Senior Financial Partner - Transportation - Canadian National Railway Company

Hiring Salary Range : 102,000.00 - 134,000.00

This range represents the hiring range. Salaries are determined individually depending on skills and experience. You will also be eligible to an annual bonus, employee share investment program (ESIP), Pension, Benefits, Railroad Retirement Benefits (RRB) and other perks.

At CN, everyday brings new and exciting challenges. You can expect an interesting environment where you’re part of making sure our business is running optimally and safely―helping keep the economy on track. We provide the kind of paid training and opportunities that long-term careers are built on and we recognize hard workers who strive to make a difference. You will be able to thrive in our close-knit, safety-focused culture working together as ONE TEAM. The careers we offer are meaningful because the work we do matters. Join us!

Job Summary 

The Senior Financial Partner – Transportation is responsible for overseeing Operating and Special Capital budgets for all levels of Transportation management. The role acts as a trusted Business Advisor and a point of contact for financial services. The position develops strong relationships with stakeholders and budget owners to remain informed about their work and needs. The incumbent instills and maintains a culture of ongoing communication between Finance and Operations.  The role also cultivates a culture of cost consciousness, control, simplification, and continuous improvement. The position prepares budgets and forecasts, as well as promotes understanding of budget issues by creating meaningful segmentation of the Operating budgets. The incumbent supports the functional leadership team with key financial insights and operational analytics. The role identifies, understands, and addresses deviations from the plan, drives immediate action when needed, and promotes behavioural change. 

Main Responsibilities 

Manage Budgeting and Planning Processes

• Provide complete end-to-end financial support by planning, budgeting, monitoring, and forecasting 

• Ensure budget and planning processes are dynamic, aligned with business needs, and properly communicated to each budget owner 

• Create and communicate periodic Year-End Outlook (YEO) based on actual results and spending trends and drive targeted cost control 

• Communicate risks and opportunities in the forecast to functional stakeholders, including the Vice President Transportation (VP), Regional General Manager (GM), and Financial Planning  

• Ensure stakeholder buy-in on preview and budget, using clearly communicated reasoning on key elements and assumptions 

• Identify gaps and provide recommendations to strategically enhance financial performance and business opportunities, as well as provide financial solutions 

• Create budgets and forecasts for Special Capital projects and initiatives, ensuring that they adhere to the envelope established by CN’s leadership team and are reviewed by key project stakeholders to promote efficient and effective planning 

• Guide the Authorization for Expenditure (AFE) through project life cycle, including creation, approval, and post-completion audits 

• Make sure that variances to budgeted amounts are clearly explained and documented 

• Ensure that effective controls and good governance are in place and apply CN’s best practices compliant with Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), Award of Business (AOB), and Purchase Orders (PO) 

Management Reporting and Financial Management Processes

• Ensure management reporting and financial management processes are dynamic, relevant to the business, and drive business performance 

• Provide financial guidance to key stakeholders such as VP Transportation, Division General Managers, and Superintendents, as well as insight to enable smart business decisions 

• Create relationships with the Company’s leaders and become a trusted Financial Advisor in the attainment of their strategy and objectives 

• Take hands-on lead in implementing and maintaining comprehensive financial forecasting systems 

• Direct and translate the corporate business plan into financial plans for the Function 

• Manage changes and transfers within the Operating budgets 

• Coordinate and validate the preparation and distribution of weekly, monthly, and quarterly reports on expenditures and key performance metrics 

• Monitor, analyze, and explain monthly results against budget 

• Drill down on unexpected variances to provide explanations to key stakeholders and establish corrective actions through discussions with the Function’s Senior Management 

• Pursue opportunities to deliver cost savings and efficiency gains proactively 

Improve Processes, Controls and Day-to-Day Support

• Ensure that effective controls are in place, including monitoring and reporting 

• Influence stakeholders such as Transportation and Finance, including VP levels on potential improvements with a data-driven approach 

• Review proactively and implement new processes triggered by new accounting pronouncements, new systems, and others 

• Provide recommendations and procedural improvements for financial audit issues and controls 

• Manage accrued liabilities in compliance with corporate accounting rules 

• Ensure the integrity of financial transactions created by the department 

• Foster collaboration, exchange of information, and accountability 

• Leverage data to highlight and quantify issues, as well as improve reporting and controls, which may include database and tool development 

• Document improvement opportunities in existing systems and processes and coordinate collaborative resolution 

• Play a key role in developing, monitoring, and evaluating the implementation of corporate strategy 

Working Conditions 

The role has standard working conditions in an office environment with a regular workweek from Monday to Friday. Due to the nature of the role, the incumbent must be able to meet tight deadlines, handle pressure, and stress. The role requires minimal travel (up to 20%). 

Requirements 

Experience 

Finance and Operations 

• Between 5 to 7 years of leadership experience in financial or operational roles 

• Experience with systems and software development 

• Experience in building financial data models  

• Experience in project management 

Education/Certification/Designation 

• Bachelor’s Degree in Finance, Accounting or equivalent business qualification or equivalent experience 

Competencies  

• Knows the business and stays current with industry needs 

• Solves problems to create value 

• Sets direction and inspires others 

• Collaborates with others and shares information 

• Demonstrates agility and drives change 

• Applies critical thinking 

*Any skills/attributes for these above would be considered as an asset 

Technical Skills/Knowledge 

• Ability to convey financial jargon in laymen’s terms 

• Ability to leverage tools, information, and personal network to stay up to date with the Company’s projects, vision, and strategy  

• Ability to identify risk and propose mitigation avenues 

• Ability to adopt a systematic approach to identify, analyze, and improve the existing business processes to optimize and bring efficiency and new quality standards 

• Knowledge of rail transportation and logistics industry 

• Knowledge of CN’s financial and accounting reporting system 

• Knowledge of relevant systems such as Systems Applications and Products (SAP), Business Warehouse (BW), Structured Query Language (SQL), Essbase, and Tableau 

• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, and Word) 

• Ability to synthesize large amounts of data into meaningful insight 

• Knowledge of Procurement and Engineering concepts and processes 

About CN

CN is a world-class transportation leader and trade-enabler. Essential to the economy, to the customers, and to the communities it serves, CN safely transports more than 300 million tons of natural resources, manufactured products, and finished goods throughout North America every year. As the only railroad connecting Canada’s Eastern and Western coasts with the Southern tip of the U.S. through a 19,500 mile rail network, CN and its affiliates have been contributing to community prosperity and sustainable trade since 1919. CN is committed to programs supporting social responsibility and environmental stewardship. At CN, we work as ONE TEAM, focused on safety, sustainability and our customers, providing operational and supply chain excellence to deliver results.