Associate Manager, Operations Finance

About the role

Support the Operations Finance Manager with designing standardized and improved plant accounting operations in support of general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, capital assets, raw materials, and finished goods accounting. Assist in developing consistent and improved activity-based costing metrics and cost allocations for insightful plant performance analysis. Create streamlined plant financial accounting processes, reporting, and analysis.

Responsibilities

• Partner with Operations, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Procurement to analyze COGS drivers, including raw materials, packaging, ingredients, conversion, labor, overhead, logistics, and co-packing costs, and identify impacts to profitability.
• Own monthly COGS and manufacturing variance analysis, including volume, yield, usage, mix, rate, and conversion cost variances, explaining deviations vs AOP and forecast.
• Support cost optimization initiatives across internal manufacturing and co-packing operations, including plant efficiency, yield improvement, sourcing decisions, and margin improvement opportunities.
• Lead the annual operating plan and forecasting for Operations, COGS, and related manufacturing cost drivers, highlighting key risks and opportunities while driving potential mitigating actions.
• Develop driver-based models linking volume, yield, COGS components, co-packing assumptions, and operational KPIs to financial outcomes.
• Participate in the month-end close to ensure accuracy of Operations and COGS results, timely understanding of variance drivers, and appropriate follow-up with Accounting and Operations teams.
• Lead monthly COGS and plant performance reviews with stakeholders to ensure accountability, alignment on cost targets, and timely action plans for performance gaps.
• Support financial evaluation of operational initiatives and manufacturing-related investments, ensuring assumptions, benefits, and cost impacts are appropriately reviewed.
• Support capital planning and post-implementation reviews for manufacturing and operations initiatives, with focus on COGS impact, productivity benefits, and execution against approved assumptions.
• Partner with operations to evaluate capacity, automation, co-packing, and cost reduction initiatives, including make-versus-buy considerations and financial impact on COGS.
• Conduct ad hoc analyses and projects to support Operations, Supply Chain, Procurement, and business management decisions related to COGS, plant performance, and co-packing economics.

Qualifications

• 5-7+ years of experience in operations finance, cost accounting, plant finance, or a similar COGS-focused role.
• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Finance, or related field is required.
• Strong understanding of cost drivers (materials, labor, overhead, logistics, etc.).
• Advanced skills in Microsoft Excel required; SAP HANA and Power BI a plus.
• Prior work experience in Manufacturing, Food Manufacturing, Consumer Packaged Goods, or co-packing environments is preferred.
• Analytical, ability to multi-task, attention to detail, and self-motivated.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally (15–20%) to support plant visits, operational reviews, and cross-functional collaboration.

Pay

The approximate pay range for this position is $105,000 to $120,000. This range is provided as a good faith estimate at the time of posting. Final compensation may vary based on factors including but not limited to knowledge, skills, abilities, and geographic location.

About Company

StarKist Co. provides trusted, healthy food products in the United States. An industry innovator, StarKist was the first brand to introduce single-serve pouch products, which include Tuna Creations®, Salmon Creations®, and Chicken Creations™. As America's favorite tuna, StarKist represents a tradition of quality, consumer trust, and a commitment to sustainability. StarKist's charismatic brand icon, Charlie® the Tuna, swam into the hearts of tuna fans in 1961 and is still a fan favorite today. StarKist Co. is a subsidiary of the Dongwon Group.