Financial Controller - EASA at Syngenta

Role Purpose 

• Accountable and responsible for end-to-end finance activities with focus on management accounting for across East Africa and Southern Africa and direct business countries finance operations activities (Including statutory and tax compliance).
• Partner with commercial leadership across East Africa and Southern Africa to drive business performance through strategic financial planning, analysis, and decision support, including direct business operations.
• Deliver forward-looking financial analysis and actionable insights that enable commercial teams to optimize profitability and growth opportunities while providing analytical rigor and technical excellence in business partnering activities.
• Manage local Finance operations while coordinating with European Finance Operation Centre (EFO), Global Finance Operation Centre (GFO), and external service providers, ensuring compliance with tax requirements, regulatory reporting, and group reporting standards.
• Drive adherence to company policies, internal controls, and legal requirements while maintaining high-quality accounting data for group, statutory, and tax reporting purposes, including monitoring and reporting any compliance deviations or risks.
• Note role will support multiple countries based on need within AME

Key Responsibilities

Financial Planning & Forecasting Support

• Support the annual budgeting process by consolidating input from Sales, Marketing, and cross-functional teams across East Africa and Southern Africa
•  Provide reliable and timely budgets and latest outlooks for P&L in scope
• Provide support and guidance to business managers and function cost owners on achieving budget targets
• Participate in strategic business planning and business processes by preparing financial budgets and rolling forecasts
• Build and maintain rolling forecast models with scenario analysis capabilities
•  Coordinate cross-functional data collection from S&OP, Supply Chain, and commercial teams to ensure integrated planning inputs
• Track and report forecast accuracy metrics and identify areas for improvement
•  Prepare forecast documentation, assumptions, and supporting analysis for review by Commercial Finance Lead

Performance Analysis & Reporting

• Build and maintain monthly performance dashboards, management reports, and analytical packs for commercial stakeholders
• Conduct detailed variance analysis (actual vs. budget/forecast) with clear explanations of key drivers
•  Perform in-depth analysis of margin performance, pricing trends, product profitability, and volume/mix dynamics
• Analyze key commercial KPIs including revenue growth, gross margin, EBITDA, and working capital metrics
• Full accountability for the analysis and commentaries to business stakeholders for variance analysis of function cost reports
• Prepare and collect insightful commentaries for robust reporting and analysis of variances
• Focus on reliable full year outlooks and risk/opportunity assessments (MBR process)
• Monitor commercial performance trends and flag emerging risks or opportunities

Commercial Analysis & Insight Generation

• Conduct profitability analysis by product, customer, channel, and market segment
• Analyze promotional effectiveness, trade spending efficiency, and customer investment returns
• Perform pricing analysis and assess impact of pricing decisions on volume and profitability

Financial Reporting & Data Management

• Standardize commercial financial reporting templates and processes across East Africa and Southern Africa
• Prepare reconciliations between statutory and management reporting with clear explanations
• Ensure data accuracy and integrity through validation, reconciliation, and quality checks
• Maintain comprehensive financial documentation and audit trails
• Support month-end, quarter-end, and year-end close processes with commercial finance inputs
• Coordinate with accounting to reporting team to ensure timely and accurate data flows for reporting and analysis
• Oversee financial reporting responsibilities including ledger accounting, statutory accounting, and tax reporting in compliance with IFRS and local GAAP requirements, while serving as the escalation point for GFO-supported activities for direct business countries.
• Manage relationships with auditors, stakeholders, and third-party providers and ensuring quality delivery of services from EFO/GFO teams
• Drive continuous improvement in processes and controls while maintaining up-to-date company records
• Support Board of Directors processes and finance operation projects while ensuring active cross-departmental communication and timely feedback.

S&OP & Integrated Business Planning Support

• Provide analytical support for the Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) process
• Translate demand forecasts into financial projections and assess P&L implications
• Prepare financial analysis to support inventory optimization and working capital management
• Collaborate with Supply Chain on cost modeling and supply-demand balancing analysis

Master data management:

• Ensure proper master data maintenance (cost centre structure, delegation of authorities, headcount reporting)

Digital capabilities:

• Contribute to development and use of business intelligence tools, data visualization and predictive analysis techniques

Stakeholder Support & Collaboration

• Respond to financial queries and information requests from commercial teams in a timely and accurate manner
• Prepare briefing materials and analysis to support Commercial Finance Lead's business partnering activities
• Attend commercial meetings to understand business context and gather insights for analysis
• Build effective working relationships with Sales, Marketing, S&OP, Supply Chain, and SSC teams
• Support Commercial Finance Lead with preparation for business reviews and strategic discussions
• Contribute to cross-functional projects and initiatives with financial analysis and insights

Qualifications

Skills & Capabilities

Professional qualification

• Professional accounting qualification (CA/CPA/ACCA/CIMA)
• Bachelor’s degree in finance, Accounting, or related field
• Key Technical Requirements:
• Advanced financial accounting and reporting expertise
• Proficiency in IFRS/GAAP standards
• Strong system knowledge (SAP, Oracle, or similar ERP)
• Advanced Excel and financial modeling skills
• Strong business analytics capabilities
• Strategic planning and forecasting expertise
• Advanced data visualization skills
• Commercial acumen and industry knowledge

Additional Desirable Qualifications:

• MBA
• Data analytics certifications
• Change management certification
• Industry-specific certifications

Critical experience

• 6 to 8 years working experience in Finance, Tax, Audit or Compliance
• Evidence of independence in work, ability to set objectives, deadlines and meet these.
• Experience in working with multiply teams, 3rd party providers.
• Process management and compliance knowledge within a complex, matrix organization and across different functions.
• Project management experience
• Experience with ERP / SAP in decentralised environment desired
• Good understanding of practical issues and trade-offs faced at country level, while still be able to communicate need to adhere to global standards and principles