Regional Finance Leader - Europe

Regional Finance Leader – Europe

Position Summary
The Regional Finance Leader – Europe is responsible for end-to-end financial management, control, and business partnering across Market Organizations in Europe, ensuring alignment with group policies, local regulations, and strategic business objectives. This role combines financial planning and analysis, commercial finance, and core controllership, while leading, coaching, and supporting local finance teams to deliver accurate reporting, strong internal controls, and actionable insights for profitable growth. The role is ideally based in Essen (HQ) , with the option to work remotely from elsewhere in Germany.

Reporting, Location, Scope

• Job Title: Regional Finance Leader – Europe

• Reports To: Regional Manager (Commercial) with a dotted line to CFO / HQ Finance Controller

• Location: Preferred HQ in Essen, Germany ; alternative: remote within Germany, with regular travel across assigned European countries

• Scope: Market Organizations and legal entities across Europe (e.g., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK); functional leadership of local finance managers and teams

Key Responsibilities

Financial Planning and Analysis

• Coordinate regional budgeting and forecasting for European entities in line with group timelines, consolidating results and preparing variance and trend analyses

• Provide commentary on performance, risks, and opportunities, supporting monthly performance reviews with regional and functional leadership

• Develop and enhance management reporting, dashboards, and KPIs to improve financial visibility, accountability, and decision-making quality

Commercial Finance Business Partnering

• Act as finance business partner to Sales, Service, and Marketing, evaluating pricing, discounts, promotions, and customer or channel profitability

• Support tenders, business cases, and investment decisions through robust financial modelling, ROI/payback analysis, and scenario planning

• Monitor gross margin, cost-to-serve, product and channel mix, and regional cost structures to identify improvement levers and support growth and profitability initiatives

Financial Control, Compliance, and Reporting

• Ensure accurate, timely, and compliant statutory and management reporting for all European entities in line with group accounting policies, local GAAP, and tax regulations

• Oversee core accounting operations including accounts payable/receivable, payroll, cash management, inventory, and fixed assets, ensuring adherence to internal controls and systems

• Coordinate internal and external audits, tax filings, and regulatory interactions, driving timely resolution of audit findings and sustained compliance

Systems, Processes, and Transformation

• Lead or support harmonization, simplification, and standardization of finance processes across European markets

• Leverage ERP and BI platforms (e.g., SAP Business One, Power BI) to improve data quality, automation, forecasting accuracy, and reporting efficiency

• Support digital finance and process improvement initiatives, including new tool implementations and continuous improvement projects

People Leadership and Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Provide guidance, coaching, and operational support to local finance managers and teams, fostering a high-performance, learning-oriented culture

• Collaborate with Group Controlling, Regional Management, Sales, Service, Marketing, Logistics, HR, and other functions to align financial plans with business priorities

• Support capability building within the finance community through training, knowledge sharing, and deployment of common tools and standards

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business Administration, or related field; professional qualification (e.g., CPA or equivalent) preferred

• 7–10 years of progressive finance experience, including regional or multi-country responsibility in a commercially driven international organization

• Strong background in FP&A and commercial finance, combined with hands-on controllership and financial operations experience

• Knowledge of International Accounting Standards and relevant European GAAPs, with practical exposure to audits and tax compliance

• Demonstrated experience with ERP and BI systems (ideally SAP Business One, Power BI, or similar) and advanced Excel skills

Skills, Competencies, and Attributes

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, high attention to detail, and ability to translate data into actionable business insights

• Business-oriented mindset, comfortable engaging with commercial and operational stakeholders

• Excellent communication, influencing, and stakeholder-management skills across cultures and levels

• High initiative, ownership, and ability to manage multiple priorities across countries and time zones; willingness to travel regularly within Europe

• Strategic yet hands-on, proactive, solution-focused, and committed to continuous improvement and developing others