Commercial Finance Manager – Strategic Partnerships

Build your career at Sazerac! With almost 400 years of rich history, Sazerac Company has thrived as an independent, American family-owned company with operations in the United States and around the world. Since the 2000s, Sazerac has averaged double digit growth every year! Sazerac Company produces and markets the most award-winning bourbons and whiskeys in the world, including Buffalo Trace, Pappy Van Winkle, Eagle Rare, Blanton’s, and Sazerac Rye. Additionally, Sazerac owns many popular brands across a range of spirits, including Fireball, Southern Comfort, Seagram’s V.O., Myers’s, Goldschläger, Parrot Bay, 99 Brand, and Platinum Vodka. 

We’re proud of our award-winning culture and distilleries. Our Louisville office has been named one of the “Best Places to Work in Kentucky” four times, and our Buffalo Trace Distillery has earned the title of “world’s most award-winning distillery” through the dedication of our craftsmen for well over 200 years. Whether you’re a recent graduate or an experienced professional, Sazerac provides extraordinary opportunities for growth with competitive salaries and benefits in an exciting, entrepreneurial industry.

Bio

The Commercial Finance Manager – Strategic Partnerships plays a key role in driving insight-based decision-making to accelerate volume, revenue & profit growth for Sazerac’s U.S. business. This position will oversee financial performance management for Sazerac’s agency brand portfolio, ensuring the company and its supplier partners deliver sustainable growth and strong financial results.  They will serve as a strategic business partner to Sales, and work cross functionally with Marketing, Finance, Operations, and IT.

Key Responsibilities:

Agency Brand Financial Performance

• Serve as the primary financial liaison for Sazerac’s agency brand suppliers, overseeing performance management, P&L delivery, budget management and alignment to commercial goals.
• Lead the financial preparation and performance analysis for Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) and Annual Business Reviews (ABRs) with agency partners.
• Develop standardized reporting templates to ensure consistent communication of brand performance, spend effectiveness, pricing trends, and execution metrics.
• Ensure compliance with all Agency partner agreements
• Present insights and recommendations to both internal stakeholders and supplier partners, highlighting opportunities to optimize growth, mix, and margin.
• Partner with Trade Marketing and Sales teams to evaluate and optimize state-level spending by brand, assessing the impact of:
• Discounting / Depletion Allowances (DA)
• Promotional activities
• POS spend
• Trade activation and consumer sampling
• Identify and communicate opportunities to reallocate funds toward higher-performing programs and markets.

Financial Planning, Budgeting & Forecasting

• Lead development of the annual operating plan (AOP) and Risk/Opportunities throughout the year for agency brands, ensuring alignment with Sazerac’s overall financial targets and strategic direction.
• Partner with Ops Finance to identify and execute cost savings initiatives across freight, logistics, and COGS.
• Manage AMP budgets in partnership with Trade Marketing & Sales teams, ensuring compliance with agency partner agreements
• Deliver timely and accurate financial reports, dashboards, and analytics to drive accountability and visibility across the business.

Commercial Insight & P&L Management

• Drive a performance culture through active ownership of P&Ls, focusing on sales, gross profit, marketing spend, and operating income.
• Analyze commercial trends (pricing, mix, channel, and geography) to identify opportunities to improve profit and eliminate inefficient spend.
• Provide financial leadership to new brand development (NBD) and commercial innovation initiatives, supporting business cases and post-launch performance tracking.

Process Excellence & Controls

• Lead efforts to simplify, standardize, and improve financial processes, tools, and reporting to enable faster, more transparent decision-making.
• Ensure strong internal controls, compliance, and alignment with company policies and finance procedures.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to enhance chargeback management, trade spend governance, and commercial reporting accuracy.

Strategic Projects & Continuous Improvement

• Play a key role in developing annual and long-range strategic plans to drive Sazerac’s financial performance.
• Support the implementation of new systems, tools, and automation initiatives to improve efficiency and data accuracy.
• Lead or contribute to ad hoc financial projects and strategic initiatives as required

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or related field required; MBA or CPA preferred.
• 7+ years of progressive experience in Commercial Finance, FP&A, or Business Partnering, ideally within the CPG or Beverage Alcohol industry.
• Strong understanding of spend management, pricing strategy, and brand-level P&L performance.
• Experience managing external supplier or agency relationships preferred.

Skills & Competencies

• Advanced analytical, modeling, and data management skills with proficiency in Excel, Power BI, and ERP systems (Oracle or similar).
• Proven ability to translate financial data into actionable business insights.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, including comfort presenting to senior leadership and external partners.
• Collaborative, proactive, and solutions-oriented mindset.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

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