Finance Lead - Leuna Plant

Job content

Where you fit inShell Catalysts and Technologies (part of Projects & Technology) provides catalysts, services, and related technologies in support of the Group aspiration to become the most competitive and innovative energy company in the world. Shell Catalysts and Technologies (SC&T) is an end-to-end business which develops, scales up, manufactures, and markets catalyst and technologies across the globe. In addition to its strategic value to Royal Dutch Shell, SC&T monetizes its technology, services, and catalysts through sales to third parties.The SC&T Leuna manufacturing plant located at the Infraleuna Chemiestandort produces the complete range of specialty catalysts and is the sole supplier for a specialty performance catalyst product produced exclusively for Shell’s Gas To Liquid plants.What’s the role?The main accountabilities for this position are:Commercial/Business Finance

• Provide on-site finance support for the SC&T Leuna Plant Leadership Team, responding in German language to local requests for specific company information and analysis, as and when required (InfraLeuna Chemiestandort, German authorities, associations, chambers, consultancy firms).
• Interface with Contracting & Procurement (C&P) and the business (Manufacturing and Research & Development laboratory) to ensure value protection in local Leuna purchasing contracts.
• Provide coding for import duties and tax related invoices/payments and submit to Accounts Payable team for further processing (most incoming invoices/ customs assessments are in German language and must be analysed/evaluated by someone with SAP accounting skills).

Operational Finance

• Provide local finance support to Plant Leadership Team during the annual planning/budgeting process conducted by Shell Business Operations (SBO) Chennai planning team, inter alia
• Prepare together with SBO Chennai planning team the required numbers input on FTE/headcount and associated salary and burden calculations.
• Support the annual product standard costing exercise, review and confirm the correctness of fixed and variable activity rates, and newly calculated standard costs.
• Coordinate monthly plant closing activities in the various Leuna business departments.
• Ensure the required spending reviews of all plant cost centers, process orders and internal orders are executed in tandem with SBO Chennai Team.
• Participate in special Leuna plant Business, Continuous Improvement (CI), Health, Safety, Security & Environment (HSSE) projects, such as new required systems planning and implementation, when and where required.

Governance, Controlling and Accounting

• Support and co-ordinate together with diverse in/external stakeholders (SBO Krakow Team, Shell Hamburg Tax department, external tax advisory firms) local tax compliance. Work together with SBO Krakow and external consultants to ensure correct reporting and timely payment of direct/indirect taxes, customs, energy taxes etc.
• Ensure SC&T Leuna gets annually reimbursed for pre-paid energy taxes on annual or monthly basis by data collection / filling returns together with Business / external parties involved.
• Ensure that Leuna inventory (products and spare parts) are physically counted in accordance with Company policies, properly controlled, and that reporting of inventory movements is sound and performed on a real-time basis.
• Manage processes around fixed assets and spare parts to ensure that reporting is sound and that they are properly safeguarded.

Audits – Internal and external Stakeholder Management

• Provide finance support during the Leuna legal entity annual audits and tax authorities / statutory pensions in collaboration with Controller Team Hamburg.
• Support internal audits for finance matters

What we need from you?We are keen to hear from candidates with the following qualities touched by their previous professional experience:

• University level finance qualification (Bachelor’s/Master’s degree) or comparable
• Skill level expertise across the basic spectrum of Finance competences (accounting, reporting, controlling, performance appraisal, risk and assurance, economics)
• Very strong set of analytical skills and able to absorb, filter and process a lot of information in a short timeframe.
• Ability to gain the confidence of internal and external stakeholders building on in-depth knowledge and understanding of the business drivers and associated value and risk.
• Problem solving mindset with the courage to ensure professional financial rigor is applied to commercial decision-making process and risk management bringing analytics and insights to the table.
• Project management skills and flexibility given the support across multiple activities and business lines.
• Business fluent in both German and English

It is expected that the SC&T Leuna Finance lead works most of the time out the Leuna manufacturing plant. Virtual working is supported along Shell guidelines.