Director- Finance Controller

Job Title: Director- Finance Controller

GCL: F

Introduction to role:

As the Finance Controller lead for our India entity, you will guard financial integrity. You will also be a strategic voice at the leadership table. Your role ensures our work delivers for patients and the business.

You will partner closely with the CFO and senior leaders, employing an international finance centralized services approach to deliver audit-ready reporting, focused cash stewardship, and meticulous compliance.

Accountabilities:

Tax leadership: Ensure full compliance with Indian tax laws and regulations across GST, TDS, Income Tax, Transfer Pricing, and other requirements. Act as the single point of contact with tax authorities during audits. Handle the relationship with global finance services for tax filings, transfer pricing documentation, and quarterly tax reporting. Keep the CFO advised of material tax exposures to avoid surprises and enable timely decisions.

Business Partnering and Performance: Serve as a strategic finance partner to senior leadership, providing insights that build portfolio choices and commercial execution. Responsible for the annual budgeting and forecasting cycles, aligning cross-functional plans with market realities. Identify and drive cost optimization without compromising quality or patient impact, Rigorously evaluate Capex, investments, and cases with clear recommendations.

Coordinate statutory audits, tax audits, audits related to transfer pricing, and internal audits to ensure timely and successful closure. Ensure accounting policies, standards, and data quality are followed for accurate, timely submissions across group systems. Lead all aspects of financial services delivery worldwide for accurate and timely filing of local statutory accounts according to legal requirements.

Internal Control and Risk Management: Own the local risk framework and Financial Control Framework (FCF) assessment, ensuring risks are identified and controls are designed, implemented, and operating optimally. Submit bi-annual FCF updates to the CFO. Give actively to compliance committee meetings. Keep local SOPs and policies current. Role-model the Code of Conduct and core values. Lead internal and external audits to successful outcomes with a consistent, well-documented control environment.

Cash and treasury stewardship: Supervise cash flow, working capital, and vendor payments to maintain efficient liquidity. Handle banking relationships, including fund management, foreign exchange, and credit facilities; support international financial operations in ensuring timely supplier payments. Carry out focused adherence to cash handling, T&E policies, and corporate card controls.

Information Systems Enablement: Act as functional lead for finance systems impacting controllership activities, ensuring processes and configurations meet local statutory financial reporting and tax obligations.

Transformation and Projects: Champion local rollout of finance transformation initiatives. Represent controllership in projects that affect accounting and tax. Drive required decisions at the country level to land change on time and within control parameters.

Essential Skills/Experience:

• Qualified finance professional (preferably MBA/CA) with around 15 years and with a minimum of 5 years in a Finance Controller or a senior finance leadership role.
• Experience handling end-to-end finance operations, preferably with multinational corporation (MNC) environment.
• Confirmed financial management proficiencies.
• Should have capability to lead teams and deliver results.

Desirable Skills/Experience:

• Direct experience leading interactions with Indian tax authorities and handling GST, TDS, Income Tax, and Transfer Pricing audits.
• Track record of elevating performance in a global finance shared services organization.
• Strong command of ERP and consolidation tools (e.g., SAP, Oracle, Hyperion) and data integrity controls across source-to-report.
• Demonstrated success strengthening control environments, including FCF or equivalent frameworks, and driving zero major audit findings.
• Experience in pharmaceutical, biotech, or healthcare environments and in finance transformation/change programs.

When we put unexpected teams in the same room, we fuel ambitious thinking with the power to inspire life-changing medicines. In-person working gives us the platform we need to connect, work at pace and challenge perceptions. That's why we work, on average, at least three days per week from the office. But that doesn't mean we're not flexible. We balance the expectation of being in the office while respecting individual flexibility. Join us in our unique and ambitious world.

Why AstraZeneca:

You will join a diverse, inclusive, and collaborative community where ambition is matched with courtesy, and where unexpected teams collect around the same table to unlock bold ideas. We combine the agility and bold spirit of a biotech setting with the scale and resources of a global biopharma, enabling you to modernize finance, build strategy, and feel the real-world impact of your work.

Date Posted

Closing Date

Alexion is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer. We are committed to fostering a culture of belonging where every single person can belong because of their uniqueness. The Company will not make decisions about employment, training, compensation, promotion, and other terms and conditions of employment based on race, color, religion, creed or lack thereof, sex, sexual orientation, age, ancestry, national origin, ethnicity, citizenship status, marital status, pregnancy, (including childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), parental status (including adoption or surrogacy), military status, protected veteran status, disability, medical condition, gender identity or expression, genetic information, mental illness or other characteristics protected by law. Alexion provides reasonable accommodations to meet the needs of candidates and employees. To begin an interactive dialogue with Alexion regarding an accommodation, please contact [email protected]. Alexion participates in E-Verify.