Manager, Finance

About Zep Inc.

Zep Inc. is a leading manufacturer of cleaning solutions for businesses and consumers with operations across the U.S, Canada, and Europe. Our purpose is to make the planet cleaner, safer, and more productive. To fulfill our purpose, we focus on understanding and solving cleaning needs for consumers, as well as business customers across a variety of segments including transportation, industrial, institutional, and food & beverage. We also have a strong presence in the consumer-packaged goods (CPG) segment, where we develop products to help consumers and businesses maintain a clean and safe environment. Our products can be found online and at retail shelves at outlets like Home Depot, Amazon, Lowe’s, Ace Hardware, Grainger, HD Supply, Walmart, and many others. We market our products under well recognized and established brand names, such as Zep®, Enforcer®, Misty®, TimeMist®, TimeWick, and Country Vet®. Zep was founded in 1937 and is headquartered in Atlanta, GA. In 2021, Zep became the official cleaning partner of Atlanta United FC.

Job Description:

Position Description:

The Manager, Finance will be a key member of the Corporate FP&A team within Zep’s Finance organization and provide direct analytical support to the CFO, Senior Director of FP&A, and Private Equity group. The Manager, Finance will be responsible for providing thought leadership and driving complete and timely execution of the consolidated budgeting, forecasting, and management reporting processes at the total company level, as well as serving as an effective business partner to the shared services functional leaders. The Manager, Finance will work closely within the finance team and cross functionally to communicate enterprise performance to help inform decisions that enable the business to meet its financial expectations. The position will require close partnership with the Controller, Treasurer, and Accounting Team to produce high-quality financial reports, Management Discussion & Analysis (MD&A) narratives, and external Lender Reporting packages for banks and financial analysts. The role requires a highly motivated individual who thrives in a fast-paced environment, is a self-starter, eager to learn, demonstrates strong attention to detail, and has the ability to turn analysis into information that helps drive better decision making. The Manager, Finance will report to the Senior Director of FP&A with exposure to the CFO and others in the Zep senior leadership team.

Essential Job Functions & Accountabilities:

• Provide thought leadership and play a key role in driving actionable analysis and management reporting across the total enterprise and business units by ensuring proactive communication between key stakeholders to understand drivers and levers of performance at a detailed operational level, anticipating the next steps of analysis in advance, and developing strategies to pursue information to a meaningful conclusion.
• Provide in-depth analysis of monthly, quarterly, and annual performance versus budget and / or forecast and prior year by decomposing revenue, cost, and margin variances between key drivers such as volume, price, inflation, mix, unusuals, etc. to enhance leadership understanding of business results and actions to improve.
• Partner with Director, Finance to evaluate and design enhancements for current data, reporting, and systems processes/capabilities to better meet the needs of business leadership and the business unit finance teams. Partner with IT and project teams to align on data strategy and centrally deploy reporting to ensure consistency, repeatability, and efficiency.
• Serve as the owner of consolidated Price and Inflation reporting at the company and business unit level. Partner with key contacts in Supply Chain / Procurement to understand operational drivers of cost fluctuations in materials, labor, and overhead versus standard by commodity and business unit. Inform leadership of emerging trends and help identify actions and levers to improve. Track implementation of pricing programs and partner with the business units to identify drivers of variances and corrective actions.
• Lead and oversee the creation of standard monthly and quarterly reporting for the FP&A team which also supports and informs the CFO, Private Equity group, and Lenders.
• Perform ad-hoc analysis as needed.

Experience and Educational Requirements:

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent in Business Administration, Finance, Accounting, Economics, or related field
• 5 - 10 years of progressive experience in a combination of Financial Planning & Analysis, Operational Finance, Commercial Finance, and / or Manufacturing Finance
• Experience with executive communication / reporting to the senior leadership team of a company.  Prior experience in Investor Relations or working in a related capacity desired.
• High level of expertise in Microsoft Excel and other Microsoft Office applications
• Experience with SAP, Planful, Business Objects, and Workday or similar desired
• Experience with building complex financial models
• Intellectual curiosity that seeks to understand the commercial and operational drivers of business performance beyond the numbers
• Analytical nature and possesses a strong attention to detail
• Self-starter
• Strong interpersonal skills and works well in a team environment
• Ability to multi-task, meet deadlines, and work in a fast-paced environment
• Experience working in a privately owned company a plus, but not required

Our Values

At Zep, we have developed a set of values focused on bringing even greater cohesion to our workplace. As part of this plan, we introduced a values framework called S.P.E.E.D. to align with our purpose of making the planet cleaner, safer, and more productive.

• Stewardship: We continuously improve the safety of our people and products, and we protect the planet by innovating solutions to reduce our environmental impact.

• Passion for Problem Solving: We listen to our customers and actively work to find solutions for unique situations. We think creatively to innovate and seize opportunities that will drive growth and make all our customers’ and consumers’ lives better.

• Empowerment: We encourage and lead our people to be accountable by equipping them to make decisions and own the outcome

• Expertise: We create innovative solutions and partnerships that are relevant to service our communities and customers.

• Doing the Right Thing: We expect our people to understand ethical boundaries and be inclusive of other backgrounds, ideas, and perspectives. Demonstrating honesty, respect and integrity in all actions is always expected.

Zep Inc. is an organization that is committed to diversity within its workforce and encourages all interested candidates, including women, minorities, & former military personnel to apply.  It is the policy of Zep Inc. that all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, disability or sexual orientation.

As an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer, Zep Inc. provides full employment opportunities to all qualified persons without regard to race, creed, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, marital status, ancestry, or veteran status or any other distinction outlined in all applicable federal, state, and local laws.