Finance Business Partner - Africa Operations at Maersk Line

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE:

The Finance Business Partner is responsible for providing performance management, financial analytics and decision support to the Customer Delivery execution teams. In doing so they must leverage “One set of numbers” and establish a strong link between financial numbers and operational actions.

The Finance Business Partner must maintain an effective performance management environment in the operations as well as an operating system that supports the cost leadership agenda and enables the operation team to timely identify gaps in performance. With thorough financial and business know-how, challenge and influence the performance, and the decisions within the execution teams to ensure the right business decisions are pursued.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Performance Management / Building Standard Operating System:

• Responsible for driving an effective performance management environment in the function enabling the leadership team to timely identify and correct derailed performance for critical areas
• Ensure the Maersk Operating system for performance management is active and highly practiced within the business teams
• Objectively assess the RCA tools, evaluate and implement required process and checks framework
• Drive KPI deployment and target setting in close cooperation with other functional managers and FBPs
• Ensure the use of “one set of numbers” and improve the content of the performance dashboard part of the Visual Management System in close cooperation with the functional managers
• Perform senior management reporting for various leaders and prepare for monthly performance reviews with the Centre Operations leadership team.
• Encourage a problem-solving culture, equipping teams with tools, standard data and training to solve challenges and opportunities effectively and strive for continuous improvement
• Produce relevant management reports, Gap analysis and co-create improvement plans with the assigned execution teams
• Drive usage of BI analytics to provide direction/decision support and assess trade-off between cost savings, efficient operations (SR + Utilization) and customer satisfaction (SVD)
• Co-drive KPI deployment and target setting in close coordination with the Head of Ocean Fulfilment and Head of Finance
• Drive performance management for the relevant services in the geography balance outcome KPIs
• Timely identify and correct derailed performance for critical areas through action-oriented framework

Cost Controlling / Cost Conscious Mindset:

• Understand the consolidated financial, and operational drivers and the business development and take a role in challenging the figure
• Strong understanding of the cost drivers with the operations and take ownership, drive initiatives on cost mitigation
• Independent analysis to provide data and drive business decisions across multiple stakeholders and management levels
• Challenge business case assumptions and ensure that a benefits realization check is in place for all major business cases
• Responsible for coordinating all cost-saving programmes (e.g., SMARTOPS and Game Plan) and drive the follow up on these and ensure benefit realization in the monthly report.
• Through analysis, provide insights resulting in cost-saving initiatives driven together with the other functions
• Actively participate in the Operations finance community to learn and share best practices as needed
• Optimizing variable cost, ensuring cost recovery process is strengthened by collaborating with Market FIN counterparts;
• Driving appropriate use of financial models for the decision-making process (network, port, etc.)
• Accountable for delivering and following up on Ocean financials (Budget, Monthly and FY process)

 Partnering / Right Customer-Centric Mindset:

• Collaborate with business teams to build solutions enhancing value offering for the right segment of customers
• Ability to challenge and influence business decisions constructively with a customer-centric mindset
• Balance the right mix decisions between customer centricity and cost consciousness
• Identify new creative ways to add value to the organization challenging the status quo
• Drive smooth financial interaction between Ocean fulfilment team, Areas, Market and Customer Delivery teams and relevant Center functions
• Actively participating in the relevant FBP community to learn and share best-practices as needed
• Lobby behind the scenes to build support for ideas and solicit the involvement of others to build ownership and buy-in
• Analyze the wider business and political implications when making decisions, including the effectiveness of the outcome
• Influence decisions through presenting the right set of financials
• Ability to stand in for leaders to drive business review meetings

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Someone with:

•  Bachelor's degree in Finance or equivalent required (MBA advantageous)
•  Minimum 5 years' experience in operational finance (Logistics & Supply Chain industry experience advantageous)
•  Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
•  Excellent interpersonal, listening and communication skills combined with the ability to condense detailed subject matter into clear and effective communications
•  Ability to influence and drive change across multiple functional units
•  Results oriented, drives issues to closure
•  Possesses strong business knowledge
•  Adaptable and able to keep the bigger picture in focus while navigating through a complex issue
•  Ability to work both independently, as well as and as part of a cross-departmental team where innovative solutions are required