Finance Planning & Analysis Specialist

pladis Foods Limited; Zaandam; On-site; EUR 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Fixed-term 12mo

Career development

Competitive salary

37.5h weekly

34 holidays

Pension plan

Discounts on health insurance

Snacks from store

Friendly colleagues

Job summary

pladis is seeking an FP&A Specialist to join the Europe FP&A team where you will drive planning, forecasting, performance reporting and analytics across four European regions. Reporting to the Head of FP&A, Europe, you will partner with regional finance teams to enable informed business decisions.

The role offers exposure to senior Finance leaders, opportunities to influence strategy, and a path to develop skills through our global network.

Qualifications

• Qualified accountant or MBA with FP&A and business partnering experience, preferably FMCG.
• Progressive finance experience across operating entities and regional finance teams.
• Ability to lead in cross-cultural environments and influence outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Planning & Forecasting: coordinate budgeting, forecasting, and long-range planning across four European regions.
• Performance Reporting & Insights: prepare monthly reports and articulate drivers, risks and opportunities.
• Market & SKU Analysis: monitor market trends and profitability at SKU level.
• Business Partnering: work with regional Finance teams to challenge assumptions and drive improvements.
• Financial Modelling & Analysis: build models and scenarios for strategic initiatives.
• Executive Reporting: support CFO and leadership presentations with clear performance messages.
• Process Improvement & Data Analytics: automate processes and enhance data analytics.

Skills

FP&A expertise

Business partnering

Cross-cultural collaboration

Education

Qualified accountant (CPA/CA) or MBA

Tools

Hyperion

ERP systems

Job description

Want to help us bring happiness to the world? Want to join an ambitious and fast growing global biscuits and confectionery business investing heavily in iconic global brands, infrastructure and people? Then this is the place for you. As proud bakers and chocolatiers and custodians of iconic global brands, we don’t compromise on the quality of ingredients in our products or on the people we hire. We are looking for entrepreneurial spirits who share our passion for bringing happiness to our consumers and who embody our Winning Traits. To succeed at pladis you need to be purpose-led, resilient and positive to succeed here because we expect pace and agility, we insist on collaboration and demand accountability. If that is your thing, then pladis offers global ambition, a clear Vision and roadmap for success, challenge, and unrivalled opportunities to learn and make an impact.

The Challenge

This is a fantastic opportunity to join the pladis Europe FP&A team, where we aim to build a best-in-class FP&A function that drives performance and helps shape the strategy of our business. The role offers a real opportunity to improve financial insights and analytics, simplify planning and reporting processes, and strengthen FP&A capabilities across Europe. The position entails reporting to the Head of FP&A, Europe, the FP&A Specialist will work closely with Finance teams across four European regions, supporting planning, forecasting, performance reporting and analysis to enable informed business decisions. The role offers regular exposure to senior Finance leaders across Europe and provides opportunities to contribute to key regional business and performance discussions.

Your main responsibilities

• Planning & Forecasting: Coordinate budgeting, forecasting and long-range planning activities across four European regions, consolidating submissions and supporting the delivery of accurate and timely financial plans.
• Performance Reporting & Business Insights: Prepare monthly performance reports, analyzing results versus budget, forecast and prior year. Clearly articulate key drivers, risks and opportunities, providing actionable insights to support business decisions.
• Market, Category & SKU Performance Analysis: Monitor market performance, category trends and SKU-level profitability, identifying growth opportunities, pricing impacts, promotional effectiveness and portfolio optimization initiatives.
• Business Partnering & Performance Management: Work closely with regional Finance teams and key stakeholders to challenge assumptions, drive accountability and support performance improvement actions across markets.
• Financial Modelling & Strategic Analysis: Develop financial models, scenario analyses and business cases to evaluate strategic initiatives, translating complex data into clear recommendations for senior Finance leadership.
• Executive Reporting & Communication: Support the preparation of CFO and leadership presentations, ensuring clear communication of business performance, risks, opportunities and strategic priorities.
• Process Improvement & Data Analytics: Continuously improve FP&A processes, reporting tools and templates, identifying automation opportunities and leveraging data analytics to enhance efficiency and insight generation.

What do you bring?

• Qualified accountant/MBA of FP&A and business partnering experience ideally in FMCG.
• Progressive finance experience and responsibilities including roles in operating business entities and regional/group finance teams.
• Ability to lead and work in cross-cultural environments, build strong relationships and impact through influence.
• Excellent communication skills with an ability to get beyond the numbers and the process: able to tell a performance story in a compelling, visual and engaging way that influences business outcomes.
• Strong understanding of Finance systems and processes.
• Experience in Hyperion and systems change/implementation would be an added advantage.
• An enthusiasm for seeking out and implementing new ideas, tools and ways of working and challenge the status quo.

What we offer

Working for pladis means challenging jobs, career opportunities and an inspiring environment that allow you to enhance your personal development.

• Fixed term employment (12 months) with possibility of a permanent contract
• Development opportunities through our pladis Academy & other training programs
• A competitive salary
• Fulltime employment (37,5 hours per week)
• 34 holidays (based on fulltime)
• Pension in pensionfund ‘Zoetwaren’
• Discounts on health insurance, gym memberships, bikes etc
• Biscuits, chocolate and other snacks from our personnel store
• The best colleagues in an informal working environment.

Who are we?

Koninklijke Verkade, founded in 1886, with amazing brands like Verkade en Sultana, is part of pladis since 2016. pladis is one of the world's leading snacking companies. We are the proud steward of over 300 years of family baking and confectionery experience. A worldwide community with 16,000 colleagues around the world. Each of us bring our experience in happiness. Each of us is unique, but we find each other as a family of bakers and chocolatiers, hardworking, with pride and purpose. After all these years we believe that biscuits and chocolate bring people together. We are pladis. We bake Happiness. Happiness with every bite. pladis succeeds because of people like you. People who wake up in the morning excited to get to work. Who believe in themselves and their potential. Who want to grow as part of a global community of like-minded colleagues. pladis colleagues care deeply about being the best. About winning, staying the course and never giving up. Whichever part of the world we’re in, whatever our role. Whether we’re baking, working in HR, finance, marketing or many other areas – we win as one pladis team. And while we’re all unique, we share something in common. It’s the code by which we live and work. We call it our ‘Winning Traits & Behaviours’: Purpose Led, Agile, Collaborative, Positive and Resilient. Five aspects of pladis life that define who we are, how we interact and get things done.

Diversity and inclusion is central to everything we do and is reflected across our business. pladis brings together brands and people from around the globe – and this diversity is our great strength. We’re an equal opportunities employer and believe in encouraging an inclusive environment where we celebrate diversity of thinking and respect everyone’s distinctive qualities and perspectives. All applications will be treated with confidentiality.

Third Party or Recruitment Agencies are not welcomed. We aim for an inclusive work environment and invite everyone to apply, regardless of background, age, gender, or preference. Our selection is based on competencies and potential. pladis is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to hiring a diverse workforce. All openings will be filled based on qualifications without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, marital status, veteran status, disability, age, religion or any other classification protected by law.

We operate a strict Preferred Supplier List. If you are a recruitment agency and wish to submit candidate to be considered for this vacancy, you must have agreed to, and signed, our terms of business. We will not accept CVs from any other sources other than those currently on our PSL. We will not pay a fee for any candidate that has not been represented by a provider on our PSL.

pladis is one of the world’s fastest growing snacking companies and home to much loved brands including McVitie’s, GODIVA and Ülker. pladis also owns regional brands Jacob’s, Go Ahead, Flipz, Turtles, BN, Verkade and many more products across sweet and savoury biscuits, wafer, cake and chocolate. Formed in 2016, pladis is the proud steward of over 300 years of family baking and confectionery experience. The expertise of our 16,000-strong global workforce spans 27 bakeries across 11 countries and is united by our purpose: to ‘bring happiness with every bite’. As a responsible business delivering the highest quality products and exceptional service, pladis’ products have the potential to reach more than four billion people across the world. For more information, please visit : www.pladisglobal.com For our Privacy policy please click here