Head of Business Controlling

The Head of Business Controlling / Financial Controller serves as a strategic partner to business leaders, product owners, and senior management, driving financial performance, transparency, and compliance across the organization. This role leads a team of controllers and analysts, ensuring robust financial control, insightful analysis, and high-quality reporting to support business growth and operational excellence in a complex, multinational environment.

Business Partnering

• Act as a trusted advisor to product owners, operational leaders, and executive management.
• Provide financial insight, commercial analysis, and recommendations to support strategic and tactical business decisions.
• Collaborate on pricing, customer proposals, and new business initiatives.

Profitability Management

• Oversee daily, weekly, and monthly profitability analysis by product, customer, and lane.
• Identify margin improvement opportunities and cost-saving initiatives.

Month-End Closing & Reporting

• Lead the month-end and year-end closing processes, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance with group and statutory requirements.
• Prepare and present comprehensive management reports, financial statements, and variance analysis.

Budgeting & Forecasting

• Coordinate annual budget and periodic forecasting cycles.
• Consolidate, challenge, and validate input from business units; ensure alignment with business strategy.
• Monitor performance against budget/forecast and drive corrective actions where necessary.

CAPEX Management

• Evaluate, monitor, and control capital expenditure requests.
• Oversee post-investment reviews and ensure returns are tracked and reported.

Ad Hoc Business Needs

• Deliver ad hoc financial analysis, business case development, and scenario modelling for new projects, bids, or investment opportunities.
• Support business transformation and change management programs.

Audit Management

• Coordinate and manage internal and external audit processes.
• Ensure implementation and follow-up of audit recommendations.

SSC Oversight

• Liaise with Shared Service Centers (SSC) to ensure accuracy, efficiency, and timely processing of transactional activities (AR, AP, GL, etc).
• Define and monitor KPIs and SLAs, drive process improvements, and resolve escalated issues.
• Lead, develop, and mentor a team of controllers and analysts across multiple locations.
• Foster a high-performance culture, set clear objectives, and conduct regular performance reviews.
• Provide training and development opportunities to build a strong finance talent pipeline.
• Ensure robust financial controls, policies, and procedures are in place and adhered to.
• Maintain compliance with internal, statutory, and regulatory requirements across jurisdictions.
• Drive continuous improvement in finance processes, reporting, and systems usage.
• Lead or support finance systems upgrades and digitalization projects.

Stakeholder Management

• Build strong relationships with key internal and external stakeholders, including auditors, banks, tax authorities, and business partners.
• Identify and assess financial risks; develop and implement mitigation strategies.
• Monitor working capital, cash flow, and credit exposures.

Strategic Projects

• Participate in or lead, cross-functional projects such as M&A, integration, or business expansion.

Requirements

• Bachelor's or master's degree in finance, Accounting, Economics, or related field
• 8+years' experience in financial controlling, business partnering, or finance management in a multinational environment (preferably logistics or freight forwarding).
• Proven leadership and team management track record.
• Strong knowledge of IFRS / Local GAAP, financial analysis, and business performance management.
• Advanced skills in ERP and financial reporting systems.