SAP FI/CO - COE Lead

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

As an innovation leader, we look for ambitious, forward-thinking, open-minded and well-rounded individuals to join our global team. Working from one of the following Gates' offices , Luxembourg, Wroclaw (Poland) or Balsareny (Spain), you will be part of the SAP FICO team, and you will collaborate with Global Process Owners (GPOs) and Regional Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to establish standardized global finance processes for Gates.

Key responsibilities (to name a few):

Global Leading Practice Template (GLPT) Design, Build and Maintenance: 

• Working with the Finance GPO (Global Process Owner) and other Global SAP FICO teams - in the design, build and maintenance of the SAP global template.  Including, but not limited to: General Ledger, AP/AR, Cost centers, Internal orders and related CO functions, Product cost, material ledger, Credit management, Fixed assets and project systems, Electronic banking, cash management and payments, Domestic or international tax scenarios, sales & use, withholding, VAT, consumption, excise, luxury taxes, Reporting, Financial integration procurement, sales, and manufacturing, EMEA statutory and regulatory requirements       

Governance: 

• Creating, enforcing and following standards and procedures defined by the GPOs and Regional SAP Teams to provide governance to new full-cycle SAP roll-out projects, enhancement projects, and helpdesk tickets to ensure process, data, reports and methodology compliance.
• Partner with Regional SAP FICO teams, the Finance GPO, Regional SMEs and regional financial and IT organizations to maintain the integrity of the GLPT.

Deployments:

• Lead on-site FICO Teams (Gates SAP Team, 3rd party consultants, Gates IT and Gates internal business) in the implementation of the Gates GLPT across the EMEA sites, plants and business locations.
• Manage mixed team of internal IT, business resources and consulting partner resources responsible for delivering GLPT and on-going support.

Keys to Success

• Requires a comprehensive understanding of internal and industry standards and principles

Supervisory Responsibilities

• 3+ direct reports
• Manages multiple related teams, typically through manager and/or team lead
• Manages large team of professionals and or managers
• Sets organizational priorities and allocates resources; executes department business plans
• Has team leadership, performance management and people development responsibility to build strong teams
• Manages a plant or large area within a corporate function; may have country level responsibility
• Has budget responsibility for area or function
• Is accountable for the performance and results of multiple related teams
• Implements functional plans, including business, production and/or organizational priorities
• Impacts the business results of an area or sub-function by setting priorities, allocating resources, and developing policies and plans
• Guided by function policies, resource requirements, budgets and business plan Incorporates understanding of business objectives and strategies in recommending functional goals and operating plans
• Identifies and resolves complex multi-dimensional business problems by looking beyond existing methodologies and own discipline
• Decision making involves researching, analyzing and evaluating data and using judgment in applying professional expertise.
• Impacts the business results of an area or sub-function by setting priorities, allocating resources, and developing policies and plans
• Guided by function policies, resource requirements, budgets and business plan
• Incorporates understanding of business objectives and strategies in recommending functional goals and operating plans
• Influences others internally and externally, including senior division executives, vendors or regulators
• Applies in-depth understanding of the business dynamics of own department/district integrates within the division
• Is accountable for the performance and results of multiple related teams
• Implements functional plans, including business, production and/or organizational priorities
• Decision-making is guided by Functional/Regional/Country objectives

Requirements and Preferred Skills

• 11-15 years of experience
• Extensive hands-on FI & CO expertise in a global SAP S/4HANA environment, particularly in finance and cost accounting for manufacturing industries, including production and supply chain integration.
• Bachelor's degree in a relevant technical or business discipline, with at least 8 years in a global IT COE and 6 full-cycle ERP Go Live projects, especially in EMEA.
• Strong experience with country-specific requirements for statutory reporting, asset accounting, tax, and legal entity definitions across EMEA.
• Proven ability to manage 3rd-party consultants across multiple sites and countries, along with project methodologies and implementation expertise.
• Experience in complex global IT structures, including hands-on work with process mapping, systems configuration, data migration, and change management.
• Multinational project experience in manufacturing plants, with roles in leadership, integration planning, and GPO formation/support.
• Desirable experience with FI ancillary systems like Vertex, Get-paid, and HFM.