Business Operations Analyst (Xico)

Position Purpose

The Operations Business Analyst serves as the strategic "data brain" for the OperationDirector. This role is responsible for overseeing the financial and operational health of a hybrid business model in Juarez. The candidate is expected to move beyond traditional tools by leveraging AI-driven capabilities to automate reporting, predict cost trends, and provide actionable insights toward manufacturing efficiency with trading profitability.

Key Responsibilities

Manufacturing & Assembly Analysis

• Cost & Energy Monitoring: Analyze conversion costs for dry-press pulp molding, specifically tracking energy consumption, raw material yield, and direct labor.
• Assembly Productivity: Evaluate assembly line efficiency (Standard vs. Actual Hours). Use data to optimize labor allocation for post-production kitting services.
• Manufacturing Governance: Act as an objective controller to monitor scrap rates and Work-in-Progress (WIP) levels, ensuring alignment with plant benchmarking and improvement initiatives.

Trading & Logistics Analysis

• Procurement & Margin Control: Manage the profitability of outsourced items (paper cartons, inserts, etc.). Track Purchase Price Variance (PPV) and its impact on bundled project margins.
• Inventory & Warehouse Optimization: Optimize the storage-to-turnover ratio for bulky materials to minimize warehousing overhead in Juarez.
• Logistics Audit: Analyze 3PL performance and delivery costs to ensure cost-effective distribution to North American customers.

Quotation Reasonableness & Margin Governance

• Standard Cost Benchmarking: Establish and maintain standard cost cards for key product lines (molded pulp SKUs and traded items), serving as the baseline for validating sales quotations submitted by the Sales team.
• Quotation Review & Challenge: Act as an independent analytical checkpoint in the quotation approval process. Evaluate whether proposed prices achieve minimum acceptable gross margin thresholds, flagging quotations that deviate from cost floor assumptions or historical margin norms.
• Price-Cost Gap Analysis: Conduct regular variance analysis between quoted prices, standard costs, and vigente landed costs—identifying margin erosion risks caused by PPV, freight fluctuations, or labor efficiency shortfalls.
• Margin Floor Policy Support: Work with the Operation Director to define and maintain minimum gross margin policies by business type (self-manufactured vs. Traded), factoring in overhead absorption targets and customer-segment risk profiles.
• Customer / Project Profitability Reporting: Produce monthly profitability reports at the customer or project level, enabling the Sales Director and Operation Director to make data-backed decisions on pricing strategy, volume discounts, and contract renewals.

Advanced Analytics & AI Integration

• AI-Enhanced Reporting: Utilize AI tools and LLMs to automate data cleaning, trend forecasting, and report generation, replacing manual dashboard maintenance.
• Strategic FP&A: Lead the annual budgeting process and monthly rolling forecasts, providing deep-dive variance analysis directly to the Operation Director.

Requirements

Experience & Education

• Experience: 5+ years in Manufacturing FP&A, Operations Analysis, or Supply Chain Finance.
• Education: Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Industrial Engineering, or Business Management.

Languages

• English: Commercially Fluent — Required.
• Spanish: Highly preferred (A Plus) for local communication and vendor management.

Technical Skills

• Core Tools: Advanced Excel financial modelling and dashboard development.
• Data Skills: ERP system experience and preferred data extraction and automated reporting workflows.
• AI & Automation a plus: Demonstrated ability to apply LLM prompt engineering and AI tools to enhance analytical efficiency; ability to build automated workflows that bypass the need for traditional, static BI tools.

Soft Skills

• Strong diplomatic skills to collaborate with the Plant Manager and Sales Director while maintaining data integrity and independence.
• Maintains an objective, data-driven stance in quotation review; able to challenge business assumptions constructively.