VP, Business Performance & MI in London

The VP, CIL Business Performance and MI will be responsible for all CIL Financial Planning, MI, Data and performance reporting. This is a critical role in CIL that will partner with the CIL LT to build a first-class business performance and planning function that will provide the CEO and management team with detailed, insight-driven analysis of the CIL business that is data driven and forward looking. It will play a key role in identifying business risks and opportunities, working with the leadership team on how best to mitigate/invest in these. The role will also be responsible for building out a transformation-based reporting suite designed to support CIL’s change agenda by reporting and monitoring on its investment projects. The role will be responsible for supporting the Product and Retail businesses, including building out and maintaining Product P&Ls.

Key Responsibilities

• Leading a team responsible for providing insightful analysis and reporting to enable strategic decision making across markets, categories, and channels.
• Build a first class planning cycle that is well organised, well communicated and uses best practices (including AI technology, standardised processes, automation).
• Build high level of technical knowledge across the planning team on Tagetik, MSD and all Data sources.
• Partnering with the CIL LT to build accurate forward looking rolling forecasts that capture all key risks and opportunities.
• Optimise use of Tagetik to reduce planning cycle time.
• Provide management to a team, building and managing high performance.
• Partner with the Head of Strategy to Build out a robust 3 year plan.
• Build and maintain a high-quality performance pack for the CIL LT based on data insights, business drivers and inputs from the regions and markets.
• Review and challenge monthly performance results focusing on key performance drivers and accurate profitability by client and product.
• Partner with LT Members and their teams to educate them on CIL’s performance and embed them into the commentary of and ownership of business performance.
• Work closely with the 2 other VPs in the team to ensure we extract all business insights from the markets and draw out emerging trends and patterns.
• Conduct complex research using primary data sources, selecting the most appropriate and sound information sources, identifying and accommodating any key themes and trends.
• Partner with the Head of CIL Strategy to understand the external competitive landscape and new and emerging trends that factor into the overall forward looking assessment of the business.
• Present monthly performance at the CIL LT and field all questions.

Data

• Partner closely with the Data and Finance Analytics teams to build out demand pipeline that serves CIL’s business performance reporting requirements.
• Build and maintain Client P&Ls.
• Work closely with the head of Data on all relevant Data initiatives and ensure implementation roadmaps are in place.
• Maintain a tight discipline on all data used in Financial reports that guarantees one, accurate version of the truth.

Projects and Transformation

• Responsible for designing and building a brand new project reporting suite that tracks all project financials and provides insightful commentary on each.
• Build an automated Project reporting suite on MSD to remove manual preparation; including building a user-friendly interface for the business (to reduce manual error).
• Tracking and monitoring – report performance of all projects against their business cases and recommend actions as required.
• Implement governance framework for projects including timely closure, robust business case reviews with minimum KPIs and project guidance/training as required.
• Help to promote a disciplined change management mind set culture within the CIL Business.

Product & Retail Support

• Business Partner to Head of Product and Retail.
• Build and maintain Product P&Ls.
• Develop insightful and robust MI reporting suite for retail business to allow more effective management - including reporting by plan type.

Process Improvements

• Support continuous improvement initiatives in planning, reporting, and performance analysis by optimising AI, key systems and knowledge build.
• Contribute to various business initiatives and projects, ensuring financial insight supports strategic objectives.

Skills, knowledge and experience

• Proven experience in a senior FP&A, Business Performance, Finance Transformation or Commercial Finance leadership role.
• Professional accounting qualification (ACA, ACCA, CIMA, CPA or equivalent).
• Experience within a multinational, matrixed and commercially focused organisation preferred.
• Strong track record of leading high-performing planning, reporting, analytics or business performance teams.
• Deep expertise in budgeting, forecasting, long-range planning and performance management within a complex, multinational organisation.
• Experience building and improving planning cycles, governance frameworks and management reporting processes.
• Strong knowledge of management information (MI), KPI development and executive-level performance reporting.
• Demonstrated ability to translate large volumes of financial and operational data into clear, actionable business insight.
• Experience partnering with Executive or Leadership Teams to identify risks, opportunities and performance improvement actions.
• Excellent financial modelling, scenario planning and business case evaluation skills.
• Strong understanding of profitability analysis, including client, product and channel level performance management.
• Experience developing and maintaining product and/or customer P&Ls.
• Proven experience working with data, analytics and business intelligence teams to improve reporting capability and data quality.
• Strong understanding of data governance principles and the importance of maintaining a single, trusted source of business information.
• Experience leading finance support for transformation programmes, including investment tracking, benefits realisation and project governance.
• Demonstrated ability to design and implement automated reporting solutions and drive process improvement through technology and AI-enabled tools.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence and challenge senior leaders constructively.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with experience presenting business performance and recommendations to executive audiences.
• Strong commercial acumen, with the ability to balance financial rigour and strategic thinking.
• Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, changing environment with multiple competing priorities.
• Experience of enterprise planning and reporting systems such as Tagetik, Anaplan, Hyperion or similar platforms would be advantageous.
• Advanced Excel and Microsoft Office skills.
• Strong knowledge of data visualisation and reporting tools such as Power BI, Microsoft Data Services or equivalent.
• Experience supporting digital transformation, data-led decision making and business change programmes would be highly advantageous.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Collinson is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes differences in all their forms including: colour, race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, neurodivergence, family status, age, individuals with disabilities and people from all backgrounds, cultures and experiences as we strongly believe this contributes to our on-going success. We are focused on continually evolving our purpose driven, high performing culture, providing an environment where our people have the opportunity to achieve their full potential and do interesting and meaningful work. Our company values are: Take Action, Do the right thing, One team and Be insight led. These help guide everything we do internally in terms of how we think, act and interact, right through to how we deliver value to our customers and clients.