Finance Manager

Want to help us bring happiness to the world? Want to join an ambitious and fast growing global biscuits and confectionery business investing heavily in iconic global brands, infrastructure and people? Then this is the place for you.

As proud bakers and chocolatiers and custodians of iconic global brands, we don’t compromise on the quality of ingredients in our products or on the people we hire. We are looking for entrepreneurial spirits who share our passion for bringing happiness to our consumers and who embody our Winning Traits.

To succeed at pladis you need to be purpose-led, resilient and positive because we expect pace and agility, insist on collaboration and demand accountability. pladis offers global ambition, a clear Vision and roadmap for success, challenge, and unrivalled opportunities to learn and make an impact.

The Challenge

pladis is looking for a robust Finance Manager, with a big passion for numbers and biscuits. We offer you the opportunity to join our team and contribute to our mission to bring ‘Happiness with every bite’.

Location: Zaandam, The Netherlands.

The position entails

Leading a team of two controllers, you will be responsible for all financial aspects for three of our European Entities including the Planning & Control cycles of our Western Europe (excluding France & Netherlands) sales business and the Headquarter Overhead costs. As well as being the key financial contact for the Regional General Manager, this diverse role will give you plenty of exposure to various stakeholders both inside and outside the Finance community.

Your main responsibilities

• Responsible for the accurate and timely periodic financial closing and reporting of three European entities.
• Lead the planning and forecasting cycle (Actuals, Budget, Forecast and Strategic Plan) for the European entities and HQ overhead functions.
• Act as a trusted Finance Business Partner to Commercial, Marketing and Supply Chain teams, providing financial insights and decision support.
• Support the development and evaluation of business cases, investment proposals, promotional activities, pricing initiatives and innovation projects.
• Deliver insightful analysis on sales, gross profit, pricing, customer profitability and business performance, identifying key risks and opportunities.
• Consolidate and analyse regional performance across WEDM markets, providing actionable recommendations to senior leadership.
• Lead monthly performance reviews and support management in driving accountability against agreed financial and operational targets.
• Provide management with financial information and act as a key advisor on financial and business-related topics.
• Drive continuous improvement and automation of reporting, planning and performance management processes.
• Maintain strong relationships and collaborate closely with Europe, Global Finance and Finance Shared Services teams.
• Support ad-hoc strategic projects, scenario modelling and business transformation initiatives across the region.

What do you bring?

Essential

• University degree in Finance or similar qualification
• 7+ years relevant work experience in financial roles
• Excellent language skills in English (fluent written and spoken), French or other European languages are a plus
• Excellent command of MS Excel

Desirable

• Good knowledge of -and experience with ERP and Reporting tooling such as JDE, Onestream and Cognos BI
• Experience with planning and forecasting
• International experience in a commercial environment

Behaviours / Attributes

• Ability to work independently (own your job)
• You have the ability to work with a rapidly changing agenda in a dynamic organization
• Can-do attitude and getting things done mindset
• Effective communication & influencing skills at different levels within the organization
• Ability to work with deadlines
• Attention to details, accurate

What we offer

Working for pladis means challenging jobs, career opportunities and an inspiring environment that allow you to enhance your personal development. pladis recognizes that the on-going success of the company depends on the continued development and engagement of our employees and pursues a fair and competitive remuneration policy, recognizing individual and team competencies and performance.

A few of our benefits:

• A permanent contract
• Development opportunities through our pladis Academy & other training programs
• A competitive salary
• Fulltime employment (37,5 hours per week)
• 34 holidays (based on fulltime)
• Pension in pension fund ‘Zoetwaren’
• Discounts on health insurance, gym memberships, bikes etc
• Biscuits, chocolate and other snacks from our personnel store;
• The best colleagues in an informal working environment.

Who are we?

Do you want to be part of an ambitious and fast‑growing business in the global biscuits and confectionery sector? Then you’re in the right place.

pladis succeeds because of people like you. People who wake up in the morning excited to get to work. Who believe in themselves and their potential. Who want to grow as part of a global community of like-minded colleagues.

pladis colleagues care deeply about being the best. About winning, staying the course and never giving up. Whichever part of the world we’re in, whatever our role. Whether we’re baking, working in HR, finance, marketing or many other areas – we win as one pladis team.

And while we’re all unique, we share something in common. It’s the code by which we live and work. We call it our ‘Winning Traits & Behaviors’: Purpose Led, Agile, Collaborative, Positive and Resilient. Five aspects of pladis life that define who we are, how we interact and get things done.