Commercial Finance Business Partner (Foods)

Unilever is currently hiring for a Commercial Finance Business Partner

Reports to: Commercial Finance Manager

Scope: Southern Africa

Location: Johannesburg

Terms & Conditions: Full time, Permanent

ABOUTUNILEVER

With 3.4 billion people in over 190 countries using our products every day, Unilever is a business that makes a real impact on the world. Work on brands that are loved and improve the lives of our consumers and the communities around us. We are driven by our purpose: to make sustainable living commonplace, and it is our belief that doing business the right way drives superior performance. At the heart of what we do is our people – we believe that when our people work with purpose, we will create a better business and a better world. 

At Unilever, your career will be a unique journey, grounded in our inclusive, collaborative, and flexible working environment. We don’t believe in the ‘one size fits all’ approach and instead we will equip you with the tools you need to shape your own future.

JOB PURPOSE

Find your purpose at Unilever. You will lead innovations, big and small, that will make our business win and grow. You will learn from brilliant business leaders and colleagues in a truly global and diverse culture to ultimately become a better you. This role plays a key role in the company’s corporate management accounting systems (incl governance and controls, budgeting, planning & reporting and management of business performance.)

WHAT WILL YOUR MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES BE

Position Overview: The Commercial Business Partner will play a critical role in supporting and partnering the Business Group by providing financial insights, reporting, and analysis to drive business performance and strategic decision-making.

Key Responsibilities:

• Leadership:

  • Demonstrate visible leadership in Finance and engage in industry forums to enhance the organization's reputation.

  • Lead teams in delivering people agenda activities, including mentoring, recruiting, and talent management.

• Budgeting and Forecasting:

  • Actively involved in budgeting process, working closely with various departments to ensure accurate and realistic budgets.

  • Monitor and update forecasts based on actual performance and market conditions

• Performance Reporting:

  • Accountable for internal validation and sign-off your respective Category Forecast.

  • Track key performance indicators (KPIs) and provide regular updates to senior management.

  • Identify areas for cost optimization and efficiency improvements

• Business Partnering:

  • Provide financial decision support to the Business Group leadership teams.

  • Prepare and conduct financial analysis and Return on Investment for new product launches, marketing campaigns, and other business initiatives . 

• Continuous Improvement:

  • Lead the digital, simplification and process improvement initiatives.

Experiences & Qualifications

• Professional qualification in accountancy – CA or CIMA (or other finance professional qualification) preferably or nearing completion of professional qualification.

• Strong analytical capabilities with bias to drive action

• Ability to manage upwards

• Ability to steer conversations and influence

• Understanding or ability to quickly grasp financial principles in the end-to-end,identify and drive relevant value-creating choices and decisions

• Ability to handle and work under pressure and to meet tight deadlines

Skills

• Proficiency in financial forecasting and reporting tools.

• Ability to analyze complex financial data and provide actionable insights.

• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.

• Leadership skills – able to lead, motivate, inspire

• Strong communication and influencing skills

• Ability to present complex information in a simplified manner and clearly explain Finance concepts to non-Finance stakeholders.

• Strong Analytical skills and ability to communicate analytical findings both verbally (in meetings) and in written form (through formal presentations)

• Strong initiative and ability to work under pressure

• Ability to work under pressure and late hour over the month end reporting period

• SAP, GCUT, Ifinance experience

Critical Behaviours

• Care deeply: caring deeply about how consumers experience our brands every day, everywhere; about our people’s growth and development, and our impact on the planet. You care about your performance, to a point where it hurts when you don’t win.  Always brings their best self. Has emotional intelligence to take feedback, manage mood and motivations and build empathy for others. Sets high standards for themselves. Has humility, understanding that leadership is service to others, inside and outside of Unilever.

• Focus on what counts: we set clear and stretching goals and recognise maximum performance impact.  Generates intensity and focus to motivate people to deliver results at speed.

• Stay three steps ahead: we think boldly and creatively to make breakthroughs in performance. We are always curious and confident – anticipating and staying ahead of consumer needs and external trends to beat the competition. Approaches delivery with an iterative and incremental, test - do - learn approach. Has an owner’s mindset, using data and insight to make decisions.

• Deliver with excellence: we deliver everything we do with excellence and pace. We take personal ownership and hold each other to account – always finding a way to do what we said we will do.  Takes personal responsibility and accountability for execution and results.

Unilever is an equal opportunities employer and committed to diversity and inclusivity in the workplace.  We are intentional in employing the best talent that reflects the demographics of our country and which will help build representation of currently under-represented groups. We therefore invite applications from all candidates representing diversity of age, sex, disability, sexual orientation, race, religion or belief. When appointing potential candidates, the South African Employment Equity and Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment Legislation will be considered.   

We are required by law to verify your ability to work lawfully in South Africa. If you are applying as a foreign national, please note that you may be requested to provide supporting documents supporting this. 

This is an office-based role in Johannesburg and requires 100% of time attendance on site.

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.