Job Summary
The Personal Care Performance Manager partners with the SVP of the Personal Care (PC) business and their leadership team to drive the performance of PC, achieve its targeted growth ambitions and develop a high-performance culture within Elementis. The Performance Manager is pivotal to faster and better decision-making. He/she will create accurate and reliable information about the performance, risks and opportunities facing the PS business, and deliver actionable recommendations from that analysis. The role also plays a significant contribution achieving standard and simpler planning business performance management processes. This role will support the design of a business management and performance planning process, and data-driven process improvements. This role will build analytical capabilities within the team and bring objective/analytical based input to the decision-making processes across Elementis.
Job Description
Position in Organisation
Reports to (Supervisor/Manager’s title): The role reports to the Group Performance Management & Planning Director
Direct Reports: None
Department: Performance Management & Planning Director
Location: Porto, Portugal
Responsibilities
- Lead the production and analysis of monthly PC management information (MI) in an accurate and timely manner to ensure the business is delivering against is strategic growth objectives. Clearly communicates and quantifies the risks and opportunities facing the business, leads performance discussions and delivers actionable insights to drive better business performance.
- Leads the annual budgeting, forecasting and planning processes for PC, ensuring the business supports Elementis achieving its strategic goals. Support the PC leadership team in translating strategic plans into operational action plans, and responsible for tracking delivery against its growth commitments. Administer and review all financial plans and budgets; monitor progress and changes and provide recommendations to the PC leadership team regarding required interventions.
- Support pricing and commercial negotiations (including products, customers, pricing negotiations etc.) and provide recommendations to the PC business leadership team to maximize value creation (i.e. sales growth, contribution margin and operating profit expansion).
- Lead the financial analysis of key growth capital project investments in the PC business, to ensure that capital is deployed within the business in the most value enhancing way. The role is responsible for ensuring that all project financial forecasts are accurate, up to date and supported by accurate and credible analysis of all key commercial dynamics (volume growth rates, pricing, cost inputs). Ensure all growth projects are reported in Finario and champion the ICM process.
- Partner with the Supply Chain Performance Management team to ensure product margins are accurate and well understood (for actuals and forecasting purposes) to enable value maximising commercial decision making. Identify and be on alert for key business profitability drivers and develop metrics focused on improving future business performance.
- Fully participate in the Elementis Sales, Inventory and Operations planning (SIOP) process to ensure that all key risks and opportunities facing PC are well understood and accurately financialised to support effective decision making and maximise business performance.
- Act as the financial lead for the PC innovation stage gate process, ensuring that all project financials are accurate, up to date and credible, so the pipeline is managed in an effective manner. The role is also responsible for ensuring that the innovation process is linked to the SIOP and Group forecasting process, and the analysis of quarterly innovation KPI reporting.
- Partner with the Head of MI & Reporting to develop and implement effective reporting dashboards, enabling clearer and faster decision making across the organisation. The role is also expected to promote efficient usage of reporting and analytics tools within the organisation
Decision Making
You will have the authority to make decisions related to the day-to-day finance and strategic operations of the PC business. The role will influence critical decision making within the PC leadership team, ranging from operational and financial target setting through to the structuring of commercial agreements. Higher-level approvals would be required for decisions related to strategic shifts or significant decisions that have substantial financial or long-term implications.
What will it take
Job Competencies
- Commercial awareness – it is critical that you have a strong understanding of how different elements of the business world operate and how these can affect the industries and markets in which the PC business operates.
- Communicates effectively - excellent written and oral communication skills enable you to articulate complex finance concepts and findings succinctly, and support your stakeholders making the right decisions
- A dedicated self-starter with high enthusiasm - you need to be self-directed, self-motivated; ability to deal with imperfect information, decision and drive to successful conclusions is paramount in this role.
- Drives engagement and influences effectively - it is critical that you are a strong relationship builder and can create a climate where you are able to influence stakeholders over which you have no direct lines of authority.
- Problem-solving focus and a positive “can do” attitude – you need strong problem-solving and issue resolution aptitude to address the daily situations that a Finance analyst comes across.
- Team player with uncompromising ethics and unwavering integrity - you need to be a humble, low ego individual who is a strong team player, motivated by company goals rather than individual drivers, and with unquestionably integrity.
Technical Knowledge & Skills
- Proven track record of successful partnering with business leadership
- Strong financial modelling is required
- Proficiency in reporting, data visualization and analysis tools, such as Tableau and Power BI
- Advanced analytical and quantitative skills
- Strong strategic analysis of financial information to derive data-driven insights
- Detail-orientated in ensuring accurate reporting and reconciliations/variance analysis
Position Requirements
Education: Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance or Business Administration (required).
Post graduate qualification in Accounting pertinent to the country in question (highly desired).
Experience: +6 years work experience including experience in an international manufacturing/industrial environment.
IT Skills: Proficient in JD Edwards (highly advantageous), Tableau (highly advantageous), Power BI (highly advantageous) and Hyperion/FCCS (helpful). Highly proficient or expert level in MS Excel, including pivot tables.
Language Skills: Verbal and written fluency in English.
Working arrangements: Minimum 3 days a week in the office
Traveling required: Occasional international travel to other Elementis sites as required.