Job Description
Our Client
A market-leading consumer goods powerhouse is seeking a Vice President – Commercial Finance to drive financial strategy, commercial performance, and operational excellence across sales and last-mile distribution. This is a high-impact leadership role requiring deep expertise in commercial finance, revenue growth management, pricing strategies, and working capital optimization.
The successful incumbent will act as a strategic business partner to sales, distribution, and supply chain leaders, ensuring that financial insights translate into actionable business decisions, margin protection, and cost efficiencies. This role demands commercial acumen, financial discipline, and hands-on leadership in a fast-paced, high-volume environment.
Your Role
1. Commercial Finance & Business Partnering
- Own the P&L for Sales & Last-Mile Distribution, ensuring revenue, margin, and cost KPIs align with strategic goals.
- Drive financial decision-making on trade spend, channel profitability, pricing strategies, and promotional effectiveness.
- Develop and execute revenue growth management strategies, ensuring sustainable sales growth while protecting profitability.
- Collaborate with Sales & Trade Marketing to assess the financial impact of trade promotions, volume rebates, and customer agreements.
- Optimize pricing, discount structures, and incentive programs to drive both top-line and bottom-line growth.
- Lead customer & channel profitability analysis, ensuring the business prioritizes high-value growth opportunities.
2. Sales & Last-Mile Distribution Financial Oversight
- Oversee financial governance for last-mile distribution, ensuring cost efficiencies in route planning, fleet utilization, and warehousing.
- Partner with supply chain & logistics teams to drive cost discipline across the distribution network, fulfillment centers, and customer deliveries.
- Lead investment planning for distribution infrastructure, ensuring capital allocation maximizes return on investment.
- Monitor operational KPIs, identifying opportunities for cost reduction while maintaining service levels.
3. Credit & Working Capital Optimization
- Implement rigorous credit risk frameworks, ensuring customer credit policies align with business objectives.
- Improve working capital efficiency by optimizing payment terms, receivables, and inventory financing strategies.
- Drive collection performance and cash flow improvements, mitigating financial risks associated with overdue accounts.
- Ensure tight control over order-to-cash cycles, minimizing bad debts while supporting commercial growth.
4. Financial Planning, Reporting & Compliance
- Lead annual budgeting, quarterly forecasting, and long-term financial planning for sales and distribution functions.
- Provide deep-dive financial analytics, delivering insights on revenue drivers, cost structures, and market trends.
- Establish robust financial controls to ensure compliance with regulatory, corporate governance, and internal audit standards.
- Enhance ERP & BI reporting capabilities, ensuring data-driven decision-making across commercial teams.
5. Leadership & Strategic Influence
- Serve as a key finance leader, influencing strategic initiatives across pricing, cost management, and go-to-market strategies.
- Shape commercial strategy in collaboration with executive leadership, ensuring financial priorities align with business expansion plans.
- Lead and develop a high-performing finance team, fostering a culture of accountability, agility, and continuous improvement.
- Act as a trusted advisor to senior management, presenting financial insights that drive competitive advantage.
Must-Have Requirements
- Education: Bachelor’s in Finance, Accounting, or a related field; MBA, CPA, or CA certification is required.
- Experience:
- 18+ years in commercial finance, with a strong focus on FMCG sales, last-mile distribution, and P&L ownership.
- Extensive experience in financial planning, trade finance, pricing, revenue management, and working capital optimization.
- Proven track record in partnering with commercial teams to drive profitability and strategic decision-making.
- Technical Skills & Expertise:
- Advanced financial modeling, forecasting, and cost optimization capabilities.
- Strong understanding of route-to-market strategies, order-to-cash cycles, and distribution cost structures.
- Experience in ERP systems, BI tools, and financial reporting automation.
- Leadership & Competencies:
- Commercial Acumen – ability to translate financial data into business strategies that drive revenue and profitability.
- Stakeholder Influence – skilled at working cross-functionally to align financial strategies with operational goals.
- Strategic Thinking – capable of navigating complex financial challenges and identifying growth opportunities.
- Agility & Execution – proactive leader who drives transformation in fast-paced, competitive environments.
Next Steps:
Upload your resume via our ATS platform and ensure all form details are complete. Shortlisted candidates will be contacted within 5-7 working days for a more detailed discussion about the role. Please note, due to high application volumes, we will only respond to shortlisted profiles.