:

•  A clear, strategic thinker capable of simplifying strategy into business objectives/actions and drives them with clear metrics and accountability.

• Has capacity to sift through complex information and communicates messages clearly and concisely.

• Energizes team through inclusiveness and connection with people … flexible in approach to motivate and retain.  Builds a connection with the team through personal involvement and trust … engages people to want to perform.  Can coach and communicate in simple impactful terms.

• Knows how to create and lead a financial agenda for a large organization.  Strong financial/technical expertise and analytical acumen. Demonstrated leadership through different business cycles. Understands financial and operational linkages and knows how to manage and control costs.

• Ability to combine analytical reasoning, creativity and judgment.  A results-oriented, prudent risk-taker that ensures economic value is paramount in decision making.

• Quick learner, comfortable with steep learning curves and able to handle simultaneous complex matters.  Deals effectively with both strategic and tactical operational issues.  Loves the best ideas, not his/her own ideas.

• Self-motivated, high energy, resourceful and confident (yet, humble) with positive can-do attitude.  High level of commitment to the job and delivering outstanding work.

• Challenges the status quo and drives positive change using a data driven and fact-based approach to decision making.

• Puts the need of the WM enterprise and business ahead of him/herself.  Operates in a transparent manner with no hidden agenda.  Owns misses and learns from failures and adversity.

III.  Supervisory Responsibilities

• Direct supervision of 6 full-time managers, including:

• Indirect supervision of 19+ full-time employees.

IV.  Qualifications

The requirements listed below are representative of the qualifications necessary to perform the job.

A.  Education and Experience

• Minimum of 15 years of applicable financial management experience in progressively responsible assignments preferably in public companies

• Experience reporting to a senior line executive responsible for the profit and loss of a business unit preferred.

• Has interacted with senior management teams, preparing management-level presentations and actively participating in the presentation of results and strategic priorities and financial plans.

• Experience negotiating with external parties including customers and suppliers, as well as with business partners and internal executive stakeholders.

• Undergraduate degree required, an advanced degree (e.g. MBA, CPA) and/or Fortune 500 finance training program is desirable.

B.  Certificates, Licenses, Registrations or Other Requirements

Preferred: Certified Public Accountant, or equivalent

C. Other Knowledge, Skills or Abilities Required

Microsoft Office Suite and GAAP requirements

 

V.  Work Environment

Listed below are key points regarding environmental demands and work environment of the job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.

• Required to use motor coordination with finger dexterity (such as keyboarding, machine operation, etc.) most of the work day;

• Required to exert physical effort in handling objects less than 30 pounds rarely;

• Required to be exposed to physical occupational risks (such as cuts, burns, exposure to toxic chemicals, etc.) rarely;

• Required to be exposed to physical environment which involves dirt, odors, noise, weather extremes or similar elements rarely;

• Normal setting for this job is: hybrid, office setting, but travel will be required throughout the Area.

 

Benefits
At Waste Management, each eligible employee receives a competitive total compensation package including Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance and Short Term Disability. As well as a Stock Purchase Plan, Company match on 401K, and more! Our employees also receive Paid Vacation, Holidays, and Personal Days. Please note that benefits may vary by site.


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Occupations

General-Other: Accounting-Finance, Corporate Finance, Corporate Accounting