The Director Strategy at Hearthside Food Solutions will support bringing the company's strategic plan to reality by monitoring the environment and anticipating future changes with a focus on informing and driving strategic decisions. The role will perform financial analysis, prepare presentations, and lead project efforts by coordinating, directing and managing internal and external resources, covering M&A, Strategy, and key internal projects. The Strategy Director will work closely with senior leaders across the organization to create, communicate, execute and sustain the strategic business plan that is aligned to the growth of HFS. This role will report to the Chief Strategy Officer. The Strategy Director will also lead a team of Agile Project Managers responsible for training and mentoring agile and Lean teams, leaders and executives within the organization to leverage principles, practices and frameworks to deliver high value business capabilities. This team acts as the organization's Agile and Continuous Improvement Champions.
Responsibilities
Leads strategic analyses of business needs and environmental trends in support of business strategy development and planning processes and, as appropriate, enterprise strategy and planning processes.
Compile and analyze company financials and data to build out business cases for mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, growth projects, etc.
Identify the needs of the business to drive the strategy, work with each function and platform to identify clear and achievable growth targets. Work cross-functionally to get a holistic view and determine all risks, opportunities, etc.
Provides insight to industry best practices and competitive analysis to support business plan.
Identify, collect, and analyze data from competitors and customers to determine market and resource trends. Gather, review, and test the data to provide business strategies.
Detect trends and developments in competitive environments and presents findings to senior management. Assign value to target companies based on asset worth and comparable worth of similar companies using multiple approaches (DCF, multiples).
Assess industry prospects by gathering information about growth, competitors, and market share possibilities. Address business problems and key challenges, and provide pertinent insights to help the company make the right decisions.
Provide leadership to the team and cross-functional teams on the execution of work plan or other strategic initiatives. Formulate pricing strategies, identify new growth initiatives, and build a pipeline of partnership opportunities.
Develop timelines and monitor projects to ensure that timelines are met. This includes taking immediate action with those departments that are behind schedule.
Coordinate and distribute project information between departments identifying key problem areas, proposing solutions and collaborating with other areas/departments for resolution.
Analyze project data to identify potential issues/problems that could occur prior to finalizing the project schedule and timeline. Proactively determine a solution to avoid the situation by working with the respective department to ensure that the solution is implemented.
Leads team responsible for training, leading, facilitating, and coaching Agile Sprints and Kaizen events to drive sustainable improvements across multiple locations.
Qualifications
7-10+ years experience or an advanced degree with 5 years of experience in M&A, Strategy, and/or Project Management experience ideally in the field of investment banking or consulting
BS or BA degree required, advanced degree preferred.
Prior experience in the food industry preferred.
Prior people management experience preferred.
Advanced knowledge of Microsoft suite or similar tools (e.g. Excel, PowerPoint, pivot table management, database analytics, etc.)
Effective verbal and written communications skills, for both internal and external audiences.
Critical Skills and Capabilities Required
Strong financial modeling and analytical skills
Strong presentation skills and negotiation skills.
Strong documentation skills, detail-oriented and maintain the utmost confidentiality.
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Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Downers Grove, IL we are a world-class contract manufacturer producing wholesome baked goods, snacks and packaged foods for many of the world's leading food companies. As one of the largest and fastest growing food co-manufacturing companies in the US, we are the proud owner and operator of over 35 facilities globally. Our nearly 10,000 employee-strong organization is leading the way and setting new standards for quality, safety, flexibility and efficiency while feeding families around the globe.
Hearthside's exceptional growth stems from its ability to address real-world problems for customers of all shapes and sizes, and by our resolute commitment to our belief that there are no great companies without great culture. Our culture of personal empowerment enables growth, learning, and continuous improvement every day! We are steadfast in our ambition to be the indispensable and most trusted partner to our customers and need your help to do it! Join Hearthside and enjoy a competitive package, outstanding benefits and a diverse work environment. Hearthside is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
