Senior Finance Advisor, Castrol

Job summary

Entity:

Finance

Job Family Group:

Finance Group

Job Description:

This role is a key member of the Castrol GSC and Central Functions Embedded Finance Leadership team, as well as the GAM Leadership Team and is based in Pangbourne, UK.

Role Synopsis

The role is part of a team of finance authorities and is important for ensuring the required integration of the Embedded Finance and Finance Business & Technology Centre organization in service of the business.

Responsible for delivery of finance priorities within the GAM business to enable it to meet its strategic and commercial objectives. Castrol GAM has a global footprint and is a major contributor to Castrol business performance.

Support with sophisticated cases for Global OEM tenders – European, Chinese and Japanese OEMs, including closely working with cross functional partners and different PUs in Castrol. Activities include supporting OEM business managers in a) Commercial negotiations and deal structuring b) Price deliberation inputs and support c) Risk management d) Performance management of global portfolio of OEMs.

The holder plays a key role in the creation and delivery of the strategy and financial roadmap, including the assessment of risk. The role holds the business to account for the impact that strategic and operational activities will have on financial outcomes and is accountable for intervening when delivery risk emerges.

The role provides finance advice into decision-making to create and protect sustainable value for bp. It supports delivery of a strong financial and control framework, whilst driving financial performance.

In addition there are requirements to collaborate across businesses and supporting functions to optimize and protect combined value chains and it furthermore owns external relationships with government, regulatory agencies, partners and counterparties to ensure bp’s contractual rights and obligations are met.

Key Roles and Responsibilities

• Commercial - Trusted advisor to the VP GAM Castrol and C&P in support of business delivery (commercial, accounting, investment), providing finance expertise into business decision-making.
• Drive key commercial decisions and investments with independent assessment of value including negotiation of key procurement supply agreements, working capital optimization, and trade-off analysis.
• Performance – accountable for driving business performance in both economic and strategic terms including leading interventions where needed to ensure strategic objectives and financial outcomes are met.
• Control and Risk Management -supporting the maintenance of a robust control environment and support the identification and resolution of gaps.
• Simplification – Support process transformation of our business by eliminating interfaces and duplications where possible, simplifying tasks, adopting digital automation.
• People Development – support development of required skills and capability to ensure business needs can be met sustainably in addition to developing future capability for the area group and finance overall

Job Functional Knowledge

• Strong leadership, with an empowering attitude and collaborative spirit
• A positive role model for business integrity, values and behaviors
• Strategic vision and business leadership: ability to see the big picture, anticipate issues including financial implications and create solutions to meet financial objectives.
• Strong business /commercial foresight and understanding of the integrated value chains within, including understanding the key regional dynamics
• Ability to work within and across large, globally diverse teams and cultures
• Significant process expertise across control, planning and performance and commercial activities.
• Understanding of key internal policies and external standards (existing and emerging) across the Planning and Control scope
• Deep understanding of local regulatory frameworks in which the business operates
• Ability to navigate and drive strategic change at pace.

Business Expertise

Deep expertise within a comparable FMCG business model, mastery of the key business drivers and emerging external landscape. Able to shape and influence the strategic direction of the sub-business / region and influence key internal and external partners within this context. Significant expertise in a profit-orientated business with responsibilities covering commercial or financial management, leading business performance management and running change projects.

Leadership

• Drive strategic direction for finance in the sub-business and exert influence with key partners for buy-in to that direction
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to build capability, coach a diverse group of people and drive high performance. 
• A passion for people leadership, inspiring and motivating people to deliver results, experience leading a geographically dispersed team is a must. Develop future talent pools
• Empower teams to deliver, supporting with clear expectations and effective support
• Drive a one-team culture across key Finance teams and the Business, building collaborative relationship with the Global Capability Hub.
• Able to cut through key issues and challenges and rapidly resolve with the right level of agreement and support both from the Finance and Business teams
• Clear and concise communicator – able to build awareness and support of the wider community
• Promotes a continuous improvement culture –simplifying activities, embracing digital automation, enabling faster, more focussed decision making

Problem Solving

High level of problem-solving skills required. Examples include:

• Resolution of blocking issues around key judgements / evaluations, commercial options, partner disputes etc.
• Prioritization of resource demands, balancing regional business, external partner and central finance demands
• Navigating matrix organization for swift decisions in high pressure environment in times of supply chain disruptions, product shortages, and volatile environment.

Areas of Impact

The stakeholders that this role regularly interacts with C&P business leaders, as well as senior C&P Finance leaders for the business. Also the FP&A teams in the FBT.

Interpersonal Skills

• Champion bp’s Who we are culture. Ability to speak up, listen up and act where required. Hold others to account (values/culture/compliance)
• Ability to drive and lead others through change, ability to deal with ambiguity
• Communication (verbal and written) - Good command of written and spoken English

Job Requirements and Education

Minimum Education: Degree in Business and/or Finance or equivalent experience, MBAs or similar are desirable.

Experience Required

Minimum Experience:

Minimum 7 years of experience in a commercial finance role(s), understanding of value drivers and business risks and delivering change projects across the organization

FMCG industry experience is desirable

Required Licenses/Certifications:

Professional accounting qualifications (Chartered Accountancy, CIMA, etc) is preferred

Additional Information

At bp, we provide the following environment and benefits to you:

• A company culture where we respect our diverse and unified teams, where we are proud of our achievements and where fun and the attitude of giving back to our environment are highly valued

• Possibility to join our social communities and networks

• Learning opportunities and other development opportunities to craft your career path

• Life and health insurance, medical care package

• And many other benefits.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, perform crucial job functions, and receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us to request any accommodations.

Travel Requirement

Negligible travel should be expected with this role

Relocation Assistance:

This role is not eligible for relocation

Remote Type:

This position is a hybrid of office/remote working

Skills:

Accounting, Accounting, Agility tools, Analytical Thinking, Business, Business Acumen, Business Leadership, Business Performance, Business Performance Analysis, Business Performance Improvement, Business Performance Management, Business process control, Business process improvement, Collaboration, Commercial Acumen, Commercial performance management, Communication, Creativity and Innovation, Customer centric thinking, Data Analysis, Data visualization and interpretation, Decision Making, Digital Automation, Digital fluency, Finance {+ 10 more}

Legal Disclaimer:

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, socioeconomic status, neurodiversity/neurocognitive functioning, veteran status or disability status. Individuals with an accessibility need may request an adjustment/accommodation related to bp’s recruiting process (e.g., accessing the job application, completing required assessments, participating in telephone screenings or interviews, etc.). If you would like to request an adjustment/accommodation related to the recruitment process, please contact us.

If you are selected for a position and depending upon your role, your employment may be contingent upon adherence to local policy. This may include pre-placement drug screening, medical review of physical fitness for the role, and background checks.