The role of “Director for Financial Shared Services” is of paramount importance within our Client’s organization. We are seeking an individual with an extensive background in transformation and automation technologies to take a leading role in shaping their strategic direction, enhancing operational excellence, and driving technological advancements within their financial shared services function. This role goes beyond mere leadership; it entails establishing performance standards, adopting a commercial mindset, and working closely with the CFO to develop, oversee, and evaluate their shared services strategy.

We are looking for an ambitious and empathetic leader, someone capable of leveraging their extensive experience to lead transformation initiatives and implement cutting-edge automation solutions. Your primary responsibility will be optimizing processes, improving efficiency, and ensuring top-tier service delivery across our organization.

As a direct report to the CFO and a member of the Finance Leadership Team, you will provide professional leadership while managing a high-performance team. Your role will involve ensuring the seamless alignment of shared service functions with our organization’s needs while maintaining rigorous internal controls.

• Lead and motivate cross-functional teams (circa 30 people across PTP, OTC, and Credit Control initially and then across RTR) to embrace change and drive continuous improvement through process reengineering, digitalization, and automation.
• As a vital member of the finance leadership team, actively contribute to setting and achieving medium to long-term goals across key strategic areas, including the development of financial and business strategy.
• Oversee day-to-day operations of financial shared services, meticulously ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance with financial regulations and standards.
• Implement best practices in financial operations, establish performance metrics, and closely monitor KPIs to track progress and gauge success.
• Develop and execute a comprehensive transformation strategy for the financial shared services function, ensuring it aligns seamlessly with our organization’s overarching goals and objectives.
• Identify opportunities for streamlining and automating manual financial processes, harnessing advanced technologies like robotic process automation (RPA), artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML).
• Collaborate closely with IT teams and vendors to assess, select, and implement automation tools that align with our organization’s needs and objectives.
• Effectively communicate the vision and benefits of transformation initiatives to stakeholders at all levels, fostering a culture of innovation and continuous improvement.
• Provide guidance, support, and training to employees to facilitate a smooth transition to new technologies and processes.
• Cultivate strong relationships with technology vendors, consultants, and partners to stay informed about emerging automation solutions and industry trends.
• Collaborate and foster relationships with internal stakeholders, including finance, IT, and executive leadership, to gather requirements, align strategies, and secure buy-in for transformation initiatives.
• Establish robust internal controls, security measures, and compliance frameworks to mitigate financial risks associated with automation and digitization.
• Ensure that all financial operations adhere rigorously to relevant legal, regulatory, and industry standards.
• Develop and manage the budget for the financial shared services function, efficiently allocating resources to support transformation projects and ongoing operations.
• Provide clear and credible financial leadership at senior management and Board levels.

• Qualified accountant (or equivalent) with circa 10+ years of leadership experience in a UK&I or similar, multijurisdictional, finance shared services center, with a focus on transformation and automation.
• Demonstrates exceptional interpersonal skills and strong communication abilities, with a proven track record of effective collaboration with internal and external stakeholders.
• Possesses a solid history of successfully leading large-scale financial transformation projects and driving process automation initiatives.
• Exhibits a results-driven approach, characterized by an energetic leadership style that inspires others to achieve their goals.
• Commands an in-depth understanding of financial operations, accounting principles, and shared services best practices.
• Displays a strong grasp of emerging technologies such as RPA, AI, ML, data analytics, and their applications in finance.
• Holds experience in change management and the ability to guide teams through organizational transitions.
• Maintains a solid understanding of risk management, compliance, and data security within a financial context.
• Demonstrates a commitment to continuously improving core business processes and systems.
• Possesses the ability and confidence to challenge existing norms and readily embrace change.