Global Tech lead - Finance product

Job Title : Global Tech lead - Finance product

Location : Bangalore

Global Digital & Technology (GDT) is a global function that plays a key role in Unilever’s strategy.
We are the digital heartbeat of Unilever, driving growth across all Business Groups, reducing complexity, and powering the resilient foundations, infrastructure and platform ecosystem on which Unilever’s entire operations depend.
Our focus is on delivering impact and leveraging scaled AI across the business value chain.
We are organised around Business Product Domains (Finance, Consumer, Customer Development, Customer Operations, and Digital Business Operations), Foundational Business Domains (Technology, Data, and Cyber) and BG/BU/1UL engagement teams (BW, PC, HC, and Foods).
We work with a wide range of technology partners to land our priorities, including Microsoft, SAP, Google, Accenture, and Salesforce.

Finance Business Product domain within GDT aims to deliver high quality finance information in an easy-to-use fashion by globally deploying future fit tech with agility, speed, efficiency while maintaining resilience of our existing systems. Focus of this platform is on global finance projects and applications. We simplify processes via best-in-class technology, we deliver solutions that drive competitive advantage,

Key Responsibilities
Delivery Management
• Lead Design & Delivery of Global Finance solutions supporting the digital transformation agenda
• Ensure standardisation of tools & capabilities across markets (as much possible) allowing only local solutions for legal and fiscal demands
• Responsible for delivery of projects within time, scope, and budget constraints.
• End to end project owner for IT capability delivery ensuring a fit for purpose solution is landed
• Accountable to manage E2E lifecycle, from project initiation through design, build, test, deployment to running effective PGLS.
• Lead & partner with senior stakeholders in business and experiences
• Work with business stakeholders to understand scope, needs, timelines and trade-offs
• Own delivery roadmap and deployment strategy
• Interface across multiple teams – markets, experiences, D&A, Landscapes etc. Acts as single point of accountability for IT to improve productivity and reduce risk.
• Stakeholder management across IT platforms, Key Vendors.
• Partner with the ECC landscape and other IT teams to effectively localize and deploy global solutions to increase value realization
• Maintain a strong connection with cross functional platform teams (Ex: EBI, Information Security) to ensure seamless operations.
• Overall, ensure integrated solution delivery across IT solutions/teams
• Build delivery plan, and align other project teams to it
• Co-own value delivery from projects with the business/experience lead.
• Manage end to end IT budget to meet financial targets
• Ensure appropriate governance meetings are used effectively with relevant stakeholders to track and trace actions/requirements.
• Support with business case

People Management
• Responsible for growing and nurturing talent including succession planning ensuring organization is fit to win short and long term

Product Management
• Digital Platform management (Application Development, Application Maintenance, Lifecycle Management, Resilience and Service delivery) for applications that have global coverage.
• Responsible for delivering secure, resilient and efficient application to business
• Ensure changes are deployed and application is run effectively and is aligned to business needs and opportunities.
• Thorough collaboration and partnering with Experience Leads to articulate business requirements and to influence/shape future plans
• Constantly evolve the application landscape towards its end state unlocking business value from upgrades and retiring non-value adding functionalities
• Support with business case creation for opportunities to scale out the application
• Supporting the IT strategy & roadmap design
• Support the optimization of end-to-end costs of the platform(s)
• Sustain and Develop vendor relationships & teams
• Ensure that Service Providers resolve incidents and issues in an efficient and effective manner, and that the root cause analysis studies are conducted, and clear improvement plans are identified

Skills, Experience and Qualifications
A well-rounded Finance professional. Deep knowledge of operations and the value chain in a consumer goods company, that is complemented by knowledge of emerging technologies to deliver a world class service.

Skills
Business Engagement
• Ability to influence and communicate with senior leaders
• A strong ability to understand complex business processes/requirements and translate them into technical solutions to deliver on those requirements
• Ability to work with imperfect information while still maintaining high standard of delivery
• Ability to communicate complex solutions in a precise, actionable, business language to senior management and influence the adoption of IT capabilities
• Ability to speak across functional silos and bring them together

Project/Program Management
• Excellent understanding of the interactions between people, processes, and technology
• Ability to work remotely and with wide range of stakeholders from business to IT
• Ability to manage paradox of driving global solutions while catering to country needs
• Experience in building business cases
• Passion for high performance: take personal responsibility for on time in full delivery
• Ability to manage multiple requests simultaneously in a highly dynamic environment
• Ability to work to tight deadlines in a challenging environment
• Ability to cope with uncertainty and drive through change
• Strong analytical, numerical and prioritisation skills
• Ability to manage virtual teams
• Ability to work as a part of a cross-functional team in an agile manner without necessarily having a traditional team set-up
• Ability to balance strategical, tactical and operational aspects of the implementation
• Should be able to drive overall efficiencies and cost reduction

Subject Matter Expertise
• Good understanding of Finance Functions, tools and technologies.
• An up-to-date understanding of best practice applications design & E2E systems integration
• Good overall knowledge of a broad range of technology and technology trends
• Strong technical expertise to dissect solutions and “know what good looks like”
• Needs to balance fit for purpose solutions: over-engineered solutions versus essential to do business

Generic
• Entrepreneurial drive displays a thirst for knowledge enabling personal growth and development.
• Having a good accountability, growth mindset and bias for action.
• Ability to manage multiple requests and priorities simultaneously in a highly VUCA and competitive market
• A strong network within the company and credibility to lead the dialogue with relevant Leadership Teams
• Demonstrated ability to communicate complex technical information in a condensed manner to various stakeholders verbally and in writing.
• Team player with the ability and tolerance to work with others.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, interpersonal and collaborative skills
• Passionate people focused individual, valuing diversity and different cultures.
• Recognises the importance of a well-defined clear business strategy.
• Excellent leadership qualities, encouraging ownership, assertiveness and challenging to get the best from teams and partners
• Understanding of relevant tools and platforms (e.g., cloud platforms, web technologies, continuous integration, and deployment), with an eagerness to learn about new and unfamiliar technologies.
• Experience on Application Maintenance, Service Delivery, and IT Platform Management.

Team Management
• Strong Talent Catalyst with proven track record of leading and building skilled talent and teams
• Ability to lead and motivate cross-functional, interdisciplinary teams to achieve tactical and strategic goals.

Experience and Qualifications
• CA or MBA preferred. Overall experience of 15+ years preferred, 5+yrs in Finance IT
• Experience in either setting up and managing a portfolio of Tech products is a must (2-3 years).
• Experience in business engagement, project management with compelling story telling skills.
• Strong track record of working with business stakeholders to drive definition, alignment, and support for IT solutions to address complex business issues
• Familiarity with working with multiple 3rd party or offshore suppliers
• Clear experience of managing IT Transformational projects end to end. Past-experience of designing systems or components, ideally on large projects
• Proven track record in developing roadmaps for digital
• Proven track record of leading and developing IT professionals.
• Experience of working within a global complex organization
• Well-equipped on agile principles

Key Interfaces
Global Controllers and Accounting Department.
Commercial Experience.
ECC Landscapes and other IT teams and horizontals like CSRM

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion 

Unilever embraces diversity and encourages applicants from all walks of life! 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.

Note: "All official offers from Unilever are issued only via our Applicant Tracking System (ATS). Offers from individuals or unofficial sources may be fraudulent—please verify before proceeding."