Lead Finance Business Partner - Capex, Global Engineering and Real Estate

Location: Luton, UK

Competitive salary and benefits package

At AstraZeneca, we put patients first and strive to meet their unmet needs worldwide. Working here means being entrepreneurial, thinking big and working together to make the impossible a reality. If you are swift to action, confident to lead, willing to collaborate, and curious about what science can do, then you’re our kind of person. Make a positive impact, in a team where it means more.

In Operations, we have a big ambition – to deliver more medicines to patients, quicker and more affordably. Backed by the investment, leadership and a clear plan to get there, we bring personal dedication and out-of-the-box thinking. As part of the Operations Performance Team, you will play a critical role in supporting this bold ambition.

As Lead Finance Business Partner for CAPEX, Global Engineering and Real Estate, you will work alongside the Operations Performance Director to financially lead the management of our +$3bn AZ Capital Portfolio.

Accountabilities:

What you'll do: Critical focus areas of the role are three-fold:

• Providing the Capital Approval Board (CAB) the financial insight required for capital prioritisation, authorisation and progress of spend, ensuring optimisation of the allocation, as well as aligning to our enterprise cash ambitions
• Partnering with finance across our major SET areas (including R&D and Alexion) to align planning assumptions with investment strategy and capital targets, and reporting against those
• Lead Finance Business Partner for the Global Engineering & Real Estate organisation – the team responsible for delivering our large scale capital projects (+170 Employers across 4 major locations ~ UK, Sweden, China and America)

The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate capabilities in the following key areas:

Business Partnering - driving sustained business performance:

• Proactively engage with senior business leaders; providing advice, guidance and support, enabling and influencing decision making to achieve optimal performance supported by high quality business case preparation and evaluation
• Supporting major capital projects through business case to approval
• Partner Real Estate to ensure maximum utilisation of our AZ property portfolio and support cash generation opportunities such as sale and leaseback

Contributing to Generate Positive Cashflow

• Influence Capex strategic planning and in-year allocation (right amount at the right time)
• Support target setting process to allocate resource across the Enterprise
• Improve cash and currency forecasting to support evolving Group requirements

Financial Controllership

• Be the key customer to the CAPEX GPO in strengthening the capital guidelines and adherence to and optimisation of the Financial Control Framework
• Ensure strong governance and control mindset across GERE function and supporting GFS & Finance organisations

Change agent and process simplification

• Be a key member in the CAPEX Transformation project. Leverage the solutions to deliver insight and efficiency, identify value-add opportunities
• Drive process simplification across Finance and GERE utilising LEAN techniques

Developing team and people

• Work across a matrix structure of Global Engineering, SET area finance and global network of Finance resource managing Capex locally and GFS supporting Capex FP&A delivery
• Coach GFS supporting organisation to optimise FP&A service levels
• Build finance acumen of GERE team members

As Lead Finance Business Partner – CAPEX, Global Engineering & Real Estate you will:

• Provide leadership in the Capital process area across operations but also support the other SET areas.
• Shape key messages and content for the Capital Approval Board (CAB) and Senior Leadership to help with strategy and foresight decisions.
• Perform Peer review on CAPEX related Business cases before presented in Operations Committee and Capital approval Board.
• Manage financial CAPEX portfolio prioritization process together with Global Engineering.
• Lead overall relationships with CAPEX GPO, GFS and Group Finance for Planning, Reporting and Cashflow needs.
• Take a lead in driving continuous improvement in CAPEX finance processes and capabilities by being on the forefront of how we change the process to be fit for the future.
• Lead financial risk management and financial governance for Capex and GERE function.
• Support key business & investment decisions across GERE through ensuring dynamic resource allocation, targeted at value-creating opportunities, advising and guiding senior business leaders, using an excellent knowledge of customer requirements, balanced with an understanding of internal culture and climate.
• Drive financial performance in GERE using a good understanding of the business model and financial drivers, to challenge and influence the key cost drivers, setting stretching but attainable performance targets aligned to strategy and operational plans.
• Lead the BAU continuous improvement development to drive process efficiencies and maximize the sustainable competitive advantage for the business through benchmarking processes, facilitating the identification, promotion and management of best practices, using the appropriate global networks.

Essential Skills/Experience

• Finance professional with 10+ yrs experience including successful senior business partnering experience (5+ yrs)
• Experience of implementing significant process change across different national and business boundaries
• Agility of approach with demonstrable track record of driving change
• Ability to use a range of influencing techniques to influence senior stakeholders to drive business impact
• Successful track record of delivery in a shared service environment / complex matrix organisation, including coaching skills, holding others to account
• Learner mindset, curiosity to challenge the status quo and identify and deliver on opportunities
• Demonstrated success building cross-functional global networks and stakeholder management
• Demonstrated success working in a team environment
• Strong numerical and analytical skills
• Degree level education & relevant Finance or Accounting qualification
• Exceptional communication and presentation skills, oral & written in Business English

Desirable Skills/Experience

• Pharmaceutical Industry Experience
• FP&A Experience

When we put unexpected teams in the same room, we unleash bold thinking with the power to inspire life-changing medicines. In-person working gives us the platform we need to connect, work at pace and challenge perceptions. That's why we work, on average, a minimum of three days per week from the office. But that doesn't mean we're not flexible. We balance the expectation of being in the office while respecting individual flexibility. Join us in our unique and ambitious world.

Join a talented global team that's powering AstraZeneca to better serve patients every day. The fuel behind our evolving, rapidly growing enterprise, we're here to help unlock the power of what science can do and ultimately have a big impact on patients' lives. Integrated with the whole enterprise, we offer our expertise, leverage exciting new technology and digital innovations, all while looking ahead to new challenges. Our entrepreneurial spirit keeps us ahead of the rest as we apply creativity to every task we do.

Ready to make a difference? Apply now!

Date Posted

29-Nov-2024

Closing Date

11-Dec-2024Our mission is to build an inclusive and equitable environment. We want people to feel they belong at AstraZeneca and Alexion, starting with our recruitment process. We welcome and consider applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of characteristics. We offer reasonable adjustments/accommodations to help all candidates to perform at their best. If you have a need for any adjustments/accommodations, please complete the section in the application form.