Head of Finance Operations & Compliance

Pollet Group; Koekelare; Remote; EUR 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

All-inclusive remuneration package

Job summary

Pollet Pool Group seeks a senior finance leader to head Finance Operations & Compliance across the group. You will streamline closing processes, enhance audit readiness, and drive standardisation and automation in multiple countries and entities.

The role combines strong technical finance expertise with people leadership, stakeholder management and a hands-on, collaborative style. Fluency in Dutch and English is required, with Big Four audit background preferred.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Finance or Accounting or equivalent experience.
• 8–10 years of relevant experience in audit, accounting or finance operations.
• Audit background at a Big Four firm is advantageous.
• Experience in in-house finance environments with month-end/year-end closing know-how.
• Strong fundamentals in closing processes, reconciliations, intercompany transactions and reporting.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate and oversee monthly, quarterly and annual closings across the group.
• Roll out standardised closing calendars, checklists and quality controls.
• Improve audit readiness and coordinate audit processes with external auditors.
• Act as central contact for audit-related follow-up and documentation.
• Monitor tax compliance including VAT, corporate income tax, withholding tax and transfer pricing with external advisors.
• Lead and develop a central finance operations team.
• Align local finance teams with shared standards and deadlines.
• Establish and monitor operational rhythm with trackers and action plans.
• Identify inefficiencies and translate into concrete improvement initiatives.
• Drive standardisation, simplification, system utilisation and automation across finance operations.
• Support the implementation of the new finance operating model for scalable growth.

Skills

Leadership & people management

Audit & tax compliance

Closing processes

Stakeholder management

Dutch & English fluency

Education

Master’s degree in Finance or Accounting

Big Four audit background

Tools

ERP systems

Tax software

Job description

As Head of Finance Operations & Compliance, you will be responsible for overseeing, streamlining and further developing the recurring finance processes across the group. You will combine strong technical expertise with people leadership and stakeholder management, ensuring an effective and consistent finance operating rhythm across countries and entities. Your responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• Coordinating and overseeing the group’s monthly, quarterly and annual closing processes, with a focus on timeliness, quality and consistency.
• Further rolling out a standardised closing approach, with clear calendars, checklists, quality controls and well-defined responsibilities.
• Enhancing audit readiness across the organisation and coordinating local and central audit processes in collaboration with external auditors.
• Acting as the central point of contact for audit-related follow-up, audit files, documentation and issue management.
• Monitoring tax compliance processes, including VAT, corporate income tax, withholding tax and transfer pricing execution, in collaboration with external advisors.
• Leading, coaching and further developing a central finance operations team with diverse areas of expertise and varying levels of maturity.
• Aligning local finance teams around common standards, deadlines and quality expectations, in close collaboration with local management.
• Establishing and monitoring a clear operational rhythm through trackers, action plans, escalations and structured follow-up.
• Identifying process inefficiencies and recurring bottlenecks and translating them into concrete improvement initiatives.
• Driving standardisation, simplification, effective system utilisation and further automation across finance operations.
• Contributing to the continued implementation of the new finance operating model and helping build a scalable finance organisation that supports future growth and acquisitions.

Profile

We are looking for a strong, authentic finance leader who combines operational discipline with maturity, pragmatism and a collaborative communication style.

You will recognise yourself in the following profile:

• A Master’s degree in Finance or Accounting, or equivalent experience.
• At least 8-10 years of relevant experience in audit, accounting or finance operations.
• An audit background at one of the Big Four firms is a strong advantage.
• Proven experience in an in-house finance environment, giving you a practical understanding of how month-end and year-end closings and accounting processes are organised and managed.
• Strong accounting fundamentals and a solid understanding of closing processes, reconciliations, provisions, intercompany transactions, balance sheet substantiation and reporting discipline.
• A clear understanding of what it takes to make entities audit-ready, with the ability to constructively challenge both local teams and external auditors.
• A sound foundation in tax compliance and confidence in working with external tax advisors.
• Strong people management skills, with the ability to provide clarity, foster ownership and lead people in a supportive yet consistent manner.
• A structured, hands-on approach, with strong planning, follow-up and prioritisation skills.
• The ability to operate comfortably in an environment with multiple stakeholders, varying levels of maturity and international complexity.
• Clear and diplomatic communication skills, with the ability to translate finance and compliance topics into accessible language for non-financial stakeholders.
• Fluency in Dutch and English; additional languages are an advantage.

Our Offer

This role offers a rare combination of operational impact, international scope and broad technical exposure.

You will join an organisation that is still actively building and evolving: professionally grounded, financially sound and guided by a clear long-term vision. At the same time, the culture remains entrepreneurial, hands-on and people-oriented, with short decision-making lines and plenty of room for initiative.

What you can expect:

• A key position within an international group undergoing significant development and further professionalisation.
• The opportunity to make a tangible impact on closing discipline, audit readiness, compliance quality and finance maturity across multiple countries and entities.
• A broad role spanning accounting, audit, tax, operations and people management.
• An environment in which you can actively contribute to continuous improvement, standardisation and automation of finance processes.
• Close collaboration with senior management, local leadership teams, finance peers and external stakeholders.
• An entrepreneurial, values-driven company culture in which initiative, ownership and collaboration are central.
• An all-inclusive remuneration package commensurate with the seniority, responsibilities and impact of the role.

About the company

Pollet Group has operations in 17 countries and is active in 3 segments: the water treatment sector, the swimming pool industry and the medical industry. Pollet Water Group combines 30 companies active in water treatment. Pollet Pool Group covers the pool builder market with 9 distribution companies and 2 manufacturers. Pollet Medical Group consists of 9 medical oriented companies. Together the group has about 2500 employees