Head of Finance & Risk

International Beverage is the spirits arm of one of the world’s top 10 drinks producers, ThaiBev. Its UK head office sits alongside an extensive bottling and warehousing facility in Airdrie, plus it has five historic distilleries scattered across the north of Scotland – Pulteney, Speyburn, Balblair, Knockdhu and Balmenach.

The company is responsible for the sales, marketing and distribution of a multiaward-winning portfolio of premium brands in over 85 international markets, leading a network of offices across Hong Kong, India, Poland, Mexico and the USA. International Beverage’s spirits are amongst the finest available on the market today, and include single malt Scotch whiskies Old Pulteney, Balblair, anCnoc and Speyburn; the blended Scotch Hankey Bannister; and Caorunn, the pioneering super premium Scottish gin.

ThaiBev has identified the international spirits business as a key area for growth in the coming decade and is investing heavily to realise International Beverage’s full potential. In addition to investment in its operations and systems there is a significant investment being made in its people development and growth strategy and the business is currently going through a complete review of its organisation design a structure and the business plans to implement a number of changes in 2023 that will enable the organisation able to scale up rapidly and create an even stronger employer brand for the future.

As a result of this, four rewarding senior positions within the business have been identified including an exciting opportunity as Head of Finance and Risk reporting to and succession planning for the CFO whilst leading the overall finance team operationally.

About the opportunity:

The Head of Finance and Risk will work closely with the Chief Financial Officer to provide financial management and decision support  to help deliver the financial and strategic objectives of the business whilst ensuring full compliance to company and statutory finance policy and procedures.

This role is required to develop a world class finance function, including ownership for risk, asset accounting, stock management and corporate governance reporting.

Main Responsibilities

• Lead role in corporate and financial reporting by supporting CFO with Group internal and external reporting including drafting of Annual Report, subsidiary company accounts, management reporting, budgeting and forecasting.
• Develop and execute long term operational finance strategy which is agile and effective and suitable for growth.
• Work closely with the CFO to maintain a strong control environment across the Company to ensure integrity, accuracy and timeliness of financial information
• Develop budgeting, reporting and management information analytics to track, enable, influence and drive improved performance, giving a clear overview of business performance, fuelling commercial decision making and strategic planning discussions.
• Develop and manage robust and fit for purpose financial systems and controls and taking responsibility for risk and finance policies, multi-jurisdiction tax analysis, planning and structuring.
• Manage the annual audit process and ensuring rigorous compliance with financial reporting requirements.
• Assist CFO with funding to meet business needs.
• Develop and improve risk register, ensuring insurance policies are in place and processes are operated effectively.
• Provide strong leadership, direction and guidance to a growing team of finance professionals across a broad range of areas, including: financial and statutory accounting, management accounts, commercial finance, mergers and acquisition, sales and purchase ledger, payroll and external reporting and tax and treasury.
• Drive a continuous improvement culture across Finance using agreed continuous improvement principles and tools. Ensure systems and processes are suitable for scaling to meet future growth aspirations.
• Maintain a knowledge of new technologies and trends in Finance and in conjunction with IT develop an agenda that drives efficiency and effectiveness.
• Work closely with Commercial Finance & Head of Supply Chain to ensure robust financial decisions are made with regards to New Product Development process through the different product lifecycle stages: launch, optimisation, change-management, run in and run out.
• Manage and develop relationships with key stakeholders both internally & externally to ensure an efficient Finance function
• Responsible for legal, legislative and internal compliance requirements across the Finance function including relevant international market mandatory information.
• Continual focus on the importance of talent development including the building of high performing teams and developing capabilities for future growth.

Requirements (include):

• Professional accounting qualification is required.
• Evidence of managing and leading a multidisciplined finance function encompassing Commercial Finance, Corporate Governance & Risk and general management accounting, ideally within the Branded sector
• Comprehensive professional understanding of Financial principals, procedures and processes
• Knowledge of ERP systems and in particular SAP is required for this role.
• An experienced people manager, who can lead a team of individuals through a period of ongoing change and provide the drive, motivation and leadership for growth.
• Confidence to present to and challenge senior business leaders
• Continuous improvement mind-set
• Strong people skills and ability to develop effective relationships
• Able to foster effective individual and team performance
• Strong MS Office skills, in particular Excel, Word and PowerPoint, with ability to interpret data, identify and communicate key insights

How to apply / contact us:

To apply, please send your CV to Michael Dickson, Director at FWB Park Brown at applications@fwbparkbrown.com.  For an initial confidential conversation please contact 0131 539 7087.