Finance Shared Services Manager - Projects & Operations

ITT Inc. (NYSE: ITT) is a diversified global leading manufacturer of highly engineered critical components and customized technology solutions serving the flow, aerospace and defense, transportation, industrial, and energy markets. Through operational execution, innovation, and disciplined capital deployment, including strategic acquisitions such as SPX FLOW, ITT partners with its customers to deliver enduring solutions to the key industries that underpin our modern way of life. 

Headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, ITT has a market cap of roughly $20 billion and employs more than 15,000 people across 40 countries and serves customers in approximately 125 countries. Following the acquisition of SPX FLOW, the company is expected to generate $5.4 billion in annual revenue.

Our businesses are organized in three distinct segments, each based around our core engineering DNA: 

Flow Technologies: A global leader in, providing a broad portfolio of pumps, valves, mixing and agitation equipment, heat transfer, homogenizers, separation, water and wastewater treatment, and engineered process solutions.Our leading brands include the iconic Goulds Pumps (with more than 175 years of history), Anhydro, APV, Bornemann, Bran+Luebbe, C’treat, Engineered Valves, Gerstenberg Schröder, Habonim, Johnson Pump, Lightnin, Philadelphia, Plenty, PRO Cast, Rheinhütte, Seital Separation, Stelzer, Svanehøj, Tigerholm, Uutechnic, VIDAR, Waukesha Cherry-Burrell.

Motion Technologies: A global leader in brake pads (ICE and electrified brake pads) and shock absorbers (energy absorption solutions) for transportation applications. Our leading brands include Friction Technologies, KONI and Axtone.

Connect and Control Technologies: A leader in critical applications for the aerospace, defense and industrial markets, including harsh environment connectors and control components. Our leading brands include ITT Cannon, Enidine, Aerospace Controls and kSARIA. 

About Finance Shared Services (FSS)

ITT FSS provides services to many of ITT’s businesses located around the globe, including the following services: Procure to Pay (PtP), Travel and Expense (T&E), Order to Cash (OtC) and Financial Accounting and Reporting (FA&R). 

ITT FSS currently has in-house centers in US, UK, China and India, and also works with an outsource partner, Genpact, in India, China and Romania.  The India in-house FSS team consists of 10 team members, with expected expansion to more than double that number as further work transitions into FSS.  Overall, there are > 150 FTE currently working in FSS.

Position Summary:

The FSS Manager, Project and Operations will support Finance Shared Services Operational Leads with the migration and standardization of services offered by ITT FSS.  The role will provide structured project management, governance, co-ordination and reporting to ensure all FSS projects involving India Operations are delivered efficiently and on time.

Additionally, they will be accountable for day-to-day operational leadership, people management, workload prioritization, service quality and continuous improvement across the team. They will act as a key point of contact for business leaders, FSS colleagues and other stakeholders, ensuring service delivery is aligned to business needs, controls are effective, and team capability is developed to support current and future growth.

The position will report to the Director, Finance Shared Services, with a dotted line to the Director, Finance Process Excellence.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities:

• Document and maintain project plans, including milestones, owners, critical activities, due dates, risks, dependencies etc.
• Schedule, facilitate and lead meetings, ensuring attendees are engaged and prepared, outcomes are documented and regular follow-ups occur, to ensure activities are completed on schedule.
• Capture lessons learned and support post transition stabilization.
• Prepare project updates, dashboards, presentations etc. for management and key stakeholders, and work with HR and operational management to develop communication plans.
• Support with process mapping and ensure documentation, including SOPs and training materials, are of a consistently high standard.
• Build team capability and capacity to support expected growth, including onboarding new activities, succession planning, recruitment and training of new team.
• Lead and support continuous improvement initiatives, including process standardization, automation opportunities and transition of work into or out of FSS.
• Provide day to day leadership for FSS India team, including objective setting, performance management, prioritization of work, operational guidance, KPI monitoring etc., to ensure accurate, timely and efficient service delivery.
• Ensure strong controls are maintained, in line with SOX, ITT policies and FSS SOPs, and act as reviewer and approver, where required, for journals, BS recs and payments etc.
• Oversee all aspects of India FA&R activities, including month end close, journal preparation, balance sheet reconciliations, fixed assets, consolidations, external reporting and audit support.
• Oversee all aspects of India PtP activities, including invoice processing, supplier queries, payment support, controls compliance and issue resolution.
• Oversee all aspects of India T&E activities, including expense processing, policy compliance and employee query management.
• Oversee all aspects of India OtC activities, including billing, cash application, collections, customer query and credit management.
• Act as escalation point for complex queries and service issues.
• Maintain strong relationships with other FSS Leaders, supported businesses and other stakeholders.

Skills, Experience and Education:

Essential

• Fluent in spoken and written English
• Educated to degree level, with professional Accountancy qualification (or equivalent experience)
• Project management experience, with proficiency in Microsoft Project and other Microsoft products e.g. Excel, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, OneNote, Planner.
• Experience in a large, complex organization, preferably in a Finance Shared Services environment.
• Experience supporting transition, transformation, standardization or automation initiatives
• Excellent communication, organizational and stakeholder management skills.
• Comfortable leading in a changing, fast paced environment with multiple priorities and deadlines
• Strong people manager, with experience coaching, developing and managing team performance
• Able to be flexible with working hours, to ensure time sensitive projects and activities are completed on schedule, and meetings can be accommodated with global resources, in various time zones.
• Self-motivated, proactive and able to work with appropriate autonomy
• Excellent research, analytical, problem-solving and decision-making skills
• Strong attention to detail, with ability to maintain quality & control across high-volume processes

Preferred

• Experience of ERPs and other finance systems, e.g. SAP, Epicor, One Stream, Get Paid etc.
• Working knowledge of US GAAP accounting principles and SOX controls
• Experience of management information systems, including report writing and KPI dashboards
• Additional European language other than English
• Manufacturing industry experience
• Experience of dealing with clients across multiple countries and cultures