VP Finance – Manufacturing & Growth
Progressive Industrial Fluids Ltd.
London, Ontario | On-Site | Full-Time, Permanent
Compensation: $130,000–$140,000+ base, depending on experience, plus performance incentive
We're Not Looking for Someone to Manage the Books. We're Looking for Someone to Help Build the Company.
Progressive Industrial Fluids is looking for an exceptional VP Finance to join our leadership team and help take our company through its next stage of growth.
This is not a traditional Controller position.
What we need now is a financial leader who can take ownership of the finance function and help build the financial infrastructure required to grow a manufacturing company to two, three and ultimately four times its current size.
We are looking for the candidate who stands out from the crowd — someone who sees finance as far more than reporting what happened last month.
We want someone who can help determine what happens next.
The Opportunity
Progressive Industrial Fluids is a Canadian-owned manufacturer of specialty lubricants, metalworking fluids, stamping compounds and industrial chemical solutions.
For nearly two decades, we have built our business by helping manufacturers improve processes, lower total operating costs and solve difficult production problems.
We have invested heavily in the foundation required for our next stage of growth:
- Modern ERP infrastructure through Odoo
- Expanded manufacturing capabilities
- In-house laboratory and technical services
- Documented processes and workflows
- Improved product costing and operational data
- An established customer base across industrial manufacturing
- A strategy to significantly expand our Canadian business and enter key U.S. manufacturing markets
The opportunity ahead of us is considerably larger than the company we are today.
The question is how we build the financial organization capable of supporting that growth.
That is where you come in.
Your Mandate
As VP Finance, you will become the senior internal financial leader of the company.
You will work directly with ownership, our leadership team to strengthen the financial foundation of the business while helping shape where we go next.
Your responsibility will extend well beyond accounting.
You will help us answer questions such as:
How much capital will our growth require?
How do we finance inventory and working capital as the company scales?
Which products, customers and markets generate the strongest returns?
Where are we deploying capital effectively — and where are we not?
How should we measure performance across sales territories, product lines and future locations?
What financial systems and controls need to exist at twice our current size? At four times our current size?
How do we grow aggressively without losing financial discipline?
We want someone capable of turning financial information into business decisions.
What You Will Lead
Financial Strategy & Leadership
Own the company's internal finance function and become a key financial partner to ownership and senior leadership.
Develop financial models supporting our long-term growth strategy, capital requirements, expansion plans and major investments.
Translate financial performance into clear recommendations and actions.
Build the financial roadmap required to support a significantly larger organization.
Cash Flow, Capital & Working Capital
Working capital is critical in manufacturing.
You will lead:
- Cash-flow forecasting
- Inventory investment analysis
- Accounts receivable strategy
- Accounts payable and supplier-term optimization
- Banking and lender reporting
- Capital expenditure analysis
- Financing requirements
- Scenario and sensitivity modelling
We want someone who understands that growth consumes cash before it produces cash — and knows how to plan for it.
Manufacturing & Operational Finance
You must be comfortable getting out from behind the financial statements and understanding how the business actually operates.
You will develop deeper visibility into:
- Raw-material costs
- Product costing
- Inventory turns
- Labour and manufacturing overhead
- Gross-margin performance
- Customer profitability
- Product-line profitability
- Pricing decisions
- Production efficiency
- Capital investment returns
Our finance leader needs to understand the connection between what happens on the plant floor and what ultimately appears on the financial statements.
Forecasting & Business Intelligence
Build forward-looking financial tools that help leadership make decisions.
This includes:
- Annual budgets
- Rolling forecasts
- Cash-flow projections
- KPI dashboards
- Margin analysis
- Customer and product profitability
- Working-capital metrics
- Growth scenarios
- Capital planning
We don't simply want to know what happened.
We want finance helping us understand what is likely to happen next and what we should do about it.
ERP, Systems & Data
Our ERP platform is Odoo.
You will take ownership of financial data integrity and help continue developing the reporting and business intelligence capabilities of the organization.
Technology should reduce administrative work and give management better information.
You will help ensure that our systems scale with the business rather than become an obstacle to growth.
Build the Finance Team
As the company grows, the finance department must grow with it.
You will evaluate responsibilities, develop people, establish accountability and determine what the finance organization should look like at the next stage of the company.
You will be expected to lead, mentor and build a team — not simply perform the work yourself.
Who We're Looking For
We are deliberately looking for an uncommon candidate.
You may currently be a:
- VP Finance
- Director of Finance
- Senior Controller ready for a larger mandate
- Divisional Finance Leader
- Plant/Manufacturing Finance Leader
- Finance executive from a privately held or entrepreneurial company
Your title matters less than what you have actually accomplished.
Ideally, you have experienced a company going through meaningful growth and understand the difference between maintaining an established finance department and building one for scale.
You Should Bring
- Significant progressive financial leadership experience
- Strong manufacturing finance experience
- Deep understanding of working capital, inventory and cash flow
- Strong cost-accounting and margin-analysis capabilities
- Experience with budgeting, forecasting and financial modelling
- Experience working with banks, lenders and external financial partners
- Strong ERP and data-analysis capabilities
- Experience building or improving financial systems and controls
- The ability to communicate financial information clearly to non-financial leaders
- Demonstrated leadership of accounting or finance professionals
A CPA designation is strongly preferred, but accomplishments, leadership ability and manufacturing experience will carry significant weight.
The Person We're Looking For
You are probably not looking for a comfortable accounting job.
You want to build something.
You challenge assumptions.
You ask why.
You understand both the balance sheet and the factory floor.
You can move comfortably between a detailed costing problem and a five-year strategic discussion.
You recognize problems before they become crises.
You are comfortable disagreeing respectfully with ownership when the numbers support your position.
You understand that leadership means developing people, creating accountability and making difficult decisions.
Most importantly, you want your work to have a visible impact on the company you help build.
What Success Looks Like
During your first 12–18 months, we expect you to:
- Establish a disciplined forecasting and cash-management process
- Significantly improve management reporting and financial visibility
- Strengthen product, customer and market profitability analysis
- Improve working-capital management
- Develop stronger inventory and cash-conversion metrics
- Strengthen banking and lender reporting
- Build financial models supporting Canadian and U.S. expansion
- Improve ERP utilization and financial data integrity
- Develop the finance team and clarify responsibilities
- Build the financial infrastructure capable of supporting a company several times our current size
Why Join Progressive Industrial Fluids?
This is an opportunity to join an established Canadian manufacturer at an important point in its development.
The foundation has been built.
The market opportunity exists.
The growth strategy is taking shape.
Now we need the financial leadership capable of helping us execute it.
For the right person, this is an opportunity to become an important member of the senior leadership team and help shape the next chapter of the company.
We aren't looking for someone who wants to inherit a finished finance department.
We're looking for someone who wants to build one.
Compensation & Benefits
- Competitive executive-level base salary based on experience
- Performance-based incentive opportunity
- RRSP matching program
- Comprehensive health, dental and vision benefits
- Paid vacation
- Company events
- On-site parking
Location: London, Ontario
Work Environment: 100% on-site
Employment: Full-time, permanent
Pay: $130,000.00-$140,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Dental care
- On-site parking
- RRSP match
Work Location: In person