Director of Finance & Strategic Planning

Job DetailsJob Location: Sandy Pine - Ainsworth, NE - Ainsworth, NE 69210Education Level: Bachelors Degree (4-Year College)Travel Percentage: Up to 25%Job Shift: Day (1st Shift)Job Category: FinanceDIRECTOR OF FINANCE & STRATEGIC PLANNING

We are seeking an accomplished financial leader to join our privately held, multi-faceted agricultural organization in Nebraska. This is a highly visible role working directly with ownership and executive leadership to help shape the financial direction and long-term strategy of the organization.

We are looking for more than someone who can accurately report financial results. We are seeking someone who can interpret those results, understand the business behind them, anticipate what lies ahead, and provide thoughtful, independent recommendations about where we should go next.

Position Location: Ainsworth, Nebraska or Valentine, Nebraska

THE OPPORTUNITY

The Director of Finance & Strategic Planning will serve as a trusted financial advisor to ownership and executive leadership, providing the analysis, perspective, and financial discipline necessary to support significant business decisions.

This individual will help evaluate questions such as:

• How should we allocate capital to generate the greatest long-term value?

• When does it make sense to reduce debt—and when is capital better deployed elsewhere?

• Which expansion opportunities, acquisitions, investments, or new ventures warrant further consideration?

• Where are our strongest opportunities to improve profitability and return on invested capital?

• What financial or operational trends deserve leadership’s attention?

• How should changing interest rates, market conditions, industry dynamics, and business risks influence our strategy?

• What opportunities or risks might we be overlooking?

The expectation is not simply to provide analysis. We want someone capable of developing a point of view, making a recommendation, and clearly explaining the reasoning behind it.

KEY AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

Strategic Financial Leadership

Partner with ownership and executive leadership on financial strategy, long-range planning, capital allocation, growth opportunities, and major investment decisions.
Evaluate potential acquisitions, expansions, new business ventures, real estate, capital projects, financing alternatives, and other investment opportunities through rigorous financial and risk analysis.
Develop scenario models and forward-looking analysis to help leadership understand potential outcomes before significant capital is committed.

Business & Performance Analysis

Develop a deep understanding of the organization and the operational factors that drive financial performance.
Translate financial and operational information into meaningful insights regarding profitability, cost structure, cash flow, return on capital, and business performance.
Identify trends, risks, and opportunities and bring recommendations to leadership proactively rather than waiting to be asked.
Partner with operational leaders to understand not simply what changed, but why it changed and what actions should follow.

Financial Planning & Capital Management

Lead budgeting, forecasting, cash-flow planning, liquidity management, and long-range financial planning.
Evaluate debt structure, financing alternatives, interest-rate exposure, and the appropriate balance between debt reduction, liquidity, reinvestment, and other uses of capital.
Maintain productive relationships with banks, lenders, investment professionals, CPAs, tax and estate-planning advisors, attorneys, and other external partners.

Financial Infrastructure & Information

Maintain strong oversight of the organization’s financial reporting and accounting function while ensuring leadership receives accurate, timely, and decision-useful information.
Continue developing the organization’s financial infrastructure, reporting capabilities, and use of technology.
Our organization has invested in Oracle NetSuite, Coupa, Easy Automation, PigFlow, PigKNOWS, and other specialized systems. The successful candidate will help us evaluate how effectively we are utilizing these resources and identify opportunities to better integrate, automate, and translate information into actionable insight.
Specific system experience is not required. We are interested in someone who understands how technology and data can strengthen financial management and business decision-making.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

Success in this position extends well beyond accurate financial reporting.

Over time, we expect this individual to become a trusted financial voice within the organization—someone ownership and leadership rely upon when evaluating important decisions.

The successful individual will:

 
Understand how the organization creates value and where that value is being gained or lost.
Bring forward opportunities and concerns before they become obvious.
Provide clear, objective analysis of major investments and strategic decisions.
Establish a disciplined framework for evaluating competing uses of capital.
Strengthen forecasting and give leadership greater visibility into future financial performance and liquidity.
Connect operational performance with financial outcomes.
Continually improve the quality, accessibility, and usefulness of financial information.
Develop an independent point of view and have the confidence to respectfully challenge assumptions—including those of ownership.
Help leadership distinguish between opportunities that are simply interesting and those that truly create long-term value.

Most importantly, this person will help us move from asking:

“What happened?” to “Why did it happen, what does it mean, and what should we do next?”QualificationsTHE INDIVIDUAL WE ARE LOOKING FOR

We are looking for a sophisticated financial professional with strong business judgment, intellectual curiosity, and an ownership mindset.

The right individual:

 
Thinks strategically and understands the relationship between risk, return, liquidity, leverage, and growth.
Is naturally curious and asks thoughtful questions.
Is comfortable forming an independent opinion and defending it with sound analysis.
Has the confidence to respectfully disagree with ownership or executive leadership when the facts support a different conclusion.
Balances financial discipline with an entrepreneurial perspective.
Understands that the lowest-risk decision is not necessarily the best business decision.
Can distill complex financial information into clear, concise recommendations.
Looks beyond financial statements to understand the underlying operation.
Is proactive, highly accountable, and comfortable operating with a high degree of autonomy.
Demonstrates exceptional integrity, discretion, professionalism, and judgment.

EXPERIENCE

We are open to candidates from a variety of industries and backgrounds.

Experience within agriculture, livestock production, manufacturing, food production, multi-location operations, family-owned enterprises, or other capital-intensive businesses would be particularly valuable.

Strong candidates will bring meaningful experience in areas such as:

 
Corporate finance and financial planning
Capital allocation and investment analysis
Forecasting and financial modeling
Cash-flow and liquidity management
Debt and banking relationships
Business-case development
Operational and profitability analysis
ERP and financial reporting environments
Executive-level financial communication

CPA, CMA, and/or MBA credentials are valued, but business judgment, analytical capability, and demonstrated financial leadership are more important to us than credentials alone. Competitive executive-level compensation with performance-based incentive.

For the right individual, this is an opportunity to have a meaningful voice in the financial direction of an established organization and to work directly with ownership on decisions that will shape its future.

If this opportunity aligns with your experience—or brings to mind an exceptional financial leader in your network—we welcome a confidential conversation.