Head of Finance Change

Join our journey to create a new experience for the National Lottery and help us to power change for the greater good.

About us:

Allwyn UK is part of Allwyn Entertainment Group – a multi-national lottery operator with a market-leading presence in Austria, the Czech Republic, Greece, Cyprus, and Italy. From February 2024, Allwyn commenced its new role as operator of the UK’s National Lottery.

Over the next two years we are embarking on a largescale transformation journey to build a bigger, better and safer National Lottery that delivers more money to Good Causes. Once-in-a-lifetime opportunities exist  for people from within and outside the betting and gaming industry to join us play a part in giving the National Lottery a fresh start

Role Purpose:

To oversee all aspects of the Finance Change Transformation initiatives and lead on finance systems support and the roadmap for system and process change.

Reporting to the Finance Director, this role providing strategic oversight over both the change program within the Finance function but also operates cross-functionally in Finance’s role and data ownership across the gaming technology systems.

Working with key stakeholders in the Transition team and technology as the key Finance SME in the change space, this role requires someone with a deep understanding of finance’s place within a wider organization technology and process infrastructure as data and process owner, key business partner and a driver for change, automation and efficiency.

Job responsibilities:

Role is responsible for delivering change through transformation for the suite of finance systems with focus on integration with key business wide systems and ancillary finance components to enable operational delivery, integration with SAP and a well -controlled and best practice finance function.

The Head of Finance Change also provides management to finance owned system administrators (SAP, SAC, Treasury Management Systems and Banking reconciliation tools) as well as those who support finance impacted incident management across the wider technology stack.

This includes delivering on transformation objectives around the integration between the Gaming Systems into the Finance & complex financial trust system environment, covering reporting and data management.

Aspects of the role include:

• Transformation of Finance, maintaining pathway to a more data driven / digitally enabled function with aligned ways of working and the establishing of automated reporting and controls
• Management of Trust (Treasury) systems changes; as required to support incident management, reporting and new game and initiative development
• Ensuring adherence to business processes and standards to ensure BI/MI produced is of the highest possible quality and suggestion of continuous improvement.
• Ongoing development of system solutions for financial management of player receipts, including development of integrations with Payment Service Providers
• Drive and lead enhancement projects across finance to improve controls, efficiency and effectiveness.
• Review the finance system landscape and provide thought leadership within function to refine and articulate a finance systems roadmap
• Acts as the primary interface between the finance function and the IT/technology teams
• System administration for finance owned systems
• Proactively drive the change agenda across the Finance function, including enhancements to policies, processes and systems, with an aim of enhancing efficiency and effectiveness whilst maintaining a strong control environment.

Team overview

• A direct team of 10 including:
• Finance Systems administrative and configuration support to key finance owned systems (SAP ECC, Concur, SAC, Treasury Management System – FIS and AlphaTax)
• Finance Centre of excellence: standardisation of processes, opportunities to automate and engagement cross functionally
• Trust Finance System team: specialized team involved in ensuring gaming data integrity and balancing across multiple systems including role in game development testing and exception and incident management
• Finance systems expertise in gaming technology across Retailer and Player journeys
• Data ownership, management and reporting

Strong direct stakeholder relationship overseeing the Finance change roadmap working with finance project managers, technology teams and external providers and act as primary liaison between Finance and Technology. This includes deputizing for the Finance Director as the exec sponsor of key projects and working closely with project teams to select external partners, projects have appropriate business engagement and ultimately delivery meets business needs.

Roadmap of change

Finance roadmap of change that this role is to lead and work directly with project teams and technology resources to deliver is:

• Coupa implementation and integration into SAP
• SuccessFactors implementation
• S4HANA
• Game changes and resulting configuration changes
• Process automation and transformation across key finance processes covering Retail, Player, and Treasury
• AI capability
• Data management and reporting
• SAC evolution including additional modules and use

Wider finance team

The Finance Change team sits under the Finance Director along with Financial Control, Treasury, Tax and Finance Operations. The team works across finance including Strategy, Commercial and Business Partnering and Procurement.

Key Skills & Experience:

Qualified CIMA/ACCA/ACA accountant with at least 10+ post qualification experiences gained in finance roles that involve knowledge of end to end finance processes and activities

• Knowledge of working with ERPs (ideally SAP) and experience of supporting projects to enhance the functionality of ERPs

• Experience of working on large-scale project, including ideally technology implementation projects
• Passionate business partner who is result-orientated, analytical and has the ability to drive improvements
•   Proactive and driven self-starter with gravitas to manage senior stakeholders
• Managing Change – Champions, supports and delivers change to improve things. Helps others by overcoming barriers. Is a role model for the leadership agenda within the finance department. Contribute positively towards cultural change and ways of working and simplification
• Strong communication skills, verbal and written. The ability to present complex issues in a simple way
• Customer Focus – Maximises personal contribution to the business to deliver on time and right first time.
• Personal Integrity – Matches words with actions to build trust and respect.
• Drive – Strives to achieve results through determination and commitment. Keeps going when things are difficult.
• Strong leadership skills – has the ability to build a successful team that thrives on success and achievements
• Team Working – Builds and maintains positive relationships across teams.
•  Developing self/ others – Creates and contributes to an environment in which self and others are motivated to learn and develop.
• Analysing and Decision Making – Analyses problems thoroughly and makes good timely decisions. Supports others’ decisions through insightful analysis
• Managing Performance – Proactively takes responsibility for personal development and that of direct report. Supports and challenges individuals to achieve their full potential. Sets stretching objectives and measures progress against them. Manages resources effectively
• Gaining Commitment – Energises and influences others to get the job done and uses relationships to deliver great results. Ability to work in a hands on/start up manner during the transition, whilst building a department for long term success
• Commercially astute, able to analyse data in order to promote effective decision making and produce reports and information to the highest standards.

Our goal is to create one of the UK’s most inclusive organisations – where people can bring the best of themselves, to do their best work, every day, for the benefit of good causes.

Allwyn is an Equal Opportunity Employer which prides itself in being diverse and inclusive. We do not tolerate discrimination, harassment, or victimisation in the workplace.  All employment decisions at Allwyn are based on the business needs, the job requirements, and the individual qualifications.  Allwyn encourages applications from individuals regardless of age, disability (visible or hidden), sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships.

Benefits

• 26 days paid leave (plus bank holidays) 

• Annual bonus scheme 

• 2 x Life Days 

• 4 x Salary of Life Insurance 

• Pension: we’ll match your contribution up to 8.5% 

• Single Private Health Cover 

• £500 Wellness Allowance 

• Income Protection 

• Enhanced parental leave (maternity and paternity) 

• Eye Care, Dental and Cycle To Work schemes 

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