Value Creation Business Partner- Spend Better (Project role) at Mars, USA-Illinois-Chicago

Value Creation Business Partner- Spend Better (Project role) at Mars in USA-Illinois-Chicago. Full-time. $153,600 to $211,200 a year. Apply with swipeandhired.

The Business Partner, Value Creation is a key member of the Integration Management Office (IMO) Value Creation team, reporting to the Value Creation Lead. The role serves as the primary value creation partner to assigned functions, regions, and integration workstreams, helping teams identify, quantify, track, and realize synergy commitments.

The Spend Better program is a critical pillar of the global Synergy program, focused on unlocking sustainable cost savings and productivity across the end-to-end value chain. Spend Better encompasses a broad range of value-creation opportunities, with an elevated emphasis on Directs (Direct Materials, Packaging, Recipe & Formulation, and Design-to-Value) alongside manufacturing productivity, network optimization, logistics efficiency, travel and overhead optimization, and other structural cost-reduction initiatives.

We are looking for a highly commercially oriented Finance Business Partner to partner the global Spend Better program and drive greater rigor, pace and intensity in delivering value. This role will operate at the intersection of Finance, Procurement, R&D, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Marketing and other functional teams. The successful candidate will work with senior stakeholders globally while partnering closely with Finance Business Partners across regions and functions.

The role requires someone who can identify opportunities, challenge assumptions, translate operational opportunities into financial value, and ensure that savings are both delivered and sustained.

What are we looking for?

• 10+ years of progressive Finance experience, ideally with significant experience in cost transformation, productivity, value creation or performance improvement.

• Demonstrated experience across the Directs ecosystem— encompassing direct materials procurement finance, raw & packaging materials, R&D/formulation optimization, Design-to-Value (DtV), and Bill of Materials (BOM) cost architecture.

• Substantial background in Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), Food & Beverage, or FMCG manufacturing environments where recipe, packaging, and factory conversion are central to cost structures.

• Demonstrated experience translating operational productivity opportunities into validated, sustainable financial savings, with a strong understanding of manufacturing cost drivers and the ability to distinguish structural savings from volume, mix, inflation, FX and other financial effects.
• Experience operating in large, complex, multinational organizations is strongly preferred.

Technical / Commercial Capability:

• End-to-End Directs & Manufacturing Economics: Strong grasp of recipe costing, ingredient functionality trade-offs, packaging specifications, yield/scrap dynamics, and conversion economics.
• Cost Engineering & DtV Acumen: Familiarity with teardowns, Design-to-Value principles, clean-sheet pricing, and supplier margin analysis.
• Financial Modeling & Valuation: High proficiency in complex business cases, discounted cash flows, switchover investment paybacks, and synergy stage-gate tracking.
• Financial Control & Accounting: Deep understanding of COGS, standard costing variance (purchase price variance, usage variance), P&L flow-through, and inventory valuation.
• Analytical Precision: Ability to distill massive datasets across ERP systems and bill of materials into clear financial drivers and actionable business decisions.

Leadership & Behavioral Capabilities:

• Commercial & Technical Co-Pilot: Operates with a growth and value-creation mindset; understands the operational levers behind the numbers.
• Constructive Challenger: Confident in probing assumptions made by both procurement buyers and technical developers to ensure targets are robust.
• Navigating Ambiguity: Thrives in dynamic, fast-paced integration environments, balancing strategic vision with granular operational execution.
• Influencing Without Authority: Exceptional interpersonal skills to mobilize cross-functional global partners who do not report directly to this position.
• Clarity of Communication: Exceptional storytelling and synthesis skills, simplifying technical and financial complexities for senior executive audiences.

What will be your key responsibilities?

1. Drive the Global Spend Better Agenda:

• Act as the primary Finance Business Partner to the global Spend Better program.
• Partner with the Spend Better team to translate overall synergy ambition into actionable, prioritized portfolio of initiatives across both commercial directs (e.g., strategic sourcing, supplier terms, clean-sheet costing) and technical/operational directs (e.g., recipe reformulations, ingredient harmonization, specification optimization, lightweighting, and scrap/yield improvement).
• Drive urgency, accountability and transparency across the global program.
• Challenge the organization to identify additional opportunities and accelerate delivery.
• Establish a consistent global approach to identifying, quantifying and tracking value creation.

1. Identify, Evaluate and Quantify Value Creation Opportunities:

• Partner with Supply Chain, Manufacturing, R&D, Procurement, Marketing and other functions to identify cost-reduction and productivity opportunities.
• Assess opportunities through a rigorous financial and operational lens, including cost drivers, baseline economics, implementation requirements and risks.
• Translate operational initiatives such as formulation changes, packaging redesign, manufacturing productivity, logistics optimization and Design-to-Value into measurable financial outcomes.
• Champion Design-to-Value (DtV) and total cost of ownership (TCO) frameworks, converting technical and operational proposals into verified financial value.

• Rigorously stress test business cases to ensure that reported savings represent true economic value rather than timing, volume, mix or accounting effects.

• Help teams prioritize initiatives based on value, feasibility, speed and sustainability.

1. Establish Savings Rigor and Governance:

• Define and embed robust methodologies for establishing baselines, calculating savings and measuring financial impact.
• Create clear distinction between identified, validated, implemented and realized savings.
• Ensure initiatives are appropriately reflected in financial forecasts and actual results.
• Partner with regional and functional Finance teams to reconcile initiative-level savings to P&L and other financial measures.
• Identify gaps between operational savings claims and financial outcomes and drive resolution.
• Establish mechanisms to prevent double counting and ensure clear ownership of benefits.

1. Performance Management and Executive Visibility:

• Develop a fact-based view of Spend Better performance across regions, functions and initiatives.
• Build dashboards and management routines that highlight delivery versus ambition, risks, opportunities and required interventions.
• Provide insightful analysis to senior leadership and governance forums.
• Surface emerging risks early and work with initiative owners to develop recovery plans.
• Prepare high-quality financial and business insights for SteerCo and other senior leadership discussions.

1. Partner Across a Complex Global Organization:

• Work closely with Finance Business Partners across regions and functions, ensuring alignment between global program governance and local execution.
• Build strong relationships with senior stakeholders across Supply Chain, Procurement, R&D, Manufacturing, Marketing and Finance.
• Influence without direct authority and drive consistency across a highly matrixed organization.
• Share best practices and replicate successful value-creation initiatives across markets and categories.

What can you expect from Mars?

• Work with over 130,000 diverse and talented Associates, all guided by The Five Principles.
• Join a purpose driven company, where we’re striving to build the world we want tomorrow, today.
• Best-in-class learning and development support from day one, including access to our in-house Mars University.
• An industry competitive salary and benefits package, including company bonus.

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The base pay range for this position at commencement of employment is between the range listed below, however, base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including but not limited to job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The total compensation package for this position will include variable pay, medical and dental benefits, participation in 401k plan, and paid time off benefits. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an applicant receives an offer of employment.

The pay range shown is applicable to all US locations listed within the job posting:USD 153,600.00 - USD 211,200.00