Innovation Finance Manager

About Us:

With over 200 brands sold in nearly 180 countries, we're the world's leading premium drinks company. Bring your passion and use your curiosity as you explore, collaborate, and innovate to build brands consumers love. Together with passionate people from all over the world, you'll test new ideas, learn and grow, and unlock a brighter, more exciting future.

Join us to build a career worth celebrating.

Which company will you join?

From Arthur Guinness to Johnnie Walker, our business was founded on people of outstanding character, and in 250 years, nothing has changed. We're the world's leading premium alcohol company! Our brands are industry icons including Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, Bulleit and Buchanan's whiskies, Smirnoff, Cîroc and Ketel One vodkas, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Don Julio, Tanqueray and Guinness. Our success is thanks to the strength of our people, in every role. It's why we trust them with our legacy and why we reward them with the career-defining opportunities that they deserve. Our ambition is to build the best performing, most trusted and respected Consumer Products Company in the world. To achieve these, we need the very best people!

At Diageo, our purpose is to celebrate life everywhere, every day. To do that, you will join an organization that is passionate about customers and consumers, and proud of what they do. Diageo teams constantly set high goals and then try hard to exceed them. We are also an incredibly diverse organization, and we value each and every one's talent and personality.

About the Function:
Innovation products have fueled Diageo North America growth for years. In Innovation Finance we business partner with a dynamic group of creators, at the forefront of consumer trends and opportunities in the alcoholic beverage industry.

About the team:

The role of Innovation Finance is to influence positive financial outcomes from innovation. We help to craft the innovation pipeline, support decisions on individual product developments and play a meaningful role in Diageo's governance process for bringing innovations to market.

Like our partners, we spend most of our time looking into the future, planning, forecasting and performing scenario analysis to drive transparency and informed decision making.

About the role:

In this role you will gain a deep understanding about what drives product performance, from commercial volume drivers through the value chain to operating profit. You will engage with a wide variety of partners, innovation & marketing, supply, procurement, revenue growth management and other finance teams.

Purpose

The Innovation Finance Manager is the finance business partner to the NAM Innovation team, responsible for the innovation brand portfolio across US Spirits and Diageo Beer Company (DBC).

The primary purpose of the Innovation Finance Manager is to support innovation project teams to improve financial outcomes by providing financial analysis and decision support, all the while upholding an effective control environment. However, the role also includes providing strategic guidance on the overall innovation portfolio to ensure it is aligned with the region's ambition and objectives, leading performance management of innovation launches and consolidating the overall ambition for the short-term and long-term plan. The Innovation Finance Manager is also the key Finance point of contact for NAM senior leadership. You will be responsible for providing financial expertise to influence decision making, plan with the Innovation Leadership Team (regional and global) to ensure appropriate prioritization and alignment to business needs and provide transparent financials insights to internal and external partners.

• Support strategic planning process by building and maintaining master Innovation pipeline.
• Performance management process to track Innovation launches, develop insights and influence business outcomes in the short/medium term.
• Deliver complete P&Ls (multi-year) as well as financial insights and risk identification for products going through the Innovation process.
• Support the decision-making process (Innovation project teams, Finance gatekeeper) through scenario-building, and critical review of P&L inputs received from various members of the Innovation project team (including Commercial Innovation, Product Costing, Marketing and Sales).
• Find opportunities to strengthen innovation profitability or reduce financial risk in Innovations.
• Influence A&P investment decision making and improvement in commercial drivers.
• Identify opportunities to drive greater efficiency and effectiveness of Innovation Finance activities.
• Involvement in regional and global initiatives to improve the Innovation Finance function.
• Support budget tracking to ensure effective spend on innovation.
• Balance multiple priorities, including high volume of projects, business partnering and supporting innovation agenda, broader finance agenda and Innovation Finance continuous improvement.

• Bachelor's degree educated (professional qualification desirable (CA/ACCA/CIMA/CPA/MBA)).
• 5+ years of professional experience in a dynamic operating environment with a strong foundation in finance, demonstrating career advancement and increasing responsibilities.
• Finance experience in consumer goods, beverage alcohol preferred.

• Ability to think strategically.
• Understands key business drivers and the external market.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong communicator.
• Team player and inspiring collaborator.
• Works with moderate levels of independency.
• Interpersonal and influencing skills.
• Strong project and budget management capabilities.
• Able to operate optimally with ambiguity.
• Applies judgement and is accountable for own work.