Category Finance Manager - Vodka

About us

With over 200 brands sold in nearly 180 countries, Diageo is home to some of the world's most iconic drinks. From Johnnie Walker and Guinness to Tanqueray, Smirnoff and Don Julio, we craft brands chosen for life's moments - from everyday connections to landmark celebrations.

Bring your talent, curiosity and ambition, and strive for your personal best alongside people who challenge, support and learn from each other. Together, as one outstanding team, we keep learning, improving and raising the bar for our brands, our business and each other.

Join us and play your part in making life's moments mean a little more.

About the Function

Finance at Diageo is about more than the numbers, it's about shaping the decisions behind them.

From guiding investment to unlocking growth, this team plays a critical role in how we perform today and how we plan for tomorrow. You'll work with data, insight and digital tools to influence strategy and help drive a business that operates at global scale.

It's a fast-moving environment where no two days are the same, and where you'll be supported to build your skills, grow your career and make a real impact.

About this role

The Category Finance Manager supports the Vodka team with, forecasting, analysis, budgeting, and strategic planning to support obtainment of the US Market objectives. This is an exciting role that has high visibility across Marketing and Finance leadership, providing analytical insights to the Tequila & Vodka SVP and Leadership Team, as well as cross-functional Finance senior leadership.

The key objective of this role is to support the financial agenda for the Vodka portfolio, partnering closely with brand teams to deliver insightful analysis and performance-driven recommendations that support business decision-making.

Reporting to the Category Finance Director of Tequila & Vodka, this role will support forward-looking planning, forecasting, and financial analysis. The position will help ensure accurate and timely forecasts while identifying key performance drivers, risks, and opportunities to support the delivery of business objectives.

Context/Scope:

• Strategic Financial Leadership: Drive strategic financial decision-making for relevant portfolio of Brands, partnering closely with senior leadership across Marketing & Finance
• Category Finance: bring "CFO mindset" to deliver sustainable long-term growth, value creation, and operating leverage for the Vodka portfolio
• Brand Planning: Support and continuously improve key brand planning processes, including yearly brand plans, 3-year strategy, and annual operating plan
• A&P Oversight: Provide oversight of A&P for the Vodka portfolio, ensuring alignment with overall business objectives and strategic priorities. Partner with brand and A&P teams to ensure delivery of current year budgets, future year planning, and M&E
• Portfolio Strategy Execution: Partner with marketing to ensure optimization of investment choices aligned to the Diageo Portfolio Strategy.
• Efficiency Initiatives: Partner with Supply and Supply Finance to identify and drive initiatives to optimize resource allocation and maximize investment efficiency

• Assess financial performance, provide business insights, and develop scenario plans

• Support Portfolio Strategy process for Vodka brands, developing frameworks, tools, templates, and analyses to synthesize portfolio projections and develop insights
• Lead and drive building blocks and the financial elements of the annual brand planning processes across Vodka
• Partner with Brand teams to coordinate/prepare/facilitate quarterly brand plan reviews
• Assess investment opportunities to ensure they align with overall strategy and financial targets, while developing return on investment analyses to evaluate programs, opportunities, and cost savings initiatives
• Drive efficiency initiatives to ensure effective allocation of resources and efficient use of investments by brand
• Champion the compliance agenda and maintain a strong internal control & compliance environment
• Excel at cutting through ambiguity and act as a critical thought partner to the Marketing & Innovation and Finance Teams
• Support SVP and Vodka Finance Director in ad-hoc projects including but not limited to US Strategy, portfolio optimization, and performance management

• 4+ years of relevant business experience
• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent experience required. MBA and / or recognized accounting qualification beneficial
• FP&A, Brand Finance, Commercial Finance experience preferred
• Beverage Alcohol or CPG Experience preferred
• Outstanding analytical, financial modeling, and presentation skills
• Strong interpersonal skills with a validated ability to collaborate with various partner, build relationships, and influence across large matrix organization
• Capacity to communicate sophisticated ideas in simple understandable terms
• Ability to balance strategy and drive to execution

• High energy and drive