Customer Finance Director, UK&I

Want to help us bring happiness to the world? Want to join an ambitious and fast growing global biscuits and confectionery business investing heavily in iconic global brands, infrastructure and people? Then this is the place for you.

As proud bakers and chocolatiers and custodians of iconic global brands, we don’t compromise on the quality of ingredients in our products or on the people we hire. We are looking for entrepreneurial spirits who share our passion for bringing happiness to our consumers and who embody our Winning Traits.

To succeed at pladis you need to be purpose-led, resilient and positive to succeed here because we expect pace and agility, we insist on collaboration and demand accountability. If that is your thing, then pladis offers global ambition, a clear Vision and roadmap for success, challenge, and unrivalled opportunities to learn and make an impact

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Why join our team? 

This role offers an agile 3,2 working pattern with 3 days in the office and 2 days from home.

pladis UK&I is home to iconic brands McVitie’s, Jacob’s and Carr’s. These brands make sweet and savoury treats that consumers everywhere recognise and enjoy! Together we will build new and exciting products at pladis – new flavours, new concepts and new ways to share happiness. 

Our strength is not only in our products, it is also in our people and our values. Each business that has united to form pladis Global are loved for their heritage and values. We will retain the honesty, integrity and trust instilled in our brands by our ground-breaking founders as we embark on the next chapter of our success. 

What will this role achieve? 

The UK&I has ambitious plans. Our Customer Finance team are enthusiastic and honest business partners, helping the business build robust external relationships and maximising internal value creation. They also ensure the Customer teams develop a better understanding of both consumer and trade dynamics to build more effective strategies. 

Your team will drive the rituals and routines necessary to understand performance, deliver insightful and actionable financial analysis, provide rigorous financial control for a material trade investment budget and evaluation processes to support the Customer team with customer investment decisions. 

The role holder will report to the UK&I CFO, whilst liaising very closely with VP – Grocery and Director of Impulse. The role will be a member of the UK&I Extended Leadership Team and a key member of the Finance Leadership Team. 

What will be your key deliverables? 

• Development and delivery of the strategy, vision and business processes from a Customer lens with business partners, to ensure execution of the brand plans to drive long term sustainable revenue growth.
• Develop a strong business partnering culture, providing supportive challenge and valuable insight while ensuring ongoing continual improvement and robust financial controls. This role manages the largest spend budget within the UK&I finance team, and optimisation of ROI on spend is key to driving improvements at Gross Profit.
• Provide key insight to the Customer team to drive better understanding of the drivers of performance (including trends, channel/customer profitability and understanding of external retailer landscape and dynamics) and develop opportunities to drive more growth ensuring hitting plan is bare minimum.
• Create and lead effective routines to support a regular rhythm of business performance diagnostics, the annual planning process and monthly forecast that reflect well thought through assumptions/basis of planning in order to better guide business decisions.
• Lead the team to prepare for customer discussions by preparing Joint business plan evaluations, influencing customer teams to drive a more for more mentality to maximise the investment through as well as modelling customer P&L’s. Being the key financial advisor on commercial negotiations ahead of review with UK MD & CFO.
• Deliver toolkits and techniques for efficient and effective analysis, diagnosis and decision making within business on both a planned and ad hoc basis.
• Lead and develop a team of skilled Finance professionals, to deliver best in class financial management. Ensuring the team have the right balance of commercial acumen, technical skills and leadership of the customer agenda.

Bring your experience 

Essential 

• A strong leader, collaborator and communicator. Demonstrable experience of leading and developing teams, with previous experience of managing a team of five or larger
• Ability to influence and work collaboratively across the organisation.
• Ability to work effectively with ambiguity, and able to drive agenda forward.
• Self-confidence and skill to challenge the most senior leaders in the business whilst maintaining robust financial control
• Strong financial and commercial acumen built over a 10-year minimum career.
• A qualified accountant (ACCA/ACA/CIMA)

Desirable 

• Previous customer finance experience
• Demonstrate experience of bringing new ways of working to simplify working practices whilst delivering on the day job
• Creative thinking

Our Purpose

Bring happiness with every bite

It’s a purpose that every one of our colleagues, all around the world believes in. And while we’re all unique, we also share the same values.

Each of our values is important on its own. In combination they’re incredibly powerful.

Our values have deep personal meaning to us. They’re part of who we are and what we stand for as an employer

Living our pladis values is a key part of success, look out for questions in your interview that link to these key pladis values.

Our Values

Purpose led – We’re energised and guided by our purpose to bring happiness with every bite

Agile – We’re ever evolving, we never stand still, always improving for our customers and our consumers

Positive – We’re highly motivated optimistic, courageous, and we inspire each other to be better

Resilient – We’re persistent in the face of setbacks, quick to adapt, learn and move forward

Collaborative – We gain strength from operating as one pladis, winning and succeeding together.

Best mix of ingredients

pladis is an equal opportunities employer, like every great recipe we’re a thoughtful mix. A happy and inclusive place to work that’s as diverse as our consumers and the communities we support, live and work in, all around the world. Where every voice is heard, and difference is celebrated. Where fresh perspectives and new ideas help us grow and thrive.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform key job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

pladis is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to hiring a diverse workforce. All openings will be filled based on qualifications without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, marital status, veteran status, disability, age, religion or any other classification protected by law.

We operate a strict Preferred Supplier List. If you are a recruitment agency and wish to submit candidate to be considered for this vacancy, you must have agreed to, and signed, our terms of business.

We will not accept CVs from any other sources other than those currently on our PSL. We will not pay a fee for any candidate that has not been represented by a provider on our PSL.

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