Finance Manager - Logistics

With 3.4 billion people in over 190 countries using our products every day, Unilever is a business that makes a real impact on the world. Work on brands that are loved and improve the lives of our consumers and the communities around us. We are driven by our purpose: to make sustainable living commonplace, and it is our belief that doing business the right way drives superior performance. At the heart of what we do is our people – we believe that when our people work with purpose, we will create a better business and a better world. 

At Unilever, your career will be a unique journey, grounded in our inclusive, collaborative, and flexible working environment. We don’t believe in the ‘one size fits all’ approach and instead we will equip you with the tools you need to shape your own future.

FUNCTION INTRODUCTION

Customer Operations is a function which was established during the Compass re-org as a convergence from Supply Chain scopes of Logistics, Planning, Customer Service and Masterdata and is a 1 Unilever Customer-facing function supporting Business Groups to win.

JOB PURPOSE

As Finance Manager – Logistics you will work closely with Logistics, Customer-Service & Planning with the aim of realising Logistics Net productivity targets for all BG-led markets & 1UL Markets. Role entails Finance Business Partnering within European Customer Operations team on Logistics matters. The role will be working closely with the SCFS logistics teams located in Katowice, Poland that supports all pan-European Finance activities across Transport, Warehousing & Overheads and provides an opportunity for interactions between finance and operations teams.  The role is well placed to deliver impact & unlock value for Unilever by ensuring robust Financial framework and supporting optimisation opportunities to drive Savings & Service improvement. Finance Manager will be working closely with multi-layered team and report into the European Customer Operations Finance Senior Manager.  

If you are passionate about being the steward for sustainable value creation across the full logistics value chain, then this role is just for you.  You will learn from brilliant business leaders and colleagues in a truly global and diverse culture to ultimately become a better you.

WHAT WILL YOUR MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES BE

• Ensure robust & efficient financial processes are in place to ensure accuracy of actual results & forecast;

• Drive insightful analytics of monthly logistics results by working closely SCFS & Logistics teams;

• Craft action plans with the logistics colleagues and provide visibility on resultant financial impact;

• Provide input for regional business cases and support the logistics finance manager in the design of EU logistics transformational projects;

• Monitor the logistics efficiencies and ensure a clear link between operational KPIs and financial results by making use of internal & external transport benchmarks;

• Detailed analysis of the operational trends and correlate with financial trends to support an impactful logistics business plan;

• Provide support in the relevant tendering processes;

• Support the central financial team on the cyclical financial processes (e.g. forecasting and annual business planning);

• Adequately support BG Finance teams, especially in reporting, result controlling and performance management.

• Ensure compliance to relevant elements of Financial Control Framework;

• Partner the Europe Customer Ops Finance team & Logistics operations teams on proactive risk identification & mitigation planning to ensure delivery in-line with targets & maximise logistics costs net productivity.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO SUCCEED

Experiences & Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years’ experience in Finance roles (Controlling, Performance management & FMCG industry experience is preferred)

• Minimum 2 years in a management/functional lead role is preferred;

• E2E understanding of Cost / P&L with hands-on experience brought from previous roles and sufficient understanding of E2E Logistics;

• Ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously in a highly VUCA environment whilst

• Experience managing a large, complex and senior set of stakeholders with the ability to collaborate effectively with diverse teams.

• Establishing a governance framework that allows prioritization against set business criteria

• Team working – demonstrate commitment to the team in helping to achieve goals;

• Proactively share best practice, ideas and insights with colleagues.

Skills

• Strong Stakeholder management & partnering skills to establish productive relationships

• Ability to work with multi-dimensional matrix, quickly navigate between detailed and helicopter views

• Proven excellence in Financial Storytelling for senior stakeholders rooted in strong Analytical skills

• Fluent in English, oral and written

• Business acumen – rapidly absorbs new information; applies new techniques, technology and procedures to drive efficiencies in daily operation;

• Analytical thinking, problem solving attitude – ability to combine multiple and different data point to draw conclusions; apply systematic approach to identify and eliminate root causes; identify problem solution;

• IT & communication skills – excellent level of MS Office, communication and presentation skills;

• Mindset of continuous identification of areas of opportunity for cost improvement both within Finance function as well as Business opportunities with ability to implement them accordingly;

• Motivation and drive – ambitious to hit personal target and required standard; proactively & independently acts to remove basic blocks to progress;

Unilever embraces diversity and encourages applicants from all walks of life! This means giving full and fair consideration to all applicants and continuing development of all employees regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity. 

WHAT WE OFFER

• Hybrid work and flexibility

• Company car or financial equivalent

• Opportunities for the development and improvement of qualifications

• Sharing the cost of professional training & courses

• Benefits: life insurance, private medical care, pension fund, sharing the cost of sports activities, Benefits System – Cafeteria and many others

• Extra days off to take care of yourself and others

• Unilever store - Our products at attractive prices

Unilever is an organisation committed to equity, inclusion and diversity to drive our business results and create a better future, every day, for our diverse employees, global consumers, partners, and communities. We believe a diverse workforce allows us to match our growth ambitions and drive inclusion across the business. At Unilever we are interested in every individual bringing their ‘Whole Self’ to work and this includes you! Thus if you require any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at the time of your application so that we can support you through your recruitment journey.