Finance Director North Europe

The finance director is part of the management team North Europe, an international team consisting of CEO, directors business development, HR, marketing, operations and technics and the managing directors of the countries in the region. Four finance managers in the region, with regional finance teams, report to the finance director. The finance director reports to the CEO North Europe and has a dotted line to the Soprema CFO in Strasbourg.

Main activities and responsibilities:

Reporting on operational performance

• Work with the corporate finance team and participate in monthly financial close as needed.
• Present timely and relevant financial reporting and analysis to regional and global management.
• Perform/review monthly variance review of P&L results. Prepare Management presentation material and present for monthly forecast/close meetings and operational meetings.
• Develop annual and quarterly operational and financial targets.
• Develop efficient, effective and repeatable financial reports on all key performance indicators.

Monitoring of operational performance

• Provide insights into all conversion cost components (direct labor, plant overhead, production yields). Recommends and implements techniques to improve productivity, increase efficiencies, cut costs, take advantage of opportunities, and maintain best-in-class practices.
• Challenge performance based on industry benchmark, past performance, best internal achievements, improvement programs to help deliver or exceed the operational and financial commitments.
• Adequately review the current practices and processes.

Build and consolidate detailed annual budget

• Lead annual country an region budget process including development/analysis of budget targets, developing, communicating and driving the budget timeline, creating budget templates, creating/maintaining budget roll-up files, preparing budget deliverables for country management and regional management.
• Inform and validate product costing for all manufacturing, supply chain and procurement activities.
• Develop regular forecasts relying on business planning to create monthly, quarterly and full-year estimates that incorporate known and perceived headwinds and tailwinds.

Evaluate and maintain internal controls across all key operational activities

• Document policies and procedures.
• Install controls and train users across the supply chain to execute within the framework of established guidelines and controls.
• Propose recommendations to improve internal controls and gain visibility on performance levers.
• Management, controlling and optimization of the cash and Net working Capital.
• Efficiency of the administrative functions.
• Taxation optimization.

Validate investment plan

• Confirm financial viability and return of efficiency and growth initiatives.
• Develop models to support CapEx projects and continuous improvement projects
• Independently screen and select CAPEX projects based on ROI, fit with short term and long term strategy.
• Evaluate and maintain internal controls across all key operational activities.
• Document policies and procedures.
• Install controls and train users across the supply chain to execute within the framework of established guidelines and controls.
• Propose recommendations to improve internal controls and gain visibility on performance levers.

Largest countries in the region North East are Netherlands and Belgium. Traveling in the region will be part of the job and region headquarters are located in Grobbendonk Belgium.