Site CFO/Site Director of UK Operations

UK Operations (Macclesfield) comprises commercial manufacturing activities, formulating & packing a wide range of products, supplying these to other AstraZeneca manufacturing sites & Marketing Companies around the world. It is one of the largest sites in the AZ Operations network & has a site cost base of c. $240m, employing c. 1100 FTE's.

One of the main challenges for the site is to maintain excellent supply & availability of high quality & compliant products, delivered through an agile & lean organisation, whilst also delivering against challenging financial & productivity targets. The site continues to invest in key strategic areas to support business growth whilst at the same time adapting & aligning to meet the needs of the changing product portfolio. The role holder provides financial leadership to the site organisation, working as part of the Site Operations Leadership Team (OLT) to drive strategic thinking/direction, innovation & improved operational performance for the site, & is a member of the EMEA Supply regional Finance Leadership Team.

In addition, the role holder provides finance leadership & direction to the Facilities Management and Macclesfield Quality business areas.

• Macclesfield FM is a separate Business Unit providing facilities management services (building services, energy provision & assorted other business services) to the whole of the Macclesfield campus (supporting also PT&D, Global Operations, & Science Units). Gross costs for this Business Unit are c $60m.
• Macclesfield Quality provide Quality Assurance and Quality Control services to UK Operations and also carries out other services such as Global Stability, UK Import Testing and Global Reference Standards. UK Ops Quality has a budget of c $20m and employs c. 250 FTEs.

Across the manufacturing site and broader Macclesfield site campus, a significant capital investment programme is underway, incorporating a number of strategic investment projects (+$100m each), resulting in an annual capital expenditure of c $70m.

As part of Ops 2025, the site is developing its own 5 year strategic plan, to support delivery in each of the Global Ops strategic priorities. Critical elements for this include maintaining an agile & high quality/compliant product supply, delivering productivity improvements; accelerating Lean performance, digital & technical innovation at the site; & delivering the site's Ambition Carbon Zero objectives. As part of the UK Ops LT, the role holder will play a critical part in the development of robust plans to deliver, ensuring timely execution.

UK Operations is a SOX unit with a number of critical SOX controls and around 80 financial framework controls.

The role holder leads a site finance team of three finance business partners, working collaboratively & in close partnership with the Global Finance Services (GFS) team based in Poland, to deliver the full range of financial services & activities to the site (including planning & analysis, decision support, project/investment planning, cost/project management, & financial governance), leveraging the FT planning & reporting solutions. As one of the main Operations sites in the global network, Macclesfield is in scope for Global Operations' Manufacturing Accounting Programme (MAP) & successful implementation of this transformation programme is key.

The role will be located in Macclesfield, UK, reporting to the Head of UK Operations with a dotted line to the Regional Finance Director, EMEA Supply.

Candidate Focus and Challenge

Business Strategy & Decision Support

• Contribute to strategy development for UK Ops (Macclesfield) by providing financial & non-financial input to shape strategies & develop business/operational plans.
• Contribute to the development of a longer term Campus Strategy for the Macclesfield Site, in collaboration with other key functions such as PT&D (based at Macclesfield), including the site's Ambition Carbon Zero target.
• Maintain an up-to-date understanding of all developments (internal & external) which may affect execution of site strategy & business/operational plans.
• Proactively engage & support members of UK OLT in all financial related strategic planning, forecasting & reporting activities; creation of Business cases; & benchmarking productivity.
• Lead financial business & risk analysis, & decision support activities, for leadership teams using business models/ & ROI analysis.
• Lead & direct the preparations for all business planning & strategic review meetings. Be a full/active & influential contributor to key business & finance review meetings.

Business Performance

• Lead the financial planning cycle for UK Ops (Macclesfield) & Macclesfield FM Business Units, setting stretching but attainable performance targets & incentives, aligned to leading benchmarks, strategy & operational plans. Ensure delivery within timescales & quality standards.
• In partnership with the Head of Macclesfield Site & Director of Macclesfield FM, manage the performance & delivery of respective Business Units' P&L & capital programmes, as appropriate.
• Define measurement/assessment & proactively communicate performance of the Business Units to drive execution, engagement & facilitate continuous improvement.
• Joint accountability with the business for the accuracy of forecasts & leveraging sound understanding of the business model & financial drivers, to challenge & influence the key cost drivers.
• Ensure team provides reliable operational & financial forecasts, ensuring resources are allocated to maximize value.
• Partner with the GFS team to provide accurate financial reporting & analysis. Ensure timely flow of information from GFS to UK Ops (Macclesfield)/Macclesfield FM to EMEA Supply region/Global Operations. Highlight sensitivities & risks.
• Proactively drive efficiencies & simplification opportunities across Business Units, including seeking cross-functional process solutions.
• Lead finance & cross-functional teams & drive initiatives to improve performance across the business.
• Through best practice stakeholder management techniques, explore needs with internal customers & external suppliers & utilize this information to improve business results, leveraging significant commercial & business acumen.

Continuous Improvement, Governance and Coaching

• In partnership with the GFS team, ensure operation of an effective & robust financial control framework, which comply with AZ Group Finance standards & policy, & stand up to internal & external audit assessment.
• Lead Finance role in ensuring governance & compliance standards & statutory regulations are met by the organisation. This requires communication to non-specialist areas, in a way that is understandable, relevant & relays the risk of commercial & operational decisions effectively.
• Lead insightful & proactive risk management processes to ensure the organisation's regulations, rules & processes are adhered to & operational across the site environment; highlighting areas of concern.
• Coach finance & non-finance colleagues to drive excellent performance, & drive teams to focus more on decision support activities & less on routine components of Business Performance Management.
• Coach & develop finance professional & business partnering capability of direct team, & financial understanding of the broader UK Ops (Macclesfield) & Macclesfield FM business teams.
• Coach indirect (GFS) Finance team to understand needs of the business customer.
• Initiate changes to improve working practices & processes.

Leadership

• Senior leader within site OLT, with a key role to play in creating a positive leadership shadow & active engagement across the site organisation.
• Act as ambassador for the site to ensure that finance roles on site attract good quality candidates.
• Recruit, direct, lead, coach, develop & motivate direct reports to ensure accountabilities are clear & objectives delivered.
• Build & develop strong relationships with AstraZeneca Global Finance functions across the network, in particular GFS, to ensure that site & regional/global requirements are met.
• As a senior finance leader, play an active role in mentoring, coaching & investment in the personal development of individuals within & outside of Finance.
• As required represent the Site in engaging with key external bodies as part of the Leadership Team.
• Direct leadership of three Finance business partners.

Candidate Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Qualified finance professional, operating at senior levels in the organisation. Significant post qualification experience working in a business environment.
• Experience of leading a finance team (direct/indirect) & working within a global organisation.
• Significant experience of senior finance management, strategic leadership & driving performance through results delivery.
• Executive presence & resilience.
• Proven experience & track record of finance business partnering at senior levels in the organisation, working across Business Unit finance & non-finance teams & within global pharmaceutical organisation/complex supply chains.
• Rigorous and analytical thinking. Experience in developing business cases & use of decision support tools & coaching others in their development & use.
• Experience of financial controls environment & ability to apply governance, risk and compliance components.
• Excellent commercial & operational knowledge of the business area & financial environment (organisation, processes & systems).
• Ability to problem solve & act decisively to make effective decisions under pressure & in situations of ambiguity, taking feedback & driving next steps.
• Delivery focus - must be able to manage competing deadlines & priorities effectively.
• Impact and Influence/Collaborative Partnering.
• Organisational Awareness - demonstrates knowledge of AZ & corporate business context.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, including oral and written, to deliver key financial messages in a way that is both influential & impactful to finance & non-finance teams.
• Coaching & Leadership, bringing extensive experience to the Business Unit teams, that can be shared & developed through peer coaching. Confident in setting direction & in managing a team.
• Desirable but not essential - experience within manufacturing & supply chain environments; knowledge of product costing.

Opening date: 26th July

Closing date: 15th August

Competitive rates of pay apply

Date Posted
26-Jul-2021

Closing Date
16-Aug-2021

AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity. We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills. We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics. We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.