Sr Director, Operations Finance

Department: Finance
Reports to: Vice President, Business Finance
Status: Full-time
Location: Hybrid/Head office (10 Carlson Court, Etobicoke)

Purpose
Gay Lea is modernizing its finance function to better support enterprise decision-making, performance, and growth. This includes reducing manual reporting, strengthening planning processes, and leveraging improved tools and data capabilities.
This role is accountable for the financial performance of the manufacturing network, partnering with Operations to improve profitability through better manufacturing performance, asset utilization, and cost management.
The role owns costing methodology and manufacturing cost standards across the network and leads the plant controller community in delivering consistent financial visibility and performance management across all sites.
As a senior business partner to Operations leadership, the role converts plant and network data into operational decisions, surfaces cost and capacity trade-offs, and shifts site finance effort from reporting to decision support.

Key Responsibilities:

• Partner with Operations to improve profitability through manufacturing performance, asset utilization, and cost management
• Support manufacturing decisions through financial analysis of costs, productivity, capacity, and investments
• Develop consistent costing methodologies, BOM governance, and manufacturing cost standards across the network
• Lead financial visibility and performance management across manufacturing operations and site performance
• Own the Finance contribution to the Supply Review within Integrated Business Planning (IBP), translating capacity, utilization, cost, and inventory decisions into financial outcomes
• Evaluate operational trade-offs and support decisions that improve both financial and operational outcomes and communicate accordingly with other stakeholders
• Monitor performance against commitments and identify risks, opportunities, and corrective actions
• Partner with Operations to improve performance measurement, processes, tools, and operational insights
• Lead, develop, and set standards for the plant controller team across the manufacturing network
• Shift finance effort from reporting to decision support by leveraging data, tools, and improved ways of working

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in finance/accounting; CPA and/or MBA preferred
• Proven finance leadership experience in Manufacturing, Operations Finance, or Plant Controllership environments
• 10+ years in finance with significant experience in cost accounting and multi-site manufacturing
• Deep understanding of standard costing, BOM governance, variance analysis, and capital evaluation
• Demonstrated ability to influence operating leaders and operate at the enterprise level
• Experience leading distributed or multi-site finance teams
• Ability to operate effectively with ambiguity and make meaningful trade-offs
• Direct, pragmatic, and outcome-focused leadership style
• Advanced financial, analytical, and systems capabilities

Gay Lea Foods is a Canadian, dairy farmer‑owned co‑operative with a clear purpose: to enrich life with dairy. Founded in 1958, the co‑operative produces high‑quality dairy products while creating lasting value for farming families, meaningful opportunities for employees, and positive impact in communities across Canada. As a co‑operative, Gay Lea Foods believes that when the business succeeds, its members, people, and communities should succeed along with it. To learn more, visit gaylea.com.

Gay Lea Foods is an equal-opportunity employer and values diversity in our workplace.

Reasonable accommodation is available upon request throughout our recruitment and selection process.

Gay Lea Foods may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support aspects of the recruitment process, including screening and assessment.

We are currently accepting applications for this open position.

Thank you for your interest in Gay Lea Foods.

Wishing you all the best with your career search!