Senior Operations Finance Manager in Southampton

BAT is evolving at pace into a global multi-category business. Our purpose is to create A Better Tomorrow by Building a Smokeless World. To achieve our ambition, we are looking for colleagues who are ready to join us on this journey. Tomorrow cannot wait, let us shape it together.

Role Summary

Managing a team of 1 direct report, the jobholder is the senior regional Finance Business Partner to the Operations function for AME across all sub-functions (SNO, Procurement, Product, Logistics). The jobholder works in partnership with the Operations function, Region, and End Markets to provide financial support and drive savings, controls, efficiencies and working capital improvement.

Core Responsibilities

• Drive delivery of savings, controls, efficiencies and working capital improvement across Regional Operations.
• Provide ongoing financial support and advice to Regional Procurement Managers, Regional Heads of Logistics, Regional Heads of Planning, challenging operational business cases and decisions based on insights.
• Manage and coordinate the provision of structured and insightful analysis of financial and non-financial data to influence and enable strategic financial decisions.
• Drive updates and reporting requirements for GPC by ensuring functional guidance is reported in financial forecasts, and variances and key drivers are understood.

Role Duties and Accountabilities

• Act as senior business partner to Operations, contributing directly and indirectly to all commercial and non-financial performance related decisions.
• Provide high quality financial and commercial information to the business.
• Enable high quality evidence based decision making and advice to the business.
• Share insightful financial analysis showing the implications of decisions and help the business unit get approval for commercially viable business cases, budgets and investment proposals.
• Act as the key interface between the finance function and Operations function to agree financial plans, initiatives, and policy in order to meet business objectives.
• Build strong financial and commercial awareness within supported areas and challenge business managers to improve performance.
• Deliver insightful and easy to understand presentations of financial results, highlighting priority areas and providing an action plan to address issues to ensure that corrective actions are delivered on a timely basis and to optimise revenue and efficiencies for the long term.
• Define and implement standard process planning and control techniques in line with business need.
• Recruit, develop and manage a highly motivated, capable, and adequately resourced team, developing talent and a performance management culture that drives value through employee engagement and achieves strategic objectives.

Key Focus Areas

• Drive and elevate the function by supervising the implementation of continuous improvement activities to ensure ongoing improvements in business performance.
• Manage productivity and indirect savings.
• Drive the working capital agenda.
• Understand and manage inflationary pressures, driving cost mitigation activities.
• Enable robust COGs forecasting by ensuring clear guidance is in place for DRBUs for inflationary impacts and savings target delivery.

Experience, Skills, and Knowledge

ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE

• Significant experience in global FMCG or a similar dynamic multinational operating environment.
• A strong understanding of manufacturing and supply chain processes.
• Ability to handle large data sets and quickly identify patterns and important features.
• Strong financial modelling skills, and the ability to simplify complex situations and present sophisticated information.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to build relationships with senior partners.
• Thorough understanding and knowledge of relevant finance tools and systems (e.g., SAP, BI, BPC).

TECHNICAL, FUNCTIONAL, LEADERSHIP SKILLS

• Strong influencing, leadership, and interpersonal skills.
• Experience leading a team and managing senior stakeholders.

EDUCATION / QUALIFICATIONS / CERTIFICATIONS

• Degree educated with a relevant professional qualification (CA, ACCA, CIMA, CPA, MBA).

BENEFICIAL

• Experience in commercial or operations working with new categories as well as combustibles.
• Experience managing peers and senior stakeholders across multiple markets.
• Experience driving business change through implementation of new controls or processes.

Benefits

• Market leading annual performance bonus (subject to eligibility).
• Benefits vary by country and include health plans, work-life balance initiatives, transportation support, and a flexible holiday plan with additional incentives.
• Access to online learning platforms and personalized growth programs.
• Opportunities for career advancement within the company.
• Continuous improvement and transformation initiatives support ongoing development.

We are a Disability Confident Employer. If you need any reasonable adjustments or accommodations to be made during the recruitment process to support you performing at your best, please inform the recruitment partner who will contact you should your profile be selected for the role.