First Solar reserves the right to offer you a role most applicable to your experience and skillset.
Basic Job Functions:
This person will be responsible for Operations Finance continuous improvements (CI) that are highly impacted by IT, business as well as finance team operational gaps, and will operate as a lead analyst and project leader for change management, process, and technology CI initiatives. This role will work with the Manufacturing Finance team leaders and members to develop a roadmap of identified and prioritized CI projects. The role will interact with and influence cross functional peers across First Solar to aid with root cause analysis in identified CI projects and or broken processes and help them define and track against financial/internal control KPIs. This person will also be responsible for working with Finance IT managers and analysts on continuous finance system implementations/improvements.
Education/Experience:
- Bachelor's degree in a related technical or business field, plus a minimum of ten (10) years of experience in Operations Finance and Process Improvement functions
- Lean or Six Sigma certification preferred.
- 10+ years of operations finance, project management, management consulting, and/or process improvement experience, preferably in manufacturing, sourcing, and procurement
- Strong familiarity with Oracle and/or other supply chain and manufacturing cloud solutions
- Experience working with supply and replenishment planning based on inventory levels, system inputs and supplementary data coming from cross functional teams desired.
- Experience working with a global organization including familiarity with global compliance & regulations impacting inventory management and revenue recognition desired.
- Demonstrated leadership skills in cross functional collaboration, facilitating meetings, identifying / tracking risks and mitigation plans, cost benefit analysis & delivering results.
- Ability to find, gather, clean up and analyze data from various sources.
- Ability to identify gaps in processes or reporting that needs to be addressed.
- The candidate must be able to work independently across functions and at multiple levels.
- Demonstrated ability to lead change initiatives and drive process excellence.
- Demonstrated ability to make a significant change in a variety of environments with multiple learning experiences.
- Strong capability to coach and mentor both functionally and cross functionally
- Strong success record of working in a matrix environment with a focus on building relationships and driving improvements.
Required Skills/Competencies:
- Track record of driving solutions to assigned tasks utilizing a proactive approach to problem solving.
- Track record of achieving results in challenging assignments.
- Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills, including presentation planning and delivery skills.
- Strong organizational skills with project planning, program management expertise
- Demonstrated ability to manage and motivate others to accomplish objectives and gain desired results.
- Demonstrated ability to build collaborative strategic alliances with a good balance of strategic thinking and operational execution.
- Knowledge of continuous improvement, project management, operations finance, and financial compliance
- Proficient use of all Microsoft Office suite programs
- Knowledge of Oracle and/or other ERP system functionality
Essential Responsibilities:
- Work with Manufacturing Finance team leaders/members and drive the process for identifying, aggregating, and prioritizing CI projects that are most impactful for overall business and finance team operational excellence goals, for three-month, half-year, one-year, two-year and longer terms.
- Partner with US Supply Chain, Manufacturing Org, IT, and other functions necessary, understand the problems from their perspectives and arrive at root causes for CI projects identified and prioritized.
- Partner with APAC Supply Chain, Manufacturing Org, IT, and other relevant functions and learn their cross-functional best practices.
- Advise and help business partners on identifying and building financial/internal control KPIs for each CI project, work relentlessly towards the KPI targets to ensure project/program success. Ensure all projects are properly documented against KPIs.
- Serve as a change facilitator, collaborate with cross functional business leaders, and drive sustainable corrective actions. The key is to influence and have the business leaders understand that this role helps them do their job more effectively and guide them more straight towards both the right financial and compliance outcome.
- Develop a communication, team building and management cadence that will promote CI success. Help all stakeholders understand that in CI, as we approach the answers, more questions will arise. Effectively handle difficult and complicated process/data issues.
- Ability to understand risks and to devise practical and effective ways to embed compliance and risk management into routine activities and processes.
- Adheres to all safety procedures and good housekeeping standards.
- Performs other duties as assigned.
- Job description subject to change at any time
Reporting Relationships:
- This position will be responsible for interacting and collaborating with peers within the executional teams of the Manufacturing Finance, Integrated Supply Chain, Manufacturing Org, IT, and other key functional groups within First Solar.
- This is an individual contributor role.
Travel:
Estimated Annual Salary Range:
US Physical Requirements:
Office Physical Requirements:
All positions in our office require interaction with people and technology while either standing or sitting. To best service our customers, internal and external, all associates must be able to communicate face-to-face and on the phone with or without reasonable accommodation. First Solar is committed to compliance with its obligations under all applicable state and federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. In keeping with this commitment, it attempts to reasonably accommodate applicants and employees in accordance with the requirements of the disability discrimination laws. It also invites individuals with disabilities to participate in a good faith, interactive process to identify reasonable accommodations that can be made without imposing an undue hardship.
Equal Opportunity Employer Statement: First Solar is an Equal Opportunity Employer that values and respects the importance of a diverse and inclusive workforce. It is the policy of the company to recruit, hire, train and promote persons in all job titles without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity. We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a driving force in the success of our company.