We are looking for an experienced Finance Director to lead the finance function for our India operations, providing strategic financial leadership while ensuring strong governance, compliance, controllership, and business partnership. This role will drive financial planning, reporting, operational excellence, and risk management to support sustainable business growth.
As the finance leader for India, you will partner closely with regional and global leadership, including the India & APAC Finance teams and the Group Finance team in the Netherlands, to shape financial strategy, optimize business performance, and strengthen financial operations. You will also oversee outsourced finance operations while evaluating opportunities to build and scale an in-house finance capability.
This role requires a commercially minded finance leader who can balance strategic thinking with operational excellence in a highly matrixed, multinational environment.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Finance & Business Partnership
- Act as the trusted finance partner to business and executive leadership, providing strategic financial guidance to support business growth and profitability.
- Lead financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, and long-range planning aligned with business objectives.
- Deliver meaningful financial insights, performance analysis, and recommendations to influence strategic decision-making.
- Drive business performance through robust financial analysis, scenario planning, and commercial decision support.
Financial Controllership & Governance
- Provide overall ownership of financial controllership, ensuring accurate, timely, and compliant financial reporting.
- Oversee monthly, quarterly, and annual financial close processes, including P&L, Balance Sheet, and cash flow reporting.
- Ensure compliance with Indian GAAP, IFRS, statutory requirements, and corporate accounting policies.
- Strengthen internal controls, governance frameworks, and financial risk management practices.
- Lead statutory, tax, internal, and external audits while ensuring regulatory compliance.
Financial Operations
- Oversee Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Treasury, Working Capital, Fixed Assets, and General Ledger activities.
- Ensure accurate revenue recognition in accordance with IFRS 15 and company policies.
- Drive cash flow optimization, working capital management, and financial discipline across the organization.
- Oversee tax compliance, statutory filings, and regulatory reporting, including GST, TDS, PF, ESI, Professional Tax, and other applicable requirements.
- Manage intercompany accounting, reconciliations, and transfer pricing coordination where applicable.
Operational Excellence & Transformation
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives across finance processes, systems, controls, and reporting.
- Lead finance transformation initiatives, including automation, process standardization, and digitalization.
- Evaluate opportunities to transition outsourced finance activities into an in-house shared services model where appropriate.
- Ensure finance processes are scalable to support organizational growth.
Leadership & Stakeholder Management
- Lead, develop, and mentor the India finance team, fostering a high-performance and collaborative culture.
- Manage relationships with outsourced finance providers, auditors, tax consultants, banks, and regulatory authorities.
- Partner closely with regional and global finance teams to align financial policies, reporting standards, and best practices.
- Build strong relationships with senior business leaders to drive financial accountability and informed decision-making.
Qualifications
- Chartered Accountant (CA).
Experience
- 12–15+ years of progressive finance leadership experience, with significant exposure to financial controllership, FP&A, compliance, and business partnering.
- Experience leading finance teams within multinational organizations or global shared services environments.
- Experience in advertising, media, technology, digital services, or other professional services organizations is preferred.
- Demonstrated experience working within matrixed, multi-country organizations.
Desired Skills
- Strong expertise in Indian GAAP, IFRS, financial controllership, and corporate governance.
- Proven experience leading financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, and business performance management.
- Strong commercial acumen with the ability to influence strategic business decisions.
- Experience leading finance transformation, process improvement, and automation initiatives.
- Excellent executive stakeholder management and communication skills.
- Strong leadership experience in developing and managing high-performing finance teams.
- Ability to balance strategic leadership with operational execution in a fast-paced environment.
- High level of integrity, ownership, and sound financial judgment.
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