Finance Business Partner- North America Retail

Finance Business Partner- North America Retail Colson Group - 2.5 Independence, OH Job Details 1 day ago Qualifications Performance dashboard reports Data visualization software proficiency Sales contract management Financial model construction Dashboard creation Dashboard creation support Business intelligence tools Bachelor's degree Full Job Description

JOB SUMMARY

We are seeking a strategic, commercially minded finance leader to serve as the primary finance partner for North America Retail, including eCommerce, with accountability for pricing governance, margin performance, deductions and recovery, and customer and portfolio profitability. This role will lead the translation of complex commercial, financial, and operational data into clear, actionable insights that drive profitable growth, strengthen contract and price discipline, and reduce margin leakage across customers, channels, and portfolios. The Finance Business Partner will collaborate closely with Sales, Revenue Growth Management, Marketing, Supply Chain, Customer Service, Operations, and Executive Leadership to generate alignment, buy-in, and action against key financial insights and trends. The ideal candidate brings strong financial and commercial acumen, executive presence, and the ability to influence decisions across a complex North America Retail environment spanning Brick & Mortar and eCommerce channels.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

Pricing, Contract Discipline & Margin Governance

• Lead pricing strategy, governance, and profitability management across North America Retail, including eCommerce, Brick & Mortar, and key customer portfolios.
• Establish and enforce contract and price discipline through pricing guardrails, approval frameworks, exception management, and post-audit reviews.
• Identify, quantify, and address margin leakage by customer, portfolio, product, and channel, including pricing exceptions, trade investment inefficiencies, freight impacts, deductions, and mix-related erosion.
• Partner with Sales and Leadership to recommend pricing and commercial actions that protect gross margin while maintaining competitiveness and customer relationships.
• Oversee pricing analysis and profitability modeling across prepaid vs. collect freight programs, direct import programs, promotional activity, and domestic sourcing models.
• Serve as the escalation point for significant pricing, contract, and profitability risks prior to customer commitments or renewals. Financial Planning, Customer Profitability & Actionable Insights
• Deliver clear, actionable financial insights that improve decision-making and support achievement of North America Retail P&L objectives, including eCommerce performance.
• Build visibility into margin leakage and profitability drivers by customer, portfolio, channel, and SKU to prioritize corrective actions and growth opportunities.
• Lead customer and portfolio profitability analysis, including net sales realization, promotional effectiveness, mix, freight, deductions, and cost-to-serve impacts.
• Build financial models, scenario analyses, and performance narratives that translate trends into specific business actions for commercial and executive stakeholders.
• Establish and manage reporting structures and financial views that clearly articulate North America Retail performance across Brick & Mortar, eCommerce, and related portfolio segments.
• Lead Cash Flow Initiatives such as E/O Improvements and off-price discounting to maintain/improve inventories on hand. Dashboarding & Business Intelligence
• Partner with internal teams to automate and improve reporting visibility using Qlik, Power BI, ERP systems, POS data, customer deduction data, and other commercial data sources.
• Develop executive-level dashboards that provide transparency into pricing execution, deductions and recovery, margin leakage, customer profitability, and portfolio trends.
• Standardize KPI reporting across sales, net realized revenue, gross margin, deductions, recovery rates, trade investment, freight, and marketing performance metrics.
• Support the transition from static reporting toward dynamic, real-time business intelligence tools that enable faster issue identification and action. Cross-Functional Leadership
• Serve as the senior finance partner to Sales, Marketing, Revenue Growth Management, Customer Service, Supply Chain, Operations, and Executive Leadership.
• Collaborate across cross-functional teams to generate buy-in, accountability, and action against key financial insights, trends, and performance gaps.
• Lead fact-based discussions on pricing, contract compliance, deductions, margin leakage, customer profitability, and portfolio strategy.
• Influence commercial decisions through financial storytelling, governance, and actionable recommendations that balance growth, customer relationships, and profitability.
• Support go-to-market initiatives, customer negotiations, promotional planning, assortment decisions, sourcing strategies, and portfolio reviews with clear financial leadership. Market & Category Understanding
• Develop strong understanding of consumer retail channels, industrial/distribution markets, and the competitive landscape.
• Provide financial support and recommendations related to casters, surface protection, material handling, and adjacent categories.

QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS & ABILITIES

• Demonstrated experience supporting North America Retail businesses, including eCommerce and major customer portfolios.
• Strong command of pricing strategy, contract management, margin analysis, deductions and recovery, and customer profitability analytics.
• Advanced analytical and financial modeling capabilities, with the ability to convert data into executive-level insights and business actions.
• Experience building dashboards and business intelligence tools using Qlik, Power BI, and advanced Excel.
• Proven ability to influence executive leadership and drive alignment across cross-functional teams.
• Experience working with ERP systems, POS data, large datasets, and commercial performance reporting preferred.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business, Economics, or related field required; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in commercial finance, pricing, revenue growth management, FP&A, or strategic finance roles, including meaningful leadership experience.
• - Experience within hardware, home improvement, casters, surface protection, or industrial categories preferred.
• Experience supporting Amazon, Home Depot, Lowe's, Menards, Walmart, industrial distribution, or similar channels preferred.
• Familiarity with direct import sourcing models and international supply chain economics preferred.

Exposure to private label and branded product environments preferred.