Senior Manager - Process Excellence

SUMMARY:

The Senior Manager, Process Excellence, will be responsible for driving continuous improvement and operational excellence within the finance function at Zoetis with an emphasis on leveraging digital and technology capabilities. This role is dedicated to optimizing financial processes, enhancing efficiency, and ensuring the implementation of best practices across the global Zoetis Finance organization. Current ongoing projects include S4 Implementation, SAP Ariba, One Stream for consolidation and financial planning & analysis, Blackline and others.

• You will support the project management, and implementation of financial process improvements for the areas described above, ensuring that Zoetis Finance operates with best-in-class financial processes. across the Zoetis Finance organization globally in collaboration with Zoetis Technical and Data teams (ZTD) and external partners. You will foster a culture of continuous improvement, helping the finance team achieve its strategic goals and deliver exceptional value to our organization.
• Key responsibilities include leading cross-functional initiatives to improve and automate financial processes, managing finance-related improvement projects from creation to completion, and ensuring timely and accurate reporting of process excellence performance metrics. You will work closely with broader Finance teams to improve ways of working and deliver process excellence.
• This leadership position demands project management skills, and a commitment to executing at the highest standard. The Senior Manager will help shape the future of Zoetis Finance, ensuring that we remain agile, efficient, and aligned with its strategic goals.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES:

Process Improvement:

• Support and drive the implementation of ongoing projects including S4HANA for finance, SAP Ariba, One Stream, Blackline, and overall integration of these initiatives.
• Identify potential challenges and business requirements, and design recommendations using technology towards their mitigation.
• Lead initiatives to streamline and automate financial processes to reduce manual effort.
• Identify opportunities for process enhancements leveraging industry best practices.
• Disposition of existing pain points to established functionality in S4 HANA or other technology tools.
• Develop and maintain process documentation: Create detailed guides and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for key financial processes for Zoetis Finance to ensure consistency, compliance, and ease of training new team members.

Project Management

• Manage finance-related improvement projects.
• Oversee projects ensuring they are completed on time and within budget.
• Manage projects, delivery and program interdependencies, stakeholder expectations and engagement, tracking and monitoring of issues and resolution.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams: Work with IT, finance, external vendors, and other departments to integrate new tools for Zoetis Finance, ensuring all stakeholders are aligned and informed.
• Monitor project progress: Track milestones for budgeting and reporting improvement projects, providing regular updates to stakeholders and adjusting plans to stay on track.

Change Management

• Drive change management efforts including change impact identification and mitigation strategies.
• Manage change to drive the adoption of efficient and advanced solutions across the capabilities.
• Develop comprehensive training programs for finance team members on new financial processes and tools, including hands-on workshops and ongoing support.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement: Encourage feedback and suggestions from the finance team to refine processes, promoting a mindset of innovation and agility.

Data Analysis and Reporting

• Drive data cleansing and enrichment initiatives in alignment with the data strategy defined by the NextGen PMO teams.
• Define data analytics to identify trends, variances, and areas for improvement in all finance processes leveraging tools like Power BI for deeper insights.
• Develop reporting tools: Implement dashboards and reporting tools that provide real-time insights into finance processes ensuring visibility to continuous improvement activities.

Stakeholder Collaboration

• Work closely with finance leaders: Collaborate with budget owners and finance managers to understand their needs and provide tailored process improvement solutions that enhance budgeting, reporting, and analytics efficiency.
• Act as a liaison and facilitate communication between the finance department and IT to ensure alignment on process improvement initiatives, addressing any concerns or roadblocks promptly.
• Communicate effectively: Present process improvement plans and results to senior management, highlighting benefits and impact and ensuring transparency throughout the organization.

Innovation And Best Practices

• Stay updated on industry trends: Remain current on the latest developments in finance process excellence.
• Establish a digital exhaust process and prioritize the development and deployment of AI and RPA opportunities.
• Introduce innovative solutions: Explore and drive cutting-edge technologies and methodologies to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of financial processes.

Education & Experience:

• MBA or Equivalent with 12+ years of experience in large scale digital transformation initiatives
• S4 HANA experience with at least one end to end implementation in a global organization.
• Advanced project management skills including integration of finance and technology capabilities.
• Advanced written and verbal communication and excellent interpersonal skills.
• Proven experience in leading process improvement initiatives and managing complex projects.
• Working knowledge of data and analytics leading practices
• Experience of delivering complex projects by working closely with multiple teams and stakeholders including value realization and business benefit analysis for driving transformation
• Good knowledge of Change management methodologies
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Exposure to Agile methodology and Azure DevOp.