Senior Operations Leader

Job Summary

We seek a leader to head our shared services operations in India. The successful candidate will be responsible for ensuring accurate, timely and efficient delivery of finance-related services to our business across multiple African markets.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the outsourced India-based shared services center supporting the business, ensuring high-quality operational delivery of core finance processes.
• Drive process standardization, automation, simplification and continuous improvement initiatives to enhance service quality and cost efficiency.
• Establish robust KPI dashboards and governance routines, monitoring on a regular basis, including monitoring SLAs to drive compliance to agreed metrics and hold outsourced vendors accountable for high levels of service delivery and stakeholder satisfaction.
• Establish clear ways of working and ownership of processes to strengthen compliance and audit readiness.
• Build strong relationships and collaborate closely with country finance and operations teams across Africa, including regional financial controllers to align shared services support with local requirements.
• Manage vendor relationships and third-party service providers supporting shared services.
• Build, develop and lead a high-performing team within the Shared Services center, ensuring succession planning.
• Oversee statutory and internal audits, tax filings and regulatory reporting for the vertical.
• Coordinate with external auditors, tax advisors and regulatory bodies to facilitate audits.
• Implement risk management frameworks.
• Stay updated on regulatory changes and ensure timely adaptation of policies and procedures.
• Establish a culture of accountability, continuous improvement and service excellence.

Financial Control & Reporting

• Manage financial control processes, including month-end close, consolidation, reporting, budgeting and forecasting for the business vertical.
• Ensure accuracy, completeness and timeliness of financial statements in line with IFRS and company policies.
• Support the Head – Finance for the vertical in financial analysis and business performance management.
• Coordinate with country finance teams to ensure consistency and integrity of financial data.
• Drive process improvements in financial operations and reporting systems.

Educational Qualifications

• Chartered Accountant (CA), CPA, ACCA or equivalent professional qualification.
• Proven track record in managing large, shared-services operations, ideally in a multi-country environment.
• Strong expertise in audit, tax and financial control across African markets.
• Proficiency in ERP systems and shared services technologies and process automation.
• Minimum 15 years of leadership experience in finance, shared services, preferably in automotive distribution or related sectors.

Must Have Competencies

• Strategic and analytical thinker with a focus on operational excellence.
• Experience working in a matrix organization with cross-border reporting lines.
• High resilience, problem-solving and ability to drive change in complex, pressurized environments.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills, comfortable interacting with senior leadership and international teams.

Skills and Qualifications

Benefits