Financial Service Lead

About Kerry

Kerry is the world's leading taste and nutrition company for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Every day we partner with customers to create healthier, tastier and more sustainable products that are consumed by billions of people across the world. Our vision is to be our customers' most valued partner, creating a world of sustainable nutrition. A career with Kerry offers you an opportunity to shape the future of food while providing you opportunities to explore and grow in a truly global environment.

About the role

Accountable for the day-to-day service delivery and performance of Finance services in their Center. Lead the Finance Services team in the Center. Partner across Finance and the business to ensure integration with and alignment to the global Finance vision and strategy. Ensure the completeness and accuracy of all Financial transactions and data under the GBS remit. Drive the day-to-day execution of Finance Services for the Regions and Kerry. Foster a working environment that values critical thinking and problem solving, and encourages challenging the status quo through the role modelling & application of continuous excellence practices to drive the simplification, optimisation, standardisation of defined finance processes to create more transparency and global consistency in the Center. Maintain a sharp focus on control and accuracy with a Financial Control mind-set. Leverage technologies, to drive service optimisation keeping risk, controls and experience front of mind. Build a skilled team of specialists, by establishing positive and productive working relationships and inspiring trust through character and respect to deliver solutions and services at scale in accordance to risk and control standards. 

Key responsibilities

•    Manage headcount, budgets and long-term projections for the Finance Services team in the Center. Manage costs to achieve year-on-year efficiency savings, understand cost drivers, maximise incentives to reduce cost and give E2E cost visibility to Global and Regional Leadership 

•    Represent GBS Finance Services at relevant regional/ functional governance forums and committees to review process performance metrics against agreed targets as well as discuss overall functional services performance, issues and ways to improve services and enhance value

Service Delivery

•    Primarily accountable for day-to-day service delivery and performance. Partner with the Finance function, to deliver accurate and timely execution and management of Financial Control and Finance transactions 

•    Own service delivery performance and service optimisation opportunities for all agreed Finance Services in the Center (covering O2C, P2P, RtoR Ops PM&A).

Ensure seamless delivery of the services and compliance to risk and controls

•    Accountable for delivery and accuracy of results. Ensure service delivery and performance is as per SPA Service Partnership Agreements. Follow service and performance standards, measures and goals that have been set out by the Global Finance Services Lead. Monitor and manage SPA compliance

•    Understand the importance and prioritisation of key KPI’s to ensure consistent delivery. Provide inputs and support the development of KPIs and metrics

•    Ensure group finance policies and procedures are adhered to and appropriate controls are closely monitored and complied with

•    Ensure timely resolution of issues and manage regional escalations, maintaining close contact with the Global Functional Services Leads who oversee service delivery from a process, risk and controls perspective

•    Manage and lead the delivery of year end audits regionally (including areas across Operations Finance, Commercial Finance, Tax, Treasury)

•    Coordinate the process across areas including Operations Finance, Commercial Finance, Tax, and Treasury, and provide necessary data and information as required by external Auditors. Manage all requests/escalations related to audit

•    Accountable for non-centralised Finance functions that are not getting centralised in KL but will be at the regional sites and will have a change of reporting line to GBS

•    Drive the integration and stabilisation of the transition in the Center in line with GBS ambition. Foster ongoing engagement in the Center post transition

Relationship / Talent Management

 

 

Qualifications and skills

• Experienced professional with minimum of 15 years exposure in Finance/ Shared Services environment in a senior position
• Deep Finance knowledge and experience to manage complex escalations and decision making
• Strong operational experience of running medium to large regional operations
• Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of Financial Services within a Global Business Services function
• Ability to interact appropriately and effectively with multifunctional teams and customers
• Solution oriented individual who resolves issues leveraging their knowledge and network (not reliant on process documents)
• Ability to give clear direction. Experience of leading geographically dispersed teams and providing service to geographically dispersed customers
• Demonstrated influencing skills
• Successful customer service track record or a customer experience background. Ability to foster a customer service focused working environment with proven customer service and relationship management
• Excellent problem-solving, conflict resolution and decision making capabilities
• In-depth knowledge of Lean thinking/operational excellence / change management
• Experience of leading agile teams providing continuous iterative improvements and project solutions
• Ability to work in an unstructured work environment; tolerate uncertainty and ambiguity; and maintain effectiveness during high-pressure times
• Proven problem solving, governance and process driven approach