Financial Close Transformation Lead

Adecco (Portugal); Liverpool; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Adecco Portugal is seeking a Financial Close Transformation Lead for a 12-month fixed-term contract in Speke, Liverpool. You will lead a team of eight and drive SAP month-end close transformation, delivering efficiency, controls, and automation improvements.

You will partner with global stakeholders, focusing on governance, data quality, and continuous improvement across close and accounting activities. A degree in accounting/finance and 7+ years of experience are required.

Qualifications

• Degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related discipline.
• 7+ years in finance transformation, shared services, or change management.
• Experience leading programmes and cross-functional teams.
• Strong understanding of SAP month-end close processes.

Responsibilities

• Lead and deliver SAP month-end close transformation initiatives.
• Create and execute transformation roadmaps, milestones, and governance.
• Drive standardisation, automation, and continuous improvement across close activities.
• Partner with finance, technology, and business stakeholders to design future-state processes.
• Identify and implement controls improvements and data quality enhancements.
• Lead change management and adoption to ensure sustainable outcomes.
• Track benefits and delivery against objectives.
• Support system enhancements and process optimisations.
• Provide leadership to a team of eight direct reports.
• Coordinate internal and external audit activities and governance.

Skills

Finance transformation

SAP month-end close

Stakeholder engagement

Leadership

Education

Accounting/Finance degree

Tools

SAP

Excel

Job description

12-Month Fixed-Term Contract |Speke Liverpool, UK Hybrid Role 3 days office / 2 days home

Lead the Future of Finance Transformation

Are you an experienced finance transformation professional with a passion for driving change, improving processes, and leading high-performing teams?

We are seeking a Financial Close Transformation Lead to join our Accounting Services team on a 12-month fixed-term contract. This is a high-profile opportunity to lead the transformation of month-end close activities within a global SAP environment, delivering meaningful improvements in efficiency, controls, standardisation, and automation.

Reporting to the Accounting Services Lead, you will lead a team of eight Assistant Accountants while partnering with finance, technology, and business stakeholders across a global organisation to reshape financial close operations.

What You’ll Be Doing

As the Financial Close Transformation Lead, you will:

• Lead and deliver finance transformation initiatives focused on SAP month-end close processes.
• Create and execute transformation roadmaps, programme plans, milestones, and governance frameworks.
• Drive global standardisation, simplification, automation, and continuous improvement across close and accounting activities.
• Partner with Financial Controllers, Technology teams, and business stakeholders to design future-state processes.
• Identify and implement opportunities to improve controls, efficiency, data quality, and reporting.
• Lead change management and adoption activities, ensuring successful implementation and sustainable outcomes.
• Track project benefits, performance improvements, and delivery against agreed objectives.
• Support digital transformation through system enhancements and process optimisation.
• Provide leadership, coaching, and development to a team of eight direct reports.
• Coordinate internal and external audit activities, ensuring compliance and strong governance standards.

What We’re Looking For

• Degree-qualified in Accounting, Finance, Business, or a related discipline.
• 7+ years' experience within finance transformation, shared services, accounting operations, or change management environments.
• Experience managing transformation programmes, process improvement initiatives, or finance operating model changes.Previous experience leading teams, projects, or cross-functional workstreams.
• Strong understanding of financial close processes within SAP.
• Demonstrated success delivering complex change programmes in fast-paced, multinational environments.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and influencing skills across multiple organisational levels.
• Professional qualification such as ACA, ACCA or CIMA.
• Experience within pharmaceutical, life sciences, biotechnology, or shared service centre environments.
• Exposure to automation, process mining, continuous improvement methodologies, or finance technology transformation.

We’re looking for someone who can bring:

Strong transformation and change leadership

Strategic thinking with the ability to turn complex challenges into practical solutions

Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills

Strong analytical and problem-solving capability

Programme governance, risk management and control expertise

The ability to lead and motivate teams through change

Why Join Us?

This is an opportunity to play a pivotal role in transforming a critical finance function within a global organisation. You'll work with senior finance leaders, technology experts, and international stakeholders to deliver meaningful, lasting improvements while developing your leadership and transformation experience.

If you are passionate about finance transformation, process excellence, and leading people through change, we'd love to hear from you.