Director, Commercial Planning

📋 Description

• Design, execute, and manage USAR’s monthly four-week S&OP cycle across all three business divisions — Mining (Round Top), LCM Metals (UK), and Magnets + Future Acquisitions.

• Facilitate BU-level supply and demand assessments during Weeks 1–2, ensuring each BU operations and commercial team conducts its own review using a shared calendar and standardized data template.

• Lead the Week 3 enterprise integration meeting: align material balance across the mine-to-magnet chain, consolidate transfer pricing and margins, and identify cross-chain risks and decisions.

• Prepare and present the Week 4 executive S&OP package for the CCO, CFO, and ELT, collaborating with FP&A on a monthly board operating report.

• Collaborate closely with embedded supply chain managers in each BU to ensure data integrity, timely submissions, and uniformity of assumptions.

• Heavily utilize AI tools (e.g., Claude Enterprise) for automating data consolidation, scenario modeling, and drafting packages, allowing the role to concentrate on analysis and decision support.

• Facilitate the formulation of commercial strategies for each BU utilizing consistent analytical frameworks: market sizing, competitive positioning, strategic options, financial modeling, and risk/downside scenarios.

• Construct board-ready commercial planning packages featuring robust financial models co-developed with embedded FP&A resources in each BU.

• Maintain and synthesize market intelligence from Fastmarkets, Argus Media, ADAMAS Intelligence, and Benchmark Mineral Intelligence to ground commercial assumptions in external data.

• Manage relationships with external advisors and industry experts engaged in specific work streams.

• Collaborate closely with Legal on contract structures, offtake terms, etc.

• Partner with Finance/CFO office on transfer pricing, margin modeling, and financial narratives for board presentations.

• Coordinate with BU commercial and sales leaders to align plans with customer pipeline realities and pricing feasibility.

• Prepare materials for ELT and board meetings that are analytically rigorous, visually clear, and ready for decision-making.

⛳️ Requirements

• MBA or an equivalent advanced degree is required.

• 8–12 years of relevant experience, combining management consulting (top-tier strategy or Big 4 strategy practice) with in-house commercial planning, S&OP, or business development.

• Proven track record of developing commercial or go-to-market plans from the ground up in a resource-constrained environment.

• Experience presenting to senior executives and board-level audiences.

• Willingness to travel to USAR’s operational sites (Round Top, TX; Serra Verde, Brazil; Lacq, France; UK; and Stillwater, OK) as required.

• In-depth understanding of S&OP process design and execution in a multi-site industrial or commodities business; experience managing enterprise integration cycles across P&Ls.

• Strong commercial acumen with the ability to construct, evaluate, and communicate financial models — comfortable collaborating with FP&A without dependency.

• Experience in developing go-to-market or commercial plans in a B2B industrial context; familiarity with offtake structures, pricing mechanisms, and long-term supply agreements.

• Exceptional executive communication and storytelling capabilities — able to create board-ready presentations that simplify complex commercial dynamics into clear decisions.

• Proficient with leading AI tools (Claude, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot) as productivity enhancers for analysis, modeling, and document preparation.

• Advanced skills in PowerPoint and Excel; familiarity with BI tools (Power BI, Tableau) is a plus.

• Knowledge of rare earth, critical minerals, or energy transition supply chains is preferred.

• Collaborative and low-ego operator — adept at facilitating without directing and influencing without authority among BU GMs and functional leaders.

🏝️ Benefits

• Health insurance

• 401(k) matching

• Paid time off

• Flexible work arrangements