Finance Analyst (Credit Control)

PZ Cussons; Pendlebury; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading consumer goods company is seeking a senior OTC specialist to manage the Order to Cash process across the UK, Ireland, and USA. You'll ensure financial governance and control while optimizing cash flow. The ideal candidate should have FMCG experience, strong SAP knowledge, and excellent communication skills. This role involves overseeing daily operations, managing cash collection, and mentoring team members to ensure best practices in line with organizational policies. Join a company that values diversity and inclusion.

Benefits

Commitment to sustainability

Diversity and inclusion support

Qualifications

• Experience within an FMCG transactional shared services environment.
• Strong track record of delivering measurable business outcomes.
• Excellent knowledge of SAP and customer portals.

Responsibilities

• Oversee daily OTC operations, ensuring adherence to control standards.
• Manage cash collection measures and resolve disputes with customers.
• Train and support OTC team members for best practices.

Skills

FMCG experience

Cross-functional alignment

SAP knowledge

Financial control

Strong communication skills

Attention to detail

Excel (intermediate level)

Job description

Overview

This role holds end‑to‑end accountability for the Order to Cash (OTC) process across the UK, Ireland and USA markets, ensuring strong financial governance, control and insight to optimise working capital performance. Acting as the senior regional OTC specialist, the role provides leadership and expertise across a complex, multi‑market landscape, directly influencing business performance and cash flow outcomes.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Oversee daily OTC UK&I and USA operations on behalf of the Head of Financial Control and the OTC Tower Lead in Indonesia; own and OTC for UK&I and USA, ensuring adherence to control standards.
• Ensure timely cash collection and minimise aged debt exposure across both markets, directly supporting Net Working Capital and cash flow performance.
• Control and approve credit releases on a daily basis, maintaining SAP extracts and documentation for all released orders, and maintain escalation processes.
• Follow up all issues identified and requiring resolution with local stakeholders, focusing on customer disputes, cash collection and allocation issues.
• Manage cash collection measures locally to resolve disputes, coordinating legal actions, sending physical dunning letters to customers where required.
• Act as the primary point of contact for the Group Treasury team for all OTC UK & Ireland and USA customer receipts and other treasury‑related insights that may impact group cash flow forecasting.
• Support OTC in Indonesia with cash allocation to all customer ledgers if required, ensuring timely cash allocation for Europe/USA ledgers.
• Resolve legacy accountivable transactions in customer ledgers by proactively contacting customers for non‑payment and dispute resolution, driving actions plan and reporting progress with the Head of Financial Control and the Finance Director.
• Train, coach, mentor and support other OTC team members less experienced in the execution of the above tasks to ensure best practice in line with policy and procedures, resulting in positive and timely outcomes.

Business Partnering

• Represent the OTC function at senior commercial and operational forums, providing analysis and recommendations that support shape business decisions.
• Be the point of contact and representative of the wider Finance Shared Services global function, endorsing and delivering consistent and standard financial and accounting transactions and controls in line with group policies.
• Proactively nurture cross‑functional relationships and be a trusted and credible business partner to the Commercial and Supply Chain teams, providing value through translating financial insights into actions that contribute to profitable growth and operational efficiency.
• Proactively manage stakeholder relationships within UK & Ireland and US while acting as a conduit with the Global FSS function, ensuring appropriate representation and ownership for localised activities and objectives.
• Demonstrate proactive ownership of local OTC issues and/or processes, managing these OTC issues and challenges to a successful conclusion for all urgent queries and risks identified.
• Support wider business strategic projects and change initiatives, by providing operational process knowledge, policy and insights as required.
• Depending on the nature, either manage or oversee any internal/external audit queries for UK & Ireland and USA, proactively engaging with local stakeholders and overseeing requests for information/data ensuring PWC received all requests per the deadlines.

Experience and Qualifications

• Experience within an FMCG transactional shared services environment.
• Strong track record of driving cross‑functional alignment and delivering measurable business outcomes in a shared services model.
• A good knowledge and understanding of standard accounting principles and working with accounting procedures and controls environments.
• Excellent OTC knowledge of SAP, a good understanding of customers portals, customer pricing and a sound knowledge of mainland Europe commercial processes.
• Proven ability to operate independently within a complex, matrix environment, exercising sound judgement in balancing commercial priorities with financial control.
• Strong influencing, facilitation and communication skills characterised by a diplomatic and consultative approach.
• Attention to detail, accuracy, and ability to work to tight deadlines.
• Ability to partner and work with colleagues from peers to the Senior Leadership team.
• Able to handle change in a forever changing commercial world and support colleagues through periods of change and uncertainty.
• Interpret, analyse and report financial data, challenging ways of working to optimise team performance and improve processes.
• Self‑development and continuous improvement mindset, driving tangible improvement initiatives.
• Working knowledge of Excel (intermediate level).

Company Information

PZ Cussons is an international consumer goods business headquartered in Manchester, UK. We employ just under 2,500 people across our operations in Europe, North America, Asia‑Pacific and Africa. Our core categories of Hygiene, Baby and Beauty include well‑loved brands such as Carex, Childs Farm, Cussons Baby, Imperial Leather, Morning Fresh, Original Source, Premier, Sanctuary Spa and St. Tropez. Sustainability and the well‑being of our employees and communities are at the heart of our business model and strategy.

Diversity and Inclusion

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds. If you need extra support during this process, please inform us so we can accommodate your needs appropriately. All candidates feel recognised and have a good experience with PZ Cussons as part of our commitment to inclusivity.