Head of UK Pharma Finance Operations
Roche · Welwyn
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The Position
Function Purpose / Summary
The UK Finance Operations function safeguards Roche UK Pharma’s financial integrity and licence to operate while enabling the organisation to work efficiently and make sound business decisions.
The function brings together Accounting, Internal Controls & Financial Compliance (“ICFR”), Audit, and Procurement, providing clear local accountability while connecting Roche UK with Roche Services & Solutions (RSS), Group Finance, Tax and other global specialist organisations.
The function ensures that the Finance requirements of the Roche Group, UK statutory reporting,and all other regulatory obligations are translated into effective local processes, controls and practical business solutions.
Job Purpose / Summary
The Head of UK Finance Operations is the senior leader accountable for the integrity, compliance and effectiveness of Finance Operations across Roche UK.
Serving as Site Controller and the senior point of accountability for operational finance matters across the UK site, the role maintains a holistic view of financial topics affecting the legal entity and site.
The role leads a team of specialist individual contributors across Accounting, Internal Controls & Financial Compliance, and Procurement, setting direction, developing capability and ensuring effective execution of critical finance activities.
Working closely with RSS, the Chief Country Accountant, UK Tax, Group Finance, business finance and functional site leaders (such as R&D), the Head of UK Finance Operations ensures that globally delivered finance services and locally owned activities operate as one effective finance system.
This is both a leadership and a hands-on role. The role holder will lead a team, including senior experts (with global grading 8) and is expected to provide senior judgement, resolve complex financial and control matters, challenge existing practices, and personally engage where issues are material to Roche UK's financial integrity, compliance or business continuity.
The role is also accountable for driving the modernisation of Finance Operations, actively applying technology, automation and AI to redesign workflows, improve productivity and control effectiveness, and enable the team to focus its capacity on higher-value activities.
The Opportunity
The Head of UK Finance Operations is a pivotal member of the UK Finance and Business Services leadership community, with responsibility for ensuring Roche UK has a strong, efficient and future-ready operational finance environment.
The role provides leadership across several distinct finance disciplines while acting as a connector between the UK organisation and Roche's global finance infrastructure.
You will shape how Finance Operations works across Roche Pharma UK, build strong partnerships with local and global stakeholders, simplify and strengthen controls and processes, and ensure that operational finance enables rather than constrains the organisation.
You will also act as a trusted adviser on complex accounting, controls, procurement and financial governance matters, balancing commercial realities with Roche's fiduciary responsibilities and standards.
Where external partners are involved with the Finance Operation of the company (auditors, actuaries etc), this role would be the main local point of contact.
Key Responsibilities
- Act as Site Controller for Roche UK Pharma, maintaining oversight of significant financial matters across the site and providing a senior finance perspective on topics affecting the UK legal entity.
- Lead the UK Finance Operations team, with direct leadership responsibility for specialist colleagues across Accounting, ICFR/Internal Controls & Financial Compliance, and Procurement. Set clear priorities, coach and develop the team, build succession and ensure the right capabilities are available for current and future organisational needs.
- Act as a senior authorised Finance signatory for Roche UK Pharma, exercising delegated financial authority in accordance with Roche Group and local governance requirements. Review and approve significant financial transactions, commitments, payments and other matters requiring Finance authorisation, ensuring appropriate financial judgement, supporting evidence, segregation of duties and escalation where required.
- Own the overall financial compliance environment for Roche UK, ensuring Roche Group requirements and applicable UK statutory and regulatory obligations are translated into clear, proportionate and effective local policies, processes and controls.
- Provide senior oversight of accounting and financial reporting, including complex accounting judgements, revenue recognition including accounting for VPAG (Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing, Access and Growth) and other contracted rebates, accruals, treasury, CAPEX, payroll-related finance processes, pensions and other material operational accounting topics.
- Ensure the effectiveness of Roche UK's Internal Control over Financial Reporting environment, including risk assessment, control design, ICFR testing, remediation and segregation of duties.
- Own the UK external audit process from the local lens and be the local point of contact with Roche UK's external auditors, ensuring effective planning and execution of the audit, timely resolution of significant accounting and control matters, and appropriate engagement and escalation with UK and Group leadership. Oversee coordination with RSS and other Roche teams contributing to the audit.
- Act as the senior local finance lead for financial compliance, internal audit and assurance matters, proactively identifying risks and ensuring appropriate remediation and escalation.
- Ensure Roche UK meets relevant transparency and Transfer of Value reporting requirements, including applicable ABPI, Roche Group and other local or global reporting obligations.
- Provide leadership and oversight of local site Procurement, ensuring the organisation obtains value from third-party spend while maintaining appropriate sourcing, supplier-management, risk-management and compliance standards.
- Act as the key UK Finance Operations interface with RSS, particularly the Chief Country Accountant and finance service teams, ensuring clarity of accountability, strong service delivery and timely resolution of operational or control issues.
- Build strong relationships with UK Tax, Group Finance, Group Financial Compliance, Procurement networks and other global Finance organisations, representing UK requirements and ensuring effective adoption of Roche standards and solutions.
- Serve as a trusted adviser to UK Finance and business leadership, connecting operational finance, control and business insights and providing clear recommendations on complex or material financial matters.
- Ensure critical foundational finance activities are delivered accurately and on time while continually challenging how the work is performed, simplifying processes, eliminating unnecessary activity and leveraging global capabilities, automation and technology wherever appropriate.
- Lead the technology-enabled transformation of UK Finance Operations, identifying and implementing opportunities to embed AI, automation and digital solutions into finance and procurement workflows. Within the remits of Group Technology infrastructure, ensure technology is used to simplify processes, strengthen controls, improve decision-making and materially increase the productivity and impact of the function.
- Ensure critical foundational finance activities are delivered accurately and on time while continually challenging how the work is performed, eliminating unnecessary activity and making effective use of Roche's global capabilities and services.
- Maintain appropriate oversight of emerging financial, operational and third-party risks and ensure significant matters are surfaced, understood and addressed by the appropriate senior stakeholders.
- Foster a culture of ownership, sound judgement and continuous improvement, enabling team members to operate with autonomy while maintaining high standards of financial stewardship, ethics and compliance.
Who You Are
Minimum Requirements
- Professionally qualified accountant or equivalent senior finance professional
- Significant senior-level experience in Finance, Accounting, Controllership, Financial Compliance or Finance Operations within a complex organisation.
- Demonstrated experience leading and developing experienced finance professionals and specialist individual contributors.
- Strong technical grounding in financial accounting, financial controls, risk management and corporate governance, with the ability to exercise sound judgement on complex or ambiguous issues.
- Experience working across multiple finance disciplines and the ability to integrate accounting, controls, compliance, procurement and business considerations into enterprise-level decisions.
- Demonstrated ability to operate effectively in a global matrix environment, including working with shared-service organisations and influencing stakeholders where accountability is distributed across local and global teams.
- Proven ability to influence senior leaders, constructively challenge decisions and communicate complex financial or control issues with clarity.
- A track record of modernising finance processes and operating models through technology, automation and emerging capabilities such as AI, with the ability to identify practical use cases and translate them into measurable improvements in workflows, productivity and control effectiveness.
- Comfortable operating at both strategic and detailed levels: able to set direction and lead through others while personally engaging in significant accounting, compliance, control or operational matters when required.
Preferred
- Experience within Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology, Healthcare or another highly regulated industry.
- Experience operating as a Controller, Finance Operations Head, Financial Compliance Officer or equivalent senior fiduciary role.
- Experience working with global finance shared-service or business-service organisations.
- Experience spanning more than one of Accounting, Internal Controls/Audit, Procurement, Tax or broader Finance Operations.
Mindsets, Behaviours, and Competencies
- Enterprise leadership: Takes accountability beyond organisational boundaries and considers what is right for Roche UK and the wider Roche Group, not solely for their immediate team.
- Financial stewardship: Demonstrates strong judgement and an uncompromising commitment to financial integrity, compliance and Roche's licence to operate.
- VACC Leadership: Demonstrates the Visionary, Architect, Catalyst and Coach mindsets; setting direction, creating effective systems, enabling change and developing others.
- Pragmatism: Translates complex regulations and Group requirements into simple, proportionate and workable solutions for the organisation.
- Courage and influence: Willing to challenge constructively, make difficult calls and escalate when the financial integrity or risk profile of the organisation requires it.
- Hands-on leadership: Moves comfortably between strategic leadership and detailed problem solving and remains close enough to the work to exercise informed judgement.
- Collaboration: Builds trusted relationships across organisational and geographic boundaries and connects local and global teams around common outcomes.
- Growth mindset: Continuously challenges existing processes and operating models, seeks better ways of working and develops capability in themselves and others.
- Integrity: Operates with the highest standards of professionalism, discretion and ethical behaviour, particularly when managing sensitive financial, employee or business information.
- Technology-forward leadership: Actively seeks opportunities to use technology, automation and AI to rethink how Finance Operations works. Combines curiosity about emerging capabilities with the judgement to implement them responsibly, securely and where they create meaningful value.
Who we are
A healthier future drives us to innovate. Together, more than 100’000 employees across the globe are dedicated to advance science, ensuring everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Our efforts result in more than 26 million people treated with our medicines and over 30 billion tests conducted using our Diagnostics products. We empower each other to explore new possibilities, foster creativity, and keep our ambitions high, so we can deliver life-changing healthcare solutions that make a global impact.
Let’s build a healthier future, together.
The statements herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees, and are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. Furthermore, they do not establish a contract for employment and are subject to change at the discretion of Roche Products Ltd. At Roche Products we believe diversity drives innovation and we are committed to building a diverse and flexible working environment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion or belief, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, disability or age. We recognise the importance of flexible working and will review all applicants’ requests with care. At Roche difference is valued and we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer where you are encouraged to bring your whole self to work.