Working Capital - London, United Kingdom - Knewin

Description

Condé Nast is a global media company producing the highest quality content with a footprint of more than 1 billion consumers in 32 territories through print, digital, video and social platforms. The company's portfolio includes many of the world's most respected and influential media properties including Vogue, Vanity Fair, Glamour, Self, GQ, The New Yorker, Condé Nast Traveler/Traveller, Allure, AD, Bon Appétit and Wired, among others. Job Description

Location:

Condé Nast is a global media company, home to iconic brands including Vogue, GQ, Glamour, AD, Vanity Fair and Wired, among many others. Our award-winning content reaches 84 million consumers in print, 367 million in digital and 379 million across social platforms, and generates more than 1 billion video views each month.

We are headquartered in London and New York, and operate in 31 markets worldwide, including China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico & Latin America, Spain, Taiwan, the U.K. and the U.S., with local licence partners across the globe.

This role is a 12 month fixed term contract.

The Role

Reporting to the Global Controller, and managing a team of two, the Working Capital Management and Free Cash Flow Reporting Director will be responsible for driving global improvements in working capital performance and Free Cash Flow reporting. The role will bring greater focus and discipline to managing cash conversion across CN and so achieve corporate Free Cash Flow targets, which is a significant area of focus for the CN Executive team.

The role has three primary objectives: Firstly, improving the underlying accuracy and integrity of Working Capital data and forecasts models. Secondly, to identify, obtain approval and drive transformational improvements in our global Working Capital performance. And thirdly to deliver accurate, insightful, and timely Free Cash Flow ('FCF') reporting that will support Executive decision making. [Note: FCF is one of Conde Nast's primary internal KPIs, and is a non-standard GAAP measure. To achieve these objectives it will be necessary to work with a range of senior stakeholders within and outside of Finance to understand current approaches and to develop, implement and secure adoption to the actions that will drive performance improvement.

What will you be doing?

Transformational Improvements

• Partner across a wide range of leaders and stakeholders in HQ, Markets and Functional Business Partnering teams to lead the development, prioritisation and approval of a portfolio of FCF initiatives, primarily working capital improvements, that will support the achievement of FCF targets
• Once approved, champion all FCF initiatives to ensure their widespread adoption and track performance to ensure realisation of anticipated benefits.
• Work with HQ and Market teams driving improvement in Days Sales Outstanding, including improvements to billing accuracy to reduce disputed payments and enhancements to the collections process, are clearly defined, targets and KPIs are established and teams collaborate to maximise cash collection
• Work with teams that are looking to drive improvement in Days Payments Outstanding are clearly defined and actioned including supplier terms of trade are maximised and payments to suppliers ahead of terms are minimised
• Work with CN Executives and their senior leadership teams to advocate for Free Cash Flow improvements, educate on its importance and bring to life ways of working that the Exec's and their teams can adopt to support the achievement of cash targets
• Work with Advance Finance Group to ensure that the target setting and performance measurement processes are aligned and that any areas of inconsistency are swiftly addressed
• Work with Finance teams to define and develop simple and effective Free Cash Flow reporting and KPIs, with insightful commentary and proposed actions to mitigate risks to the achievement of FCF targets
• Work with Finance teams in HQ and Markets to develop stretching but achievable cash flow forecasts and FCF budgets and plans, and educate the Finance teams on the ways to improve forecast accuracy
• Contribute to the development of accounting policies to ensure that any relevant measures to maximise Free Cash Flow and track compliance are documented
• Create a network of Finance team members that can collaborate and share ideas and opportunities that drive working capital and FCF improvements
• Participate in various CN-wide projects and initiatives to ensure that FCF and working capital improvements are considered

Underlying Data Accuracy, Consistency and Integrity

• Enhance FCF computation process through standardisation, automation, and simplification, thereby reducing manual steps, eliminating risk of errors, and delivering associated benefits.
• Enhance FCF forecasting models to improve integrity and insights on actual performance, as well as upgrade forecasting models and leverage a driver-based approach.

Reporting

• Create insightful performance and variance reporting for the CFO and Board, partnering with HQ and Markets teams.
• Analyse performance versus budget and prior year to generate insights for driving proactive improvement and management.
• Continually develop and refine KPIs such that they meaningfully measure deliverables against the primary objectives.

Other

• Manage the activities of two experienced team members, setting targets and providing coaching and feedback to develop capabilities and improve performance

Who you are:

• Qualified accountant (CCAB, ACA, ACCA, CIMA), with 5+ years post-qualification experience.
• Technically strong and analytical finance professional
• Ability to manage and influence change and deal effectively with change management initiatives
• Language skills: fluent English is a must; additional language skills an advantage
• Good understanding and practical experience in financial audit and accounting.
• Practical and hands on experience implementing and/or monitoring internal control systems; internal audit experience appreciated
• Broad knowledge of Workday and Oracle EPM is a plus.
• Team worker and strong communication skills
• Focused on delivering, pushing projects forward
• Able to work under pressure and respect deadlines

Where will you be?

This is a hybrid role with 3 days a week in our beautiful Adelphi office, with breathtaking views over the Thames, and next to the hustle and bustle of The Strand.

What benefits do we offer ?

• Condé Nast Learning Hub where you'll find you'll find all Condé Nast-developed learning courses and trainings, and over 16,000+ courses in seven local languages
• 25 days holiday and extra days of annual leave life events like moving house or wanting to volunteer with a charity
• Hybrid working and core hours
• Competitive pension scheme
• Bupa Private Healthcare
• Season ticket loans
• Cycle to work
• Employee Assistance programme
• Bring your dog to work
• A wide variety of wellness benefits including gym discounts
• Discounts and Magazine Subscriptions
• Employee Resource Groups to provide a platform for employees to identify shared objectives, exchange ideas, and work on community priorities for our global workforce

If you are interested in this opportunity, please apply below, and we will review your application as soon as possible. You can update your resume or upload a cover letter at any time by accessing your candidate profile.

Condé Nast is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, age, familial status and other legally protected characteristics.