Finance Director - Global Business Services

Job Title: Finance Director - Global Business Services

Role location: London Blackfriars, UK

Job Purpose
The Finance Business Partner for GBS (Global Business Services) is senior leadership role and a pivotal one in the GBS Transformation Journey. Reporting to the Vice President of Finance GBS team, the role oversees the strategy ,financial performance and value partnering for the GBS team. The new GBS organisation went live in January 2025 and covers Business Services for several functions and is expanding significantly, with particular focus on building breakthrough process innovation and scaled, efficient delivery. This is an exciting space now given the new areas undergoing transformation, the external environment changing radically with AI related interventions and the Mirai transformation, which will turbocharge the GBS journey.
The successful candidate needs to demonstrate strong commercial acumen and strong organisational and operational awareness. They will need to lead with impact in cross functional teams and across different business models and cultures. The candidate should have proven experience in managing large and diverse businesses and show an ability to manage complexity, as well as multiple senior stakeholders.
Given this team’s global footprint, it is critical that candidates have international experience, willingness to travel ,demonstrable experience in building high capability teams and systems.

Key Responsibilities

• Create the financial model of the multiple GBS functional service lines. Understand drivers of performance and value creation. Detection of losses and improvement opportunities.
• Creativity. Defining the today and tomorrow of the total GBS model, including Tax implications.
• Financial Analytics and Business Development. Detect new opportunities in the operation of the different businesses that could be better served from the Hubs.
• Transformation. Create and obtain approval of compelling business cases to add value to the business, both organization productivity and improving the way we work.
• Financial control and compliance of a growing organization currently with >5,000 FTEs under GBS responsibility.
• Stakeholder Management. Active, positive, collaborative, and influential stakeholder management of multiple CFOs across functions and BGs/BUs, as well as senior stakeholders in general.
• Play a visible leadership role across the Finance function leading functional initiatives as appropriate.
• Lead, inspire and develop a highly qualified and experienced professional team, ensuring that Unilever has the right level of financial skills and talent in place. Provide clear management direction and set high performance expectations
• Partnering end to end value interventions:
• Business case preparation, scenario modelling & evaluation through to implementation
• Remit covers Capex, Restructuring and productivity interventions
• Rigorous and challenging scrutiny over costs and benefits, and interventions on project performance
• Financial involvement in major contract negotiations / development with 3rd parties
• Key partner during the CPM - Collaborative Procurement Model process of contracts coming up for review.
• Support on validating financial business case, and cost modelling, including treasury and tax considerations

All About You

• Experienced Director
• Enterprise-wide Transformation experiences including small/mid-sized markets
• Finance knowledge across roles in Partnering and Controllership.
• Strategic influencing and clear communication
• Global network within Markets/Function
• Appreciation of Technology, Data. Curious and excited about Digital / AI developments
• Business Acumen for creating impact
• Consumer Love to drive experience
• Proven strength in people leadership & generating followership

Location 

In September 2020, Unilever announced the intention to build a new sustainable campus site in Kingston, London. This site will house some employees who currently work in 100 Victoria Embankment in Blackfriars together with colleagues who are currently located in Lever House in Kingston. We are excited to be creating our own Unilever sustainable, agile work environment. The campus is due to be completed in 2026.

What We Offer

Not only do we offer a competitive salary and pension scheme, we also offer an annual bonus, subsidised gym membership, a discounted staff shop and shares. You’ll have the opportunity to work directly with our renowned and exciting brands in a flexible and hybrid working environment.

Whilst the role is advertised on a full-time basis, we would be happy to discuss possible flexible working options and what this may look like for you. We are a key advocate of wellbeing and offer a variety of support for our people including hubs, programmes and development opportunities. We strive to achieve a family-friendly and inclusive workplace and to, above all, create possibilities for all.

Diversity at Unilever is about inclusion, embracing differences, creating possibilities and growing together for better business performance. We embrace diversity in our workforce. 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. We are also more than happy to provide reasonable adjustments during our application and interview process to enable you to be present your best self. To find out more, including about our Employee Resource Groups, please click here Equity, Diversity & Inclusion at Unilever | Unilever.

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