ROLE: Head of Centre of Excellence (Finance) — reports to Group CFO. Executive Finance leadership role; the strategic planning, innovation, and value-realization engine driving the CFO's enterprise-wide technology and productivity agenda. Identifies, architects, and governs the next-gen AI-enabled technology portfolio across all Finance subdivisions: Accounting, FP&A, Treasury, Strategic Sourcing & Procurement, Supply Chain Finance, Internal Audit, AP, AR, GL, Fixed Assets, Taxation. Acts as strategic planning/governance authority ensuring all tech investments are vetted for ROI, TCO, and strategic fit, while collaborating with delivery partners/managed service providers who execute SLA-based "build and run" ops. Institutionalizes Activity-Based Costing, AI copilots, workflow automation, ITFM, and ZBB to cut Finance's Cost per Transaction (CPT), raise service levels, and drive bottom-line P&L value.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
A. Core ERP Strategy, Selection & Interim Bridging (RPA/Low-Code)
- Lead evaluation, benchmarking, and selection of next-gen Cloud/SaaS ERP (SAP, Oracle, MS Dynamics) across global entities; build RFP scoring matrices, capability mappings, multi-year TCO models for executive decisions.
- Architect pragmatic interim/tactical bridge solutions so Finance doesn't stall during multi-year ERP evaluation/deployment; deploy RPA bots and intelligent document processing as non-invasive bridges across legacy systems for high-volume data transfers, reconciliations, postings.
- Use low-code/no-code platforms and tactical cloud bolt-ons to rapidly stand up automated workflows, approval matrices, temporary integrations while core systems are built.
B. Finance Innovation, Process Automation & AI Integration
- Spearhead AI adoption (AI agents, GenAI workflows, ML) across transactional/analytical Finance functions to speed decisions and automate operations.
- Deploy intelligent automation, workflow orchestration, process mining across AP, AR, Treasury, Financial Reporting to remove friction.
- Evaluate/pilot/scale innovations: modern treasury platforms, AI-driven spend analytics, digital assets infrastructure; drive self-service reporting, interactive executive cockpits, real-time dashboards — shifting from historical to predictive/prescriptive intelligence.
- Identify high-friction repetitive tasks and deploy RPA/AI to compress cycle times and cost per transaction.
C. AI Governance, Risk & Compliance
- Establish and govern an enterprise AI Governance Framework (aligned to ISO 42001 and emerging AI regulation) for transparent, ethical, defensible AI use in Finance.
- Define fairness metrics, bias mitigation, accountability matrices for algorithmic models used in forecasting, credit scoring, fraud detection, spend classification.
- Build 3rd-party AI risk screening checklists, model card inventories, data-privacy safeguards for vetting AI/SaaS products pre-procurement; run continuous compliance monitoring to limit operational/legal/reputational risk.
D. Application Portfolio Management (APM) & Technology Rationalization
- Own/govern the global Finance Application Portfolio; map business capabilities to software across all entities for architectural coherence.
- Assess applications to find redundancies, eliminate duplicate instances, decommission legacy systems, cut technical debt.
- Set rigorous financial modeling standards (NPV, IRR, payback, multi-year TCO) for all tech business cases so every capital deployment is justified by verifiable efficiency/revenue gains.
E. Finance PMO, Demand Management & Intake Governance
- Design/enforce a centralized "front-door" intake process for all new tech, enhancement, and automation requests in Finance, preventing scope creep/unapproved software adoption; prioritize by strategic alignment, regulatory urgency, ROI.
- Lead the Finance PMO governing large digital initiatives (Core ERP selection, P2P automation, O2C optimization, S2C deployment), enforcing milestones, budget caps, business cases.
- Architect the digital backbone for Finance Shared Services/GBS from low-cost countries enabling standardized multi-entity processing with end-to-end digital tracking.
F. ITFM, ZBB & Value Realization
- Establish/chair a Technology Spend Governance Council enforcing investment thresholds, linking tech spend to measurable value.
- Champion Zero-Based Budgeting across tech Capex/Opex, removing baseline assumptions, requiring full justification for annual tech spend.
- Design/execute Activity-Based Costing and IT chargeback/showback pricing for full cost transparency across BUs.
- Drive FinOps and Software Asset Management (SAM), rightsizing enterprise agreements (cloud compute, SaaS licensing), eliminating shelf-ware.
- Mandate post-implementation benefits tracking so projected headcount efficiencies, process savings, and working-capital gains show up in the P&L.
G. Strategic Sourcing, Vendor Value Realization & SLA Management
- Lead technology category sourcing/SaaS evaluations; standardize RFI/RFP, evaluation rubrics, SOW frameworks; use e-auctions for commercial leverage on ERP/major software buys.
- Manage relationships with global tech partners, vendors, system integrators; enforce SLA governance, penalty structures, performance scorecards over outsourced "build and run" providers.
- Benchmark tech unit costs, licensing, vendor rates against industry standards (e.g., Gartner) for top-quartile cost efficiency.
H. Internal Controls, Risk Management & Change Leadership
- Embed internal controls, RACI, and Segregation of Duties into automated workflows/RPA/core systems; maintain audit readiness, zero major control deficiencies.
- Publish/maintain a Finance Technology Service Catalog with visibility into services, unit costs, baseline SLAs.
- Orchestrate change management and digital enablement across the global finance workforce, upskilling talent for high adoption of automation, RPA, analytics.
EDUCATION
MBA from a globally recognized business school; Bachelor's in Computers (honors preferred); continuous learning via an Executive Leadership/Digital Strategy/Advanced Management Program (Ivy League or equivalent).
Preferred Certifications: ISO 42001 (AI Governance Lead Implementer), COBIT or related governance frameworks; Cloud (Azure/AWS/Oracle/Google) Practitioner/Fundamentals; SAM, ITIL Foundation/Practitioner; Six Sigma (Green/Black Belt)/Lean/RPA Practitioner.
EXPERIENCE
- 15+ years strategic leadership at the intersection of Finance, Technology Strategy, and Governance within large, diversified, multi-billion-dollar global corporations.
- Proven ERP strategy leadership (enterprise SaaS/Cloud ERP selection) plus interim bridge automation (RPA, low-code) to sustain operational velocity.
- Track record of multi-million-dollar Capex/Opex savings via demand rationalization, ZBB, license rightsizing, vendor negotiation.
- Hands-on delivery of GenAI applications, workflow automation, process mining, advanced analytics business cases.
- Expertise in technology investment councils, Activity-Based Costing, chargeback catalogs, Cloud FinOps, AI token economics.
- Deep experience in Tier-1 vendor/SI negotiations and SLA-driven outsourced delivery governance.
- Proven record establishing AI governance policies, risk control matrices (RCM), internal controls yielding clean audits.
- Industry recognition: awards or published thought leadership.
SKILLS
Strategic & Financial Governance: ITFM; Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB); Activity-Based Costing (ABC); Technology Investment Councils; Benefits Realization Tracking; Total Cost of Ownership (TCO); Application Portfolio Management; Risk & Control Matrix (RCM).
Technology, AI & Automation: SaaS ERP Evaluation & Selection; Robotic Process Automation (RPA); Interim/Bridge Architecture; Generative AI & AI Copilots; AI Governance (ISO 42001); Process Mining & Workflow Tools; Cloud FinOps & SAM; Modern Treasury & Spend Analytics.
Sourcing & Operational Delivery: Strategic Category Sourcing; Tier-1 Vendor Negotiations; SLA & Performance Governance; Outsourced Partner Management; Finance PMO Governance; Demand Intake Management; E-Auctions & Contract Lifecycle; Global Business Services (GBS).
Leadership & Transformation: Executive Stakeholder Alignment; Large-Scale Change Management; Digital Upskilling & Enablement; Cross-Functional Orchestration; Talent Mentorship & Coaching; C-Suite Advisory & Influence; Culture Transformation; Data-Driven Decision Making.
KPIs ("What gets measured gets improved")
- Cost per Transaction (CPT) Compression: YoY reduction in unit costs for core transactional processes via RPA/automation/core systems.
- Interim Value Delivery & Velocity: fast deployment of bridge solutions (RPA, low-code) removing critical pain points during ERP selection.
- Technology Value Realization & ROI: multi-fold ROI across the CoE portfolio; double-digit % savings in addressable tech Capex/Opex via ZBB, asset optimization, sourcing.
- Productivity & Cycle Time Reduction: >70% compression in manual processing, onboarding, month-end close latency via automation/AI copilots.
- Application Landscape Optimization: measurable reduction in redundant software, duplicate spend, technical debt.
- AI Compliance & Risk Mitigation: 100% adherence to ISO 42001 standards, zero critical compliance/ethical/security breaches.
- Vendor SLA Adherence & Commercial Realization: >95% SLA compliance; 100% realization of negotiated commercial concessions into P&L budgets.
- Governance & Audit Integrity: 100% of major finance tech investments through formal Investment Council review; zero significant audit deficiencies.