Commercial Manager, UI Partnerships

JOB TITLE: Commercial Manager, UI Partnerships
JOB LOCATION: Mumbai, India
RELOCATION TERMS: Local terms

UNILEVER INTERNATIONAL IS…

Unilever International (UI) is an alternative but complimentary route to market, servicing white space opportunities not exploited by local operating countries. This is amongst Unilever’s fastest growing global business unit with 8 hubs (Singapore, US, UK, Korea, India, Dubai, France and the Philippines) with a diverse range of products, with expertise in utilizing 3rd party distributors and consolidators to reach consumers in over 75 countries.

We treat the business as our own. We introduce Unilever’s brands into geographies like Korea, Pacific Islands, Mongolia, and spearhead launches of iconic household brands like Dove, Lifebuoy, Sunlight, Fair & Lovely, TRESemme into big markets like U.S, China, Western Europe and SEAA.  

As Unilever’s growth engine, we establish global businesses in key channels such as Health & Beauty, Discounters, E-Commerce and alternate channels such as travel retail, marketing to institutional partners like the United Nations, and seeding Unilever brands to overseas diaspora who crave for a taste of their familiar home brands.  

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Partnering and Performance Management: He/she will be actively participating in driving growth and profitability, pricing decisions, managing risk, challenging business teams, and managing costs across all geographies and P&L drivers. The person will be involved in building the forecasts, then actively reviewing actuals vs forecast and flagging key issues to promote accountability, pick early warning signals, and to drive opportunities. They will also support in Driving Internal Operational Planning, Marketing Activity Planning and Pricing Decisions.

• Operational / Financial Processes: The role will lead finance business partnering and operational process. He/She needs to actively coordinate with the appropriate Unilever stakeholders to accelerate business performance. This includes ensuring efficient Working Capital via Debtors Management procedures: Claims, Invoicing, and outstanding items reviews.

• Controls: Ensure financial records are in compliance with accepted policies, procedures and external/SOX controls requirements. Ensure robustness of internal controls including clear segregation of duties, disciplined implementation of schedule of authority, robust payment approval/verification process, credit assessment, budgetary system adherence.

• Support in integration and analysis of new business opportunities and Projects, including but not limited to Financial Flow Modeling, Operational Setup, Business case and KPIs.

• Financial Reporting: He/she will be responsible in ensuring the day to day Finance and Accounting operations and Global Reporting in various geographies are duly performed OTIF. This includes ensuring timely preparation of financial and management reports.

• Manage month end activities: Monthly forecasting, Month end review, Analysis, Drive Insights and Actions with focus on: Growth, Efficiency of investments (ROMI), Portfolio Mix, Pricing and Costs.

• Commercial Operations: Reviewing and developing operational processes to improve performance and maximise growth; Managing daily operations; Preparing models to assess future profitability of identified opportunities; Assisting with product planning; ensuring the accuracy of forecasts and that all commercial reporting procedures are adhered to and taking a lead role in solving commercial issues that may arise

• Develop close working relationships with the Global UI Finance team and share best practices across the broader UI finance team.

KEY REQUIREMENTS:

• 5-8 years of experience in various Finance roles: FA, SCF, FBP.

• In depth knowledge of Operational / Financial Processes: Master data management, Credit Management Policies; Debtors management; Brand & Marketing investments, Claims and reconciliations; Balance sheet reconciliation.

• Experience in one of the Business partnering roles: Supply Chain, Sales, Marketing

• Commercial support and decision support (including preparing financial models and ROI analysis)

• Experience in Investment evaluation, analysis and KPIs.

• Strong Analytical capabilities with bias to Drive Action.

• Advanced Microsoft Office skills, SAP and BW operational Knowledge