Finance Manager APAC (Pepsi Lipton JV)

Pepsi Lipton is a joint venture between Unilever and PepsiCo to manufacture and sell RTD Ice Tea across the globe. Established in 1992, it is the global leader in RTD Ice Tea operating with the Lipton, Pure Leaf, Brisk, and Tazo brands. Pepsi Lipton sells concentrated kits with total net revenue of $1.3bn to PepsiCo, Unilever, and third‑party bottlers, generating system net revenue of $3.5bn.

As a company in its own right, the JV is governed by a board of directors represented by senior executives from Unilever and PepsiCo. It operates as a separate entity day‑to‑day while leveraging its parent companies for functional and leadership development, practices, culture, and talent.
The JV offers a uniquely diverse and global environment with end‑to‑end ownership, cross‑functional collaboration, and entrepreneurial challenges.
Learn more at: www.pepsilipton.com
Main Purpose

Own end‑to‑end financial leadership for a multi‑market APAC cluster, independently steering business performance. Provide strong commercial partnership and governance oversight to enable profitable growth, innovation, and business model shifts.

Key Accountabilities
1) Independent Financial Leadership & Commercial Direction

• Lead financial direction independently in leadership forums; challenge assumptions and drive decisions with clear recommendations.

• Provide commercial insights across revenue, margin, mix, pricing, trade spend, cost‑to‑serve, and productivity.

• Provide insights on shadow P&L by bottler to assess system profitability and profit splits.

• Identify and quantify risks and opportunities; drive mitigation plans with clear owners and timelines.

• Run scenario planning and sensitivities to support spend management, resource allocation, and growth choices.

• Lead governance on effectiveness of spend (A&M and D&A), tracking and governance.

2) Planning, Forecasting & Submissions (AOP / STRAT / Rolling Forecast)

• Lead annual AOP for in‑scope markets including assumptions, cross‑functional alignment, timelines, and narrative.

• Own monthly rolling forecasting cadence including driver‑based forecasting, phasing, and bridges (AOP vs Latest vs Prior).

• Co‑lead development of 5‑year strategic plan and ensure tracking of execution.

• Ensure all planning submissions meet global/regional standards and governance requirements; prepare executive‑ready commentary.

3) Performance Management Cadence (MBRs) & Steering the Business

• Drive effective monthly business reviews and executive reviews: agenda, prereads, insights, decision asks, and action tracking.

• Build concise storytelling on performance drivers, gaps, and corrective actions with a forward‑looking view.

• Own performance scorecards and dashboards; track initiatives and benefits realization.

4) Business Partnering for Growth, Innovation, and Change

• Finance partner for key growth initiatives: innovation, portfolio choices, RTM/channel expansion, new market entry, and business model changes.

• Lead innovation stage‑gate financial alignment including business cases, risk assessment, sensitivity analysis, gate readiness, and post‑launch tracking (ROI, payback, KPIs).

• Support negotiations and commercial arrangements with embedded financial and risk perspectives.

5) Controls, Compliance & Financial Hygiene (GCS / Governance)

• Ensure robust financial controls and compliance with GCS and internal standards across markets.

• Drive accuracy and discipline across:

• Forecast accuracy and bias control

• AR/AP ageing governance and working‑capital visibility

• Accruals completeness, accuracy, and timely reversals

• Month‑end and quarter‑end close integrity

• Trade spend / investment controls (approvals, tracking, policy compliance)

• Accurate concentrate pricing through NWSP mechanism compliance

• Drive audits for selected markets on concentrate NWSP pricing

• Partner with Shared Services/COEs to improve controls and reduce ageing; elevate data integrity.

• Support internal and external audits; ensure timely remediation.

6) Governance Custodianship & Global/Board Alignment Support

• Custodian for governance documentation and key agreements including EBA, BDA, COOP, and other business/legal documents.

• Embed governance checks into planning and investment processes.

• Support global teams on BOD/Board‑related financial alignment and materials (narratives, bridges, metrics).

7) Systems, Data, and Process Excellence

• Confidently use financial systems: YODA, HFM, SAP, COCKPIT, Mosaic (advanced Excel/PowerPoint; BI tools a plus).

• Ensure data consistency across systems and drive fixes for discrepancies.

• Improve planning and reporting processes to increase speed, accuracy, and standardization.

Qualifications

• 8+ years post‑qualification experience in commercial finance/business partnering, ideally regional/multi‑market.

• Proven ownership of AOP/forecasting cycles, MBRs, and decision support for growth initiatives.

• Strong controls orientation across working capital, accruals, and compliance.

• CPA / CA / ACCA (FCCA) and/or MBA Finance.

• Strong commercial and strategic thinking.

• Independent leadership and ability to influence senior stakeholders across cultures.

• High analytical capability (modelling, scenario planning, sensitivity analysis) and strong storytelling.

• Controls mindset: disciplined, detail‑oriented, audit‑ready.

• Strong interpersonal and stakeholder management skills.

Unilever is an organisation committed to equity, inclusion and diversity to drive our business results and create a better future, every day, for our diverse employees, global consumers, partners, and communities. We believe a diverse workforce allows us to match our growth ambitions and drive inclusion across the business. At Unilever we are interested in every individual bringing their ‘Whole Self’ to work and this includes you! Thus if you require any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at the time of your application so that we can support you through your recruitment journey.