Budget Control Analyst

Job Title:
Budget Control Analyst - EU FET

Location:
Kingston Head Office

The Europe Finance Excellence Team (Europe FET) is on the lookout for 2 talented individuals ready to make a real impact. As pioneers of an 'Above Market' design, the Europe FET plays a pivotal role in driving key finance operations. This includes month-end closing, forecasting, budget control, management reporting, cash management, and ad hoc decision support, ensuring the smooth financial functioning of European operations. Supporting an €11bn yearly revenue business across the 6 BG Led Markets, the Europe FET needs someone passionate about finance who is eager to contribute to an environment that values collaboration, growth, and impact.

The Europe FET is characterised by its diverse and vibrant culture, bringing together finance professionals from a wide range of backgrounds. The team firmly believes that the best solutions come from a mix of perspectives, leveraging this diversity to solve challenges and foster innovation. With a location strategy based out of three geographical hubs – Kingston, Rotterdam, and Warsaw – the Europe FET aims to enable seamless collaboration by building centers of excellence. These hubs not only facilitate better support to our Markets and Business Groups but also create thriving environments for shared learning.

The FET isn't just about numbers; it's about people. The team cultivates an engaging and collaborative atmosphere where every member's voice is heard and valued. There are ample opportunities to learn, take ownership of projects, and directly impact the financial health of the organization. For individuals looking to grow their skills within a fantastic team and help shape the future of finance operations in Europe, the Europe FET is an exciting place to be. Come be a part of a journey where finance meets innovation, and every day brings a new opportunity to make a difference.

Job Purpose
The Budget Control Analyst - EU FET will support the end-to-end financial budget control process within the EU FET, across all EU markets and BUs. This role involves business partnering with key stakeholders and owning responsibility of the OVH line within PnL. Additionally, you will be managing the central BMI and OVH processes for Month End Close, including preparing and submitting monthly journals, producing forecasts and collaborating with the rest of the European FET. The Budget Control Analyst will provide ad hoc analysis of OVH and BMI spend to support Commercial Finance on decisions. They will work closely with the rest of the Europe FET, Business Unit finance and Budget Holders to identify and mitigate risk and execute opportunities.

Responsibilities
Finance Excellence & Control

• Business partner with key stakeholders and owning responsibility of the OVH line within PnL.
• Manage the central BMI and OVH processes for Month End Close, including preparing and submitting monthly journals, producing forecasts, and collaborating with the rest of the European FET.
• Provide ad hoc analysis of OVH and BMI spend to support Commercial Finance on decisions.
• Drive consistency across categories and BUs, improving accounting, controlling, and reporting processes by focusing on continuous improvement.
• Lead and proactively look for and drive efficiency opportunities with the different Budget Owners.

Value Interventions / Project Work

• Identify and execute opportunities, working closely with the rest of the Europe FET and Business Unit finance.
• Develop corrective actions on major performance interventions to achieve budgets, such as reducing BMI and Overheads spend.
• Partner with Business Units on strategic interventions and the impact on Overheads.

All About You
Experiences & Qualifications

• Preferred: Qualified accountant or equivalent.
• Preferred: Previous experience in reporting or controlling Finance roles.

Skills
Must-have
:

• High degree of flexibility and ability to quickly understand new topics
• Ability to work fluidly with data and across systems.
• Strong analytical skills, and accounting and data accuracy skills.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Strong prioritization skills.
• Excellent engagement, presentation, and communication skills.
• Strength in holding others accountable, particularly peers and senior leadership.
• Courage to drive change

Location

In September 2020, Unilever announced the intention to build a new sustainable campus site in Kingston, London to house the employees who currently work in 100 Victoria Embankment in Blackfriars, Lever House in Kingston, Unilever House in Leatherhead and Graze in Richmond. We are creating our own Unilever sustainable, agile work environment, purposefully bringing us together in our own Unilever ecosystem. The campus is due to be completed in early 2025 and will consist of two interconnected buildings, as well as landscaped surrounding areas.

What We Offer
Not only do we offer a competitive salary and pension scheme, we also offer an annual bonus, free gym, a discounted staff shop and shares. You'll have the opportunity to work directly with our renowned and exciting brands in a flexible and hybrid working environment.

Whilst the role is advertised on a full-time basis, we would be happy to discuss possible flexible working options and what this may look like for you. We are a key advocate of wellbeing and offer a variety of support for our people including hubs, programmes and development opportunities. We strive to achieve a family-friendly and inclusive workplace and to, above all, create possibilities for all.

Diversity at Unilever is about inclusion, embracing differences, creating possibilities and growing together for better business performance. We embrace diversity in our workforce. This means giving full and fair consideration to all applicants and continuing development of all employees regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity. We are also more than happy to provide reasonable adjustments during our application and interview process to enable you to be present your best self. To find out more, click here: Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

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