Internal Controls Business Partner - German/Spanish Speaker

This major multinational, dynamic consumer business serves 20 million customers through a number of channels and employs 67,000 people. With a turnover of £15bn and several market leading brands, they have a passionate, team-centred and customer “obsessed” culture and strive to delight their customer base and turn them into “fans”. There is currently a huge CX (customer experience) project which is being driven from the very top. They are also very focussed on sustainability – both from an environmental perspective and from an employee training perspective. The business is going through an exciting investment and growth phase has recently implemented SAP and a new state of the art CRM system and are redeveloping their websites and apps to create a much more customer focused experience.

All of this adds up to an exciting opportunity which offers great potential for long term career development and progression.

The Group Head Office is just North of London, literally 25-30 minutes by train from London Victoria. As a consequence of a desire for an improved control environment across what is a challenging, diverse and complex business environment, they are expanding their Group Financial Controls team.

Reporting to the Head of Group Financial Controls, you will be part of a team of 5 supporting the business in evaluating the effectiveness of internal controls in line with COSO guidelines. You will be required to work as part of a team or on your own, drafting reports to management with recommendations and will also be involved in ad-hoc projects. The role will require up to 40% travel across Europe and will offer exposure to a wide range of senior stakeholders and the opportunity to really learn about this fast-paced and exciting business. It is envisaged that after c 2 years in this role, the knowledge and network that you will have acquired will facilitate your further career development with a progression into either finance or elsewhere in the wider governance function of the business.

As the ideal candidate you will:

• Be of degree calibre with a strong academic record
• Have a minimum of 4-5 years experience in performing risk based audits in a complex international environment (either from an external audit background in a larger practice environment or within the internal audit/internal controls function of a multinational business)
• Be fluent in English and German (though a working knowledge of German will be considered)
• Have strong technical skills eg IFRS, UK GAAP and COSO risk assessment standards
• Have excellent communication, “gravitas” and mediation skills (both written and oral), empathy and assertiveness, and be able to investigate, influence and negotiate with key stakeholders in an multi-cultural environment
• Have a highly motivated personality with a proactive approach to work, ambitions to move forward and a strong team player
• Be willing to travel in the UK/Europe for up to 40% of the time

On offer is salary of £55,000 plus performance bonus (20% - which nearly always pays out in full), generous pension, PMI and a substantial staff discount scheme. Please note that you must be eligible to work in the UK without the need for sponsorship to be considered for this opportunity.

Ref 196/1802