About the role
Reporting to: Chief Financial Officer
Location: Etobicoke
Department: Finance
Seniority Level: Senior Director
Position Summary
Gay Lea Foods is seeking a strategic finance leader to manage commercial finance across business units and sales, oversee enterprise-wide financial planning, and lead the Integrated Business Planning (IBP) process. This role will serve as a co-pilot to the executive team.
Key Responsibilities
Commercial Finance Leadership
- Lead a finance team supporting our Cheese, Dairy, Ingredients business units and our sales organization.
- Provide strategic support for pricing, trade investment, customer profitability, and commercial decision-making.
- Partner with sales, business unit teams, and operations to drive margin improvement and growth.
FP&A
- Lead the development of strategic financial plans, annual budgets, and rolling forecasts across.
- Drive performance management and financial insights to support executive decision-making.
- Ensure alignment of financial plans with corporate strategy and operational goals.
IBP Governance
- Serve as the enterprise-wide IBP Process Owner, responsible for governance, orchestration, and continuous improvement.
- Facilitate Management Business Reviews (MBRs), Integrated Reconciliation (IR), and other IBP steps in collaboration with functional leaders.
- Coach executive stakeholders and cross-functional teams on IBP behaviors and best practices.
Executive Partnership
- Act as a strategic co-pilot to the CFO and other members of the Gay Lea Management Team (GMT).
- Represent Finance in enterprise-wide planning and capital allocation.
- Build credibility and influence across the organization through strong stakeholder engagement and thought leadership.
Qualifications
- 15+ years of progressive finance experience, including FP&A, commercial finance, and strategic planning.
- Proven leadership in IBP or S&OP environments, preferably in CPG or manufacturing.
- Exceptional stakeholder management and communication skills.
- Deep analytical capability and business acumen.
- Recognized for cross-functional credibility and executive presence.
- Experience leading teams through transformation and change.
Preferred Attributes
- High-potential future CFO with a track record of enterprise impact.
- Ability to coach and influence at all levels of the organization.
- Strong understanding of data, systems, and digital finance tools.
- Commitment to Gay Lea’s cooperative values and long-term vision.
Gay Lea Foods is a leading Canadian dairy co-operative renowned for producing high-quality, nutritious dairy products that Canadian families love and trust. From farm to table, our 1,200 farmer members in Ontario and Manitoba, and more than 1,200 employees across four provinces, work together to nourish communities through award-winning brands including Gay Lea, Nordica, Salerno, Bothwell Cheese, and more. As part of its deeply rooted, balanced commitment to people, profit, and planet, Gay Lea Foods proudly invests one percent of pre-tax earnings back into Canadian communities through a national food security partnership with Second Harvest, and the community-building efforts of the Gay Lea Foundation. To learn more, visit gayleafoods.com.
Gay Lea Foods is an equal-opportunity employer and values diversity in our workplace.
Reasonable accommodation is available upon request throughout our recruitment and selection process.
Thank you for your interest in Gay Lea Foods.
Wishing you all the best with your career search!
About Gay Lea Foods
With our roots on the farm, Gay Lea Foods has grown to become a leader in the Canadian dairy industry and the largest dairy co-operative in Ontario, with members on 1,300 dairy farms in Ontario and Manitoba, and more than 4,200 producer and investor stakeholders. Our dedication to innovation and the development of high quality products has allowed us to respond to consumers’ evolving tastes and grow the market for Canadian cow and, more recently, goat milk. We are a Canadian success story – and that story is far from over. Moving forward, Gay Lea Foods is poised to seize and create even more opportunities for sustainable, long-term growth in the Canadian dairy industry as we expand beyond our provincial borders, grow our foods and ingredients business, and continue to invest in innovative and industry-leading products.
As much as we evolve, however, we remain a dairy co-operative, owned by dairy farmers. From our farms and production facilities, to our distribution networks and employee ideologies, we embrace and act with co-operative-inspired values, understanding there is no shortcut to quality or success. It takes commitment, passion and collaboration.
Those are the things we’re made of and we’re proud to share our story.
Just like the milk that comes from our farms, so too are Gay Lea Foods’ products and values born on the farm.
About the role
Reporting to: Chief Financial Officer
Location: Etobicoke
Department: Finance
Seniority Level: Senior Director
Position Summary
Gay Lea Foods is seeking a strategic finance leader to manage commercial finance across business units and sales, oversee enterprise-wide financial planning, and lead the Integrated Business Planning (IBP) process. This role will serve as a co-pilot to the executive team.
Key Responsibilities
Commercial Finance Leadership
- Lead a finance team supporting our Cheese, Dairy, Ingredients business units and our sales organization.
- Provide strategic support for pricing, trade investment, customer profitability, and commercial decision-making.
- Partner with sales, business unit teams, and operations to drive margin improvement and growth.
FP&A
- Lead the development of strategic financial plans, annual budgets, and rolling forecasts across.
- Drive performance management and financial insights to support executive decision-making.
- Ensure alignment of financial plans with corporate strategy and operational goals.
IBP Governance
- Serve as the enterprise-wide IBP Process Owner, responsible for governance, orchestration, and continuous improvement.
- Facilitate Management Business Reviews (MBRs), Integrated Reconciliation (IR), and other IBP steps in collaboration with functional leaders.
- Coach executive stakeholders and cross-functional teams on IBP behaviors and best practices.
Executive Partnership
- Act as a strategic co-pilot to the CFO and other members of the Gay Lea Management Team (GMT).
- Represent Finance in enterprise-wide planning and capital allocation.
- Build credibility and influence across the organization through strong stakeholder engagement and thought leadership.
Qualifications
- 15+ years of progressive finance experience, including FP&A, commercial finance, and strategic planning.
- Proven leadership in IBP or S&OP environments, preferably in CPG or manufacturing.
- Exceptional stakeholder management and communication skills.
- Deep analytical capability and business acumen.
- Recognized for cross-functional credibility and executive presence.
- Experience leading teams through transformation and change.
Preferred Attributes
- High-potential future CFO with a track record of enterprise impact.
- Ability to coach and influence at all levels of the organization.
- Strong understanding of data, systems, and digital finance tools.
- Commitment to Gay Lea’s cooperative values and long-term vision.
Gay Lea Foods is a leading Canadian dairy co-operative renowned for producing high-quality, nutritious dairy products that Canadian families love and trust. From farm to table, our 1,200 farmer members in Ontario and Manitoba, and more than 1,200 employees across four provinces, work together to nourish communities through award-winning brands including Gay Lea, Nordica, Salerno, Bothwell Cheese, and more. As part of its deeply rooted, balanced commitment to people, profit, and planet, Gay Lea Foods proudly invests one percent of pre-tax earnings back into Canadian communities through a national food security partnership with Second Harvest, and the community-building efforts of the Gay Lea Foundation. To learn more, visit gayleafoods.com.
Gay Lea Foods is an equal-opportunity employer and values diversity in our workplace.
Reasonable accommodation is available upon request throughout our recruitment and selection process.
Thank you for your interest in Gay Lea Foods.
Wishing you all the best with your career search!
About Gay Lea Foods
With our roots on the farm, Gay Lea Foods has grown to become a leader in the Canadian dairy industry and the largest dairy co-operative in Ontario, with members on 1,300 dairy farms in Ontario and Manitoba, and more than 4,200 producer and investor stakeholders. Our dedication to innovation and the development of high quality products has allowed us to respond to consumers’ evolving tastes and grow the market for Canadian cow and, more recently, goat milk. We are a Canadian success story – and that story is far from over. Moving forward, Gay Lea Foods is poised to seize and create even more opportunities for sustainable, long-term growth in the Canadian dairy industry as we expand beyond our provincial borders, grow our foods and ingredients business, and continue to invest in innovative and industry-leading products.
As much as we evolve, however, we remain a dairy co-operative, owned by dairy farmers. From our farms and production facilities, to our distribution networks and employee ideologies, we embrace and act with co-operative-inspired values, understanding there is no shortcut to quality or success. It takes commitment, passion and collaboration.
Those are the things we’re made of and we’re proud to share our story.
Just like the milk that comes from our farms, so too are Gay Lea Foods’ products and values born on the farm.