IRCA Group is an Italian leader in premium ingredients for the pastry, bakery, gelato and chocolate industries, owned by CVC, a global tier-1 private equity firm. From chocolate, chocolate decoration, creams and pastry mixes to specialty inclusions, variegates and fruit purées, we serve artisans and large food manufacturers alike, with 22 manufacturing facilities across Europe, the US and Vietnam and revenue above €1 billion. Our growth has been fueled by targeted acquisitions, including Cesarin, Anastasi and the Sweet Ingredients business carved out from Kerry.
IRCA Group USA LLC is the Group’s US subsidiary and the hub of our Americas business, including Dobla USA, with offices in Duluth, GA and Chicago, IL. The Americas are a priority growth market for the Group, combining organic expansion with an active M&A agenda.
The role
The Manager, Corporate Development & Strategy owns the Americas Medium-Term Plan and acts as the strategic right hand of the CFO and CEO Americas. The role sits at the intersection of finance, strategy and leadership-team execution, with direct visibility to Group leadership and to CVC, the Group's private equity shareholder.
Responsibilities
Build and maintain the Americas MTP: the integrated 3–5 year financial and strategic plan covering revenue, margin, capex and cash flow.
Run the annual MTP cycle and in-year refreshes, coordinating inputs from Commercial, Operations, Supply Chain and Finance.
Translate strategic initiatives into financial targets and track delivery against plan.
Build the Americas Value Creation Plan: the initiatives, KPIs and EBITDA impact that underpin the investment thesis for the region.
Track VCP delivery with initiative owners and report progress to CVC through regular shareholder updates.
Partner with the CFO and CEO Americas on Group strategy: market and competitor analysis, growth priorities, pricing and portfolio choices.
Lead strategic projects end to end, from problem framing and analysis to recommendation and implementation.
Prepare strategy materials for the Group, the Board and CVC.
Coordinate ALT activities: agenda, priorities, action tracking and follow-up on decisions.
Own the monthly ALT deck: collect inputs from functions, shape the storyline and highlight issues requiring decisions.
Run the cadence of ALT strategic initiatives, ensuring accountability and progress across functions.
Support M&A activities: market screening, target profiling, business cases, valuation and due diligence.
Contribute to post-merger integration planning and value-creation tracking.
Medium-Term Plan (MTP)
Value Creation Plan (VCP)
Strategy
Americas Leadership Team (ALT)
M&A and corporate development
Why this role
Real ownership. Own the plan that drives the division's targets, not a slice of someone else's analysis.
Tier-1 private equity ownership. Work in a business owned by global tier-1 private equity funds, interacting directly with CVC on value creation, strategy and M&A.
International scope. Interact regularly with Group headquarters in Italy and with peers across a global organization.
Clear growth path. A natural step from consulting into industry, with exposure that prepares for senior roles in finance, strategy or general management.
Profile
Around 5 years in management consulting (strategy or operations practice), with a track record on growth strategy, business planning or performance improvement engagements.
Exposure to consumer goods, food & beverage, industrials or private equity clients is a plus.
Experience with M&A, commercial due diligence or value-creation plans is a strong plus.
Strong financial modeling and business-case skills; comfortable building a multi-year plan from the ground up.
Structured problem solving and the ability to turn complex analysis into a clear executive storyline.
Excellent PowerPoint and Excel; experience with ERP or BI data is a plus.
Confident with senior stakeholders; able to drive cross-functional work without direct authority.
Self-starter, comfortable in a lean, fast-moving organization.
Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Economics or Engineering; MBA preferred.
Italian language skills are a plus.
Experience
Skills
Education
Skills Required
- Around 5 years of management consulting experience in strategy or operations, including growth strategy, business planning, or performance improvement engagements
- Strong financial modeling and business-case skills, including building multi-year plans
- Structured problem-solving skills and ability to communicate complex analysis through executive-level storylines
- Excellent Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft Excel skills
- Ability to work confidently with senior stakeholders and drive cross-functional work without direct authority
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Economics, or Engineering
- Exposure to consumer goods, food and beverage, industrials, or private equity clients
- Experience with M&A, commercial due diligence, or value creation plans
- Experience with ERP or business intelligence data
- MBA
- Italian language skills
What We Do
Founded in 1919, IRCA Group is a global leader in the production of high-quality ingredient solutions for the pastry, bakery, chocolate, and gelato markets. Serving both artisans and industrial food manufacturers in over 100 countries, the company combines Italian heritage with innovation to provide a comprehensive portfolio of products, including creams, fruit preparations, and inclusions, helping professionals create extraordinary culinary experiences with simple, reliable, and scalable solutions.
