Senior Finance Director, Laboratory Chemicals Division

Work Schedule

Standard (Mon-Fri)

Environmental Conditions

Office

Job Description

As part of the Thermo Fisher Scientific team, you’ll do meaningful work that makes a positive impact on a global scale. Join our colleagues in bringing our Mission to life by enabling our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. We provide our global teams with opportunities to achieve their career goals while taking science a step beyond through solutions to some of the world’s toughest challenges—from protecting the environment and ensuring food safety to advancing the search for cures for cancer.

Position Summary

The Senior Finance Director, Laboratory Chemicals Division serves as the strategic finance leader for a $600M+ Division within the Laboratory Products Group focused on essential laboratory chemicals products and solutions. This role is a key member of the divisional leadership team and partners closely with the President, Business Unit GMs and cross-functional leaders in Commercial, Operations, Supply Chain, Sourcing, Quality, HR and IT to drive profitable growth, optimize margin, improve cash flow, and support strategic decision-making across commercial, operational, and innovation priorities. As a member of the divisional leadership team, this leader is expected to take ownership for the overall performance of the business.

The ideal candidate combines strong financial leadership with business acumen, operational rigor, ownership mindset and the ability to influence at the Group and Company leadership team level. This leader will own all aspects of finance for the business, including planning, forecasting, performance management, pricing, capital allocation, investment analysis, and financial controls, while building a high-performing finance organization that enables growth and operational excellence. The successful candidate will have a deep understanding of the underlying commercial and operational drivers of the business and the ability to anticipate risks and opportunities before they impact performance.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Finance Leadership

• Serve as the lead finance partner to the President and divisional leadership team for the Laboratory Chemicals Division and share ownership for delivering the Division's overall business and financial commitments.

• Shape and influence business strategy by providing financial insights on growth opportunities, portfolio decisions, pricing, productivity, and resource allocation.

• Drive long-range planning and strategic initiatives that support revenue growth, margin expansion, and improved return on investment.

• Translate market, customer, and operational trends into actionable business recommendations and proactively bring forward a point of view on actions required to improve business performance.

Business Performance Management

• Lead the annual operating plan, monthly forecasting, and long-range planning processes for the $600M+ Division.

• Drive a rigorous, bottom-up forecasting process with a granular understanding of performance, assumptions, risks, and opportunities by business and site.

• Provide clear, timely, and actionable analysis of revenue, gross margin, operating expenses, working capital, and cash flow performance.

• Develop a deep understanding of the cost base and operational drivers, including manufacturing and COGS performance by site, to improve predictability and financial performance.

• Establish robust KPI reporting and business review rhythms to improve visibility, accountability, and decision-making.

• Partner with business leaders to identify risks and opportunities and implement corrective actions to deliver commitments including anticipating emerging risks and opportunities, "look around corners," and enable the leadership team to take action before issues impact business results.

Commercial and Pricing Finance

• Partner with commercial and marketing leadership on pricing strategy, customer and channel profitability, sales performance analytics, and revenue growth management.

• Develop strong commercial acumen through active engagement with commercial teams, customers, and markets to understand the drivers of growth and profitability.

• Evaluate growth investments, go-to-market initiatives, customer programs, and commercial productivity to ensure strong returns.

• Support product portfolio decisions through analysis of mix, margin, lifecycle, and regional/customer trends.

Operations and Supply Chain Finance

• Partner with operations, supply chain, sourcing, and manufacturing leaders to improve productivity, inventory performance, and cost competitiveness.

• Develop deep first-hand knowledge of site operations and translate operational performance into financial insights and actions.

• Provide financial leadership on manufacturing efficiency, standard costing, absorption, procurement savings, freight, and supply chain optimization.

• Take an active leadership role in identifying and executing margin improvement and productivity initiatives, with clear accountability for measurable financial outcomes.

• Support capital planning and investment decisions for capacity expansion, automation, network changes, and operational improvements.

Financial Governance and Controls

• Ensure sound financial controls, compliance, and disciplined financial processes across the business.

• Oversee monthly and quarterly close activities in partnership with corporate finance and controllership.

• Maintain strong governance over forecasting assumptions, investment approvals, and financial reporting accuracy.

• Ensure compliance with company policies, accounting standards, and internal control requirements.

Team Leadership

• Lead, develop, and inspire a high-performing finance team across the finance function.

• Build organizational capability, strengthen succession pipelines, and foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

• Coach finance talent to operate as business partners and trusted advisors to functional leaders  

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or related field.

• 10+ years of progressive finance leadership experience, including significant experience supporting a manufacturing business.

• Prior experience leading finance for a sizable business, business unit, or region with complex P&L responsibility.

• Strong background in FP&A, business partnering, commercial finance, and operational finance.

• Demonstrated success partnering with senior business leaders to drive profitable growth and performance improvement.

• Strong analytical and financial modeling capabilities, with the ability to convert data into strategic insights.

• Experience leading teams and developing talent across multiple finance disciplines.

• Strong executive communication skills, with the ability to distill complex financial, operational, and strategic issues into clear, concise recommendations for senior executives and cross-functional leaders.

Preferred Qualifications

• MBA, CPA, CMA, or equivalent advanced qualification.

• Experience in life sciences, laboratory products, medical devices, diagnostics, consumables, or industrial/manufacturing environments.

• Experience in a global, matrixed organization.

• Knowledge of ERP and planning systems such as SAP, Oracle, Hyperion, or similar tools.

• Familiarity with pricing analytics, portfolio management, and manufacturing cost accounting.

Leadership Competencies

• Strategic mindset with strong commercial orientation

• Ownership mindset and accountability for overall business performance

• Ability to influence and challenge constructively at the executive level

• Strong business judgment and decision support capability

• Ability to anticipate risks and opportunities and translate insights into action

• Deep operational curiosity and willingness to engage directly with sites, customers, and the business

• Operational discipline and bias for action

• Talent development and team leadership

• High integrity and commitment to financial rigor

Why This Role Matters

This is a highly visible leadership role with direct impact on the performance and strategic direction of a $600M Laboratory Chemicals Division. The Senior Finance Director will play a central role in helping the business scale profitably, make disciplined investment decisions, and strengthen financial performance in a dynamic, growth-oriented environment. The role requires a finance leader who operates as a business leader—taking ownership for performance, bringing transparency and predictability to the P&L, and actively helping shape and execute the actions required to improve the business.

Travel requirements
• 15% domestic/international travel required

Compensation and Benefits

The salary range estimated for this position based in New Jersey is $192,700.00–$256,900.00.

This position may also be eligible to receive a variable annual bonus based on company, team, and/or individual performance results in accordance with company policy. We offer a comprehensive Total Rewards package that our U.S. colleagues and their families can count on, which includes:

• A choice of national medical and dental plans, and a national vision plan, including health incentive programs

• Employee assistance and family support programs, including commuter benefits and tuition reimbursement

• At least 120 hours paid time off (PTO), 10 paid holidays annually, paid parental leave (3 weeks for bonding and 8 weeks for caregiver leave), accident and life insurance, and short- and long-term disability in accordance with company policy

• Retirement and savings programs, such as our competitive 401(k) U.S. retirement savings plan

• Employees’ Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) offers eligible colleagues the opportunity to purchase company stock at a discount

For more information on our benefits, please visit: https://jobs.thermofisher.com/global/en/total-rewards