About the role:

The Finance BP CSD South Europe cluster supports the VP CFO CSD in financial CSD controlling, planning and analysis responsibilities for Germany (Hamburg, Norderstedt), Spain (Gurb/VIC), Italy (Verbania-Intra, San Sisto), Russia (Chekhov, Kasimov, Kaliningrad), Poland (Lodz), Serbia (Novi Sad), Turkey (Eskisehir), and relevant sub-contracting in the cluster.

The Finance BP CSD South East Europe acts as the “financial eyes” in the sites for the regional CSD and Finance organization. The Finance BP plays a pivotal role in steering a company towards its strategic objectives by providing financial insights and analysis that drive business performance as well as the Next Level program. The Finance BP acts as a bridge between the finance function and other business areas, ensuring financial considerations are integrated into decision-making processes. Key responsibilities include overseeing budgeting and forecasting, performing variance analysis, and implementing cost control measures. Through close collaboration with cluster leadership, the Finance Business Partner identifies investment opportunities and risks, advising on project feasibility and ROI to guide strategic investments. The Finance BP expertise in financial modeling and analysis supports the business in navigating market challenges and capitalizing on new opportunities, ultimately fostering a culture of financial awareness and strategic growth across the organization. In this respect, this function partners with various stakeholders in the organization and is focused on setting the strategy for CSD finance in the cluster, to work on efficiencies and continuous improvement and to share and implement best practices.

As a business partner to the cluster, the Finance BP CSD South East Europe has to:

drive change,  continuously recommend scenarios to increase efficiency or avoid inefficiencies,  be solutions oriented and  materially contribute to the achievement of the business goals and targets of the plant. 

In this respect, it is absolutely needed to have a deep conceptual knowledge of operational flows to:

detect in an early stage potential margin/performance leakage and  improve productivity and drive efficiencies.

 

Key responsibilities:

Overseeing and managing the financial results of all in the sites in the cluster. Developing and managing the financial budget for the manufacturing operations. Lead future financial needs, analyze variances, and adjust budgets as required to align with business goals. Monitoring and evaluating performance against budget and prior year, identifying risks and opportunities and reviewing results and developing mitigating actions with the Finance BP’s on-site and plant management teams Preparing financial reports that detail the manufacturing’s performance. Identify trends, efficiencies, and areas needing improvement, providing critical insights for decision-making. Monitoring and controlling the costs associated with the manufacturing process. This includes raw material costs, labor, overheads, and ensuring efficiency in production to optimize expenses including G&A. Perform in collaboration with GBS FP&A the Pre-Post Calculation. Collaborating with supply chain management to optimize costs and efficiency in the supply chain, including negotiations with suppliers and logistics management. Collaborating with the pricing department to establish product pricing based on cost analysis, ensuring competitive pricing while maintaining profitability. Setting standard costs for materials, labor, and overhead, which serve as benchmarks for measuring performance. Determining direct and indirect costs, fixed and variable costs, and classifying them appropriately. Manage inventory, spare parts, CAPEX, NRV provision and accounts payable to optimize the flow of funds and maintain liquidity.  Preparing cost-related financial reports and contributing to the overall financial analysis for the site and cluster. Projecting future revenues/volume, expenses, and cash flows based on production volumes, sales forecasts, and market trends. Developing and maintaining financial dashboards and key performance indicators (KPIs, BPIs, PPIs) to provide real-time insight into the financial performance of the manufacturing operations. Ensuring adherence to internal controls in cost reporting and compliance with relevant accounting standards and regulations. Ensuring compliance with financial regulations and standards, and managing internal and external audits. Ensure audit findings are closed on time Ensuring compliance with financial regulations and standards specific to the manufacturing industry. Manage financial risks related to currency fluctuations, supply chain disruptions, and market changes.  Provide critical cost information and analysis to support strategic decisions in operations, such as process improvement, cost reduction initiatives, and investment decisions. Ensure balance sheet reconciliation and assets counts (including tagging) are properly performed Provide financial insights and analysis to support strategic decisions such as market expansions, product line extensions, or mergers and acquisitions. Evaluate and approve capital expenditures, such as the purchase of new equipment or facility expansions, to ensure they align with strategic objectives and offer viable returns. Analyze potential investments in new technologies, machinery, or production methodologies that could improve efficiency or expand capacity. Identify & approve assets for phase out and decommissioning Conduct phase out asset / asset retirement Conduct MRO management (MDM, Consumption of Items, Min/Max, etc) Participate in creating the strategy for (Finance CSD) in the cluster Prepare recurring analyses (e.g. MUV follow-up, KPIs, BPIs and PPIs) and ad-hoc analysis in case of questions + signaling pro-actively risks which may occur & for which actions need to be taken upfront. Coordinate any commercial relevant finance matter with the commercial cluster team including CFO, FP&A and GBS Drive standardization and simplification in CSD finance processes and ways of working Initiate, drive & participate in CSD finance projects (stock, spare parts, time-based costing, MUV, Data Accuracy…) Support make or buy analysis with sub-contracting Lead the execution of Next Level program in the cluster in partnership with the cluster management team Coach and develop team members Have very deep and broad-based knowledge of the total operational value chain and cost to serve Designing, aligning and launching aligned policies relevant to the region