Senior Financial Analyst, Purchasing & VAVE

Essential Functions And Responsibilities

• Partner with Purchasing, Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, and Finance teams to identify, evaluate, and prioritize VAVE (Value Analysis/Value Engineering) and cost optimization opportunities that drive margin improvement and business performance.
• Develop, analyze, and present financial business cases for sourcing, cost reduction, and VAVE initiatives, providing data-driven recommendations to support strategic decision-making.
• Identify cost reduction, cost avoidance, and value creation opportunities through analysis of product costs, supplier performance, material pricing, market trends, and total cost of ownership (TCO).
• Perform detailed financial and operational analyses to identify cost, gross margin, and profitability outliers across products, programs, suppliers, and business units.
• Evaluate the financial feasibility and expected return of proposed VAVE initiatives and support cross-functional teams through review and approval processes.
• Validate, track, and report realized and projected savings from Purchasing and VAVE initiatives, ensuring alignment with financial targets and accounting requirements.
• Collaborate with suppliers and Purchasing teams to analyze cost structures, benchmark pricing, and identify mutually beneficial cost improvement opportunities.
• Prepare and deliver executive-level reporting, dashboards, and presentations that communicate opportunity pipelines, savings performance, risks, and financial impact.
• Maintain and continuously improve VAVE savings tracking tools, databases, and reporting processes to ensure accurate measurement and visibility of results.
• Monitor and analyze monthly Purchasing and VAVE savings performance against budget, forecast, and strategic objectives, recommending corrective actions as needed.
• Support the annual budget, forecast, and long-range planning processes for material costs, savings initiatives, and other relevant financial metrics.
• Lead or support special projects, ad hoc analyses, and continuous improvement initiatives focused on enhancing profitability, cost competitiveness, and operational efficiency.
• Support the validation, analysis, and reporting of Purchase Price Variance (PPV), ensuring reported savings are supported by SAP transactions, purchasing documentation, and financial validation requirements.
• Prepare financial tracking tools for Purchasing initiatives that extend beyond ERP reporting, including rebates, commercial recoveries, supplier claims, inflation recovery, and other strategic cost initiatives.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business, Economics, or a related field.
• 5–8 years of progressive financial analysis experience, preferably in manufacturing, purchasing, supply chain, cost management, or operations finance.
• Strong financial modeling, forecasting, business case development, and cost/profitability analysis skills.
• Experience partnering with cross-functional teams and influencing decisions through data-driven insights and recommendations.
• Prominent ability to present complex financial information to senior leadership and non-finance stakeholders.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and ERP systems (SAP preferred).
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated professionalism, integrity, and collaborative leadership with a continuous improvement mindset.

Nice to Know

• Experience with a large, multi-national organization.
• Master’s degree in Engineering and/or a general interest in engineering topics.