Director, Finance Operations - North America

As a key member of the Americas Finance Leadership team, the Director of Finance Operations (DoF) will deliver financial services which align to the global, regional and country business strategies of Hays Plc. Reporting to the Americas Finance Director, the DoF will work closely with fellow country finance leadership team members whilst partnering country leadership MD/team (business) to deliver transactional operations strategies, solutions and processes. As a senior leader at Hays Plc, the DoF is accountable for the successful transformation of the function and business, whilst creating a culture which encourages continuous improvement.

• As the main point of contact for the US and Canadian Leadership Teams, deliver transactional operations strategy aligned to country, regional and global goals to drive greater profitability, margin and revenue growth for Hays Plc as a whole.
• Lead the In-Market OTC and Payroll teams focused on building capability, ensuring training needs are met and new ways of working are adopted. Cascade strategic goals and ensure alignment with Country business and team objective setting.
• Responsible for managing all operational finance activities performed by the In-Market team, whilst ensuring key operational & financial controls are adhered to in accordance with Group standards.
• Partner HBS FSS Tower Leadership to install and develop wider team/function effectiveness.
• Define, monitor and cascade all North American policies and procedures with peers, team members and stakeholders.
• Oversight of and escalation point for performance risks and issues raised by HBS FSS and In-Market teams.
• Lead on all senior external stakeholder management including audits and vendor management.
• Understand and apply local regulatory policies within Country/ Region, ensuring the integrity, completeness and accuracy of the financial information.
• Accountable for risk management and the application of controls to the business, in line with the Group Controls policy.
• Work with Group and In Market Finance Teams (i.e. Tax, Treasury, Internal Audit, Group Control, M&A, Investor Relations etc.) where necessary to contribute to Hays Plc initiatives and requirements.
• Keep track of external industry and market trends, identify potential internal applications for improvement.
• Cascade updates from Hays Plc, ensuring Leadership team are informed of developments and best practice is adopted.
• Proactively identifying opportunities to advance Hays's strategy and vision through change initiatives that will deliver measurable business improvement.
• Working closely with identified project teams for group sponsored projects, this role will also compliment stakeholder management and communications, acting as a subject matter expert for Hays processes and policies.
• Responsible for the development and coaching of Country Payroll and OTC teams.
• Ensuring that people development requirements are planned and implemented to support the overall team and finance goals.
• Ensuring technical competence and skills are maintained and up to date for all team members.
• Ensuring that effective performance management of all staff is maintained in a consistent way through regular 1-1's, performance planning meetings and appraisals.
• Championing core values and commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion to Build partnerships / Think Beyond / Do the right thing, through consistent utilization of Hays policies and application of appropriate behaviors.
• Ensure adequate support and cover is available for finance team members during demanding workloads or when team members are absent.
• Developing own professional skills through Continued Professional Development and proactively gathering knowledge and best practice through practical experience and related project work.

Experience and requirements

• Experience of leading and developing a team of Payroll/ OTC professionals, ensuring regular communication cascades, goal setting, performance management, skip and 1:1's sessions.
• Ability to apply finance and transactional knowledge to resolve complex business challenges, including the ability to distil and convey finance information to non-finance business leads and fellow finance colleagues.
• Experience of overseeing transactional finance operations, identifying opportunities to streamline and standardize processes whilst driving improvement to achieve strategic goals.
• Experience of working with an extended/ offshore operating model, managing and setting Country Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
• Strong service ethos and skills supported by hands on customer service delivery experience.
• Confident communication skills with the ability to influence senior stakeholders and management.
• Able to mentor, guide and develop future finance talent.
• Ability to push back and lead difficult conversations with integrity and humility.

Preferred Knowledge and Experience

• Member of a professional accounting body (e.g. CPA, CIMA, ACCA, ACA, OROC, OCC or equivalent) or MBA
• Working in a global environment and matrixed organization
• Understanding of the internal and external factors which drive business performance
• Project management and change management experience

Equal Opportunity Employer This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.