Head of Financial Planning Full Time NEW

Urgent

Lead, direct and management of the commercial finance team responsible for partnering with client services team(s) led by the regional Client Partners, challenging and driving the operational teams to optimise financial performance and improve efficiencies using financial and operational systems. Managing and controlling the financial performance for the account containing key blue-chip clients; owning the internal and external forecasting and reporting processes for the account; and developing and coordinating relevant financial and risk analysis to drive good decision making

.
Key Responsibilitie

• s:Ownership of P&L for the clien
• t.Ownership of internal management reporting for the client on a monthly basis, covering volumes, profitability, savings, working capital, cash generation, KPI’s, risks and opportunities, trends, variances, reconciliations to underlying accounting records, board pack, et
• c.Part of team negotiating new contractual and commercial terms and contract amendments/renewals, including preparation of associated financial analysis and liaison with internal legal tea
• m.Supporting with most efficient billing and commercial structure to minimise taxes and improved working capital allocatio
• n.Lead client profitability discussions by Brand/BU/Market and focus on a sustainable cost to serve by activating technology an data. Support the business in developing profit improvement plans as required/relevant and help drive actions that deliver improved performanc
• e.Working alongside regional operations & Business Intelligence teams in developing annual client account plans and associated annual financial forecast. Reporting key trends and outcomes against plan to the SLT and wider business stakeholder
• s.Managing DSO and DPO for Unilever ecosystem, activating Supply Chain Finance with Unilever constituent companies, creating a healthy cash flow managemen
• t.External management reporting for client consumption to cover spend, spend profile, working capital, KPI’s, risks and opportunities, trends, variances, et
• c.Attend client review meetings and present financial performance against agreed KPIs including payment performanc
• e.Escalation point for credit control queries and resolution with clien
• t.Project management and ongoing improvements to processes and systems, developing a sound understanding of operational workflow and reporting syste
• msAssist with governance of use operational systems ensuring that they are properly utilised, interface with and reconcile to the accounting system and are able to provide adequate reporting to the business (in particular with relation to sales, sales orders, cost of goods sold and working capital movement
• s)Ensuring adherence across the account’s teams to group-wide processes and authority limits, including foreign exchange and VAT procedure
• s.Act as a Business Partner to Client Partner(s) and team(
• s)Working closely with regional operational teams to assist with interpreting financial information and increasing their understanding of the financial implications of business decisio
• nsPart of wider finance team providing financial control for the business as a who

le

Skills, knowledge, experience and expo

• sureFully qualified accountant or similar qualification/experi
• enceTeam management & lateral cross functional collaboration experi
• enceAt least 10 years financial, commercial or accounting experience with time in a commercial finance t
• eam.Knowledge of cross border billing/taxation arrangements would be a p
• lus.Ideally, experience of the retail sec

tor.

Mindset and temperament to navigate th

e role
The ideal mindset and temperament for a Commercial Finance Director blend strategic vision with grounded pragmatism. This person thrives in complexity, balancing the analytical discipline of finance with the emotional intelligence needed to influence, challenge, and partner across

teams.
They think beyond the numbers, connecting financial insight to business impact, and they do so with clarity, confidence, and composure. Their temperament is calm under pressure but energetic in action; self-driven but collaborative; curious enough to question assumptions, but at the same time disciplined enough to deliver

on time.
They operate with integrity and accountability and communicate with presence, earn trust naturally, and view every financial discussion as an opportunity to drive growth, innovation, and par

tnership.
Any specific role re

quirementsThe role requires working across APAC and EMEA time zones to collaborate effectively with client teams, suppliers, and global sta

keholders.Occasional travel across key APAC/EMEA markets may be

required.