Chief Financial Officer, Australia & New Zealand

Who we are?

On any given day, 2.5 billion people globally use Unilever products to feel good, look good and get more out of life. Many of our brands are well-known, household staples and old-time favourites including Dove, Rexona, Lynx, Vaseline, OMO/Persil, Surf, TRESemmé, Continental, Ben & Jerry’s and Streets.

We have a long tradition of being a progressive, responsible business. It goes back to the days of our founder William Lever, who launched the world’s first purposeful brand, Sunlight Soap more than 100 years ago, and it’s at the heart of how we run our company today.In 2022 Unilever Australia & New Zealand became a Certified B Corporation™ (B Corp), joining a growing network of organisations committed to galvanising a stronger, more inclusive, equitable and regenerative economy for all. 

A job at Unilever is a career made by you, with development opportunities, benefits and a working culture that embraces diversity and is pioneering flexibility. There’s no better time to join our team!

Job Summary 

Within the Country Leadership team, the Chief Financial Officer, Australia & New Zealand is expected both to perform a role which covers their full Finance remit, and to be a voice of overall rational, economic and ethical challenge within the LT, playing a leading role in setting a culture of compliance, governance awareness and business acumen among the members of the country LT.

This role has end responsibility for top and bottom-line delivery for the local operating companies in Australia & New Zealand, with full P&L, Balance Sheet and Cash ownership. The role will focus on execution of the business strategy in the market and drive both Value Creation and Transformation.

Role Responsibilities: 

Business Performance

• Delivering the in-year Profit and Loss (P&L), driving and shaping business performance.

• Performance analysis and interventions for delivery of in-year financial targets.

• Setting the longer term strategic plan and lead the financial inputs/outputs of Integrated Business Plan (IBP).

• Support commercial decision making for Customer teams.

• Lead the local Finance Excellence Team (FET) for Cash Up, Overheads and BMI control.

• Responsible for Factory controlling and SC Finance activities.

• Responsible for end-to-end Cash delivery.

Value Creation

• Ensure strong Forecast accuracy and land Finance transformation initiatives.

• Drive Fuel for Growth (5S savings, Net Revenue Management, Zero Based Budgeting and return on marketing investment).

• Drive strong decision making around resource allocation and budget setting.

Stewardship

• Balance sheet and control framework ownership for the legal entities, including statutory responsibilities.

• TTS budget control, Rebate and Overdue management.

• Responsible for FET activities (cash up, overheads, BMI).

Talent & Leadership

• Lead the Finance team and provide coaching, mentoring and leadership.

• Play a wider leadership role across the ANZ business.

• Lead through change & drive transformation to unlock effectiveness and efficiencies.

What you will need to succeed 

Skills & Experience 

• Professional qualification (CA/ACMA/MBA or equivalent).

• FMCG or comparable industry experience at Finance Director level.

• In-market experience of P&L delivery and balance sheet/control management.

• Excellent commercial acumen & strong business partnering credentials with a proven track record on delivery.

• Strong experience in managing in-market control framework, cash and stewardship.

• Understanding / exposure to SC Finance activities and Factory controlling.

• Exposure to key value creation initiatives such as NRM, IBP, F4G.

• Financial forecasting and cash up exposure, with a track record in driving Forecast accuracy.

• Strong leadership skills are essential, experience in leading large teams leading transformation.

• Experience managing a large and complex set of local and regional stakeholders.

• Experience in presenting to and communicating with senior Finance and non-Finance stakeholders.

• Proven experience in change management.

Leadership

• You are now a Leader of Change. People look to you to provide safety in a storm, and you also appropriately challenge to get even better results. You role model resilience and care. You navigate these uncertain times by flexing plans and your leadership style, always with authenticity.

• You are still responsible for delivering to the highest standards. You must be resilient so you can lead others to deliver with passion through uncertainty and create opportunities through the core and beyond. You must be able to flex your style and your plans to guide others through difficult times.

What awaits you at Unilever?

The core of Unilever’s culture is captured as Human, Purposeful, Accountable. You will be joining a dynamic, flexible, and inspiring work environment that truly cares about your wellbeing, values what you do and celebrates your success.

This is your opportunity to be part of a purpose-led business and a global community where you can progress your career both locally and internationally. You will also benefit from amazing discounts on external company products, attractive employee referral reward program amongst other benefits.

This is a great opportunity to work within an iconic and global organization. We have gained our reputation as one of the world's most admired employers by providing an environment where individuals can achieve their goals, both professionally and personally.

Make no mistake we expect a lot from our people as they do of us. So, if you can rise to the challenge, don't waste any time - apply now!

We are committed to making reasonable adjustments to provide a positive, barrier-free recruitment journey. Should you require additional information or reasonable adjustments to allow you to present your best self during this process, please contact anz.talent@unilever.com.