OPEX Controller with French

Welcome to Haleon. We're a purpose-driven, world-class consumer company putting everyday health in the hands of millions. In just three years since our launch, we've grown, evolved and are now entering an exciting new chapter - one filled with bold ambitions and enormous opportunity.

Our trusted portfolio of brands - including Sensodyne®, Panadol®, Advil®, Voltaren®, Theraflu®, Otrivin®, and Centrum® - lead in resilient and growing categories. What sets us apart is our unique blend of deep human understanding and trusted science.

Now it's time to fully realise the full potential of our business and our people. We do this through our Win as One strategy. It puts our purpose - to deliver better everyday health with humanity - at the heart of everything we do. It unites us, inspires us, and challenges us to be better every day, driven by our agile, performance-focused culture.

Role overview

The OPEX Controller is responsible for managing the overheads ("OPEX" - Operating Expenses) of Haleon France. This includes developing the OPEX plan and forecasts for all departments, analyzing variances between actual and forecasted expenses in collaboration with stakeholders such as Payroll, HR, and Finance, and leading a team that handles French taxes and the Purchase to Pay process for OPEX and local Advertising & Promotion spending.

The OPEX Controller plays a key role in meeting the overhead targets set by the Northern Europe Business Unit and the France Lead Team. Success in this role relies on effective collaboration with various department managers, strong technical skills, and a thorough understanding of French payroll components and calculations.

Key responsibilities :

1. Management Control / Accounting

• Overheads Plan/Forecast Build-Up:
  
  • Build the budget for each department in collaboration with stakeholders, making adjustments to align with overall spending targets.
  • Establish periodic re-forecasts.
  • Communicate a clear and concise overview of budgets to department directors.

• Expense Tracking:
  
  • Participate in the monthly closing process with Payroll, HR, and Finance teams (both in France and Poland); establish payroll provisions.
  • Identify and explain deviations from the Plan/Forecast and the previous year.

• Estimation and Monitoring:
  
  • Estimate France restructuring costs (OE "Operational Excellence" costs) and monitor actual expenditures.

• Payroll Reconciliation:
  
  • Ensure proper maintenance of payroll balance sheet accounts.

2. Business Partnering

• Provide budget owners with visibility through cost analysis and identification of opportunities and risks; present overviews to General Management as needed.
• Validate expense requests throughout the year to ensure alignment with the overall budget.

3. Continuous Improvement

• Streamline processes between Local Finance and Hub Finance; serve as the point of contact for France OPEX matters.
• Optimize monitoring tools (e.g., leverage OnePlan overheads module).
• Advise on appropriate accounting allocations to maintain a relevant chart of accounts when necessary.

4. Compliance

• Adhere to and apply Haleon Group accounting policies.
• Validate master data impacting payroll (cost centers, pay codes, etc.); maintain the chart of accounts by creating appropriate cost/profit centers.
• Address requests from statutory/group auditors and tax auditors.
• Provide financial data required for reporting restructuring costs, preparing statutory accounts, and responding to French Work Council inquiries.

5. Team Management

• Set objectives, supervise, and develop the tax & P2P team under your responsibility.

6. Ad Hoc Activities

• Backfill team members on critical activities when necessary.
• Address requests from various departments regarding OPEX.
• Participate in local or European projects to implement new tools or processes related to OPEX or local P2P processes.

Qualifications & Skills

Essential

• Accounting degree / qualification (ACA, ACCA or equivalent)
• 5-8 years of experience in accounting or OPEX controlling
• Strong communication and organization skills
• Team management and leadership skills
• Outside of the box thinking and problem-solving skills
• Fluent in French and English
• SAP or ERP equivalent knowledge
• Proficiency in MS Excel

Opportunities for growth

None of us should ever feel like we are standing still. Instead, we want Haleon to be a place where we feel like we are always progressing.

Improving everyday health takes dedication. Energy. Effort. So we look to reward your contribution with a benefits package that includes:

• Career at one of the leading global healthcare companies
• Hybrid work (2 days onsite work per week)
• Attractive reward package (annual bonus & awards for outstanding performance, recognition awards for additional achievements and engagement)
• Extensive support of work life balance (flexible working solutions including working from home possibilities, health & wellbeing activities)
• Family benefits (extra parental leave, caregiver's policy)
• Life insurance and pension plan
• Open and inclusive environment which is supportive and welcoming of all diversity strands (gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, disability, or any other characteristic)
• Private medical package with additional preventive healthcare services for employees and their eligible counterparts
• Sports card (Multisport)
• Personalized learning approach
• Supportive community and integration events
• Modern office with creative rooms
• Free car and bike parking

#Li-hybrid

Job Posting End Date

2025-12-03

Equal Opportunities

Haleon are committed to mobilising our purpose in a way that represents the diverse consumers and communities who rely on our brands every day. It guides us in creating an inclusive culture, where different backgrounds and views are valued and respected - all in support of understanding and best serving the needs of our consumers and unleashing the full potential of our people. It's important to us that Haleon is a place where all our employees feel they truly belong.

During the application process, we may ask you to share some personal information, which is entirely voluntary. This information ensures we meet certain regulatory and reporting obligations and supports the development, refinement, and execution of our inclusion and belonging programmes that are open to all Haleon employees.

The personal information you provide will be kept confidential, used only for legitimate business purposes, and will never be used in making any employment decisions, including hiring decisions.

Adjustment or Accommodations Request

If you require a reasonable adjustment or accommodation or other assistance to apply for a job at Haleon at any stage of the application process, please let your recruiter know by providing them with a description of specific adjustments you are requesting. We'll provide all reasonable adjustments to support you throughout the recruitment process and treat all information you provide us in confidence.

Note to candidates

The Haleon recruitment team will contact you using a Haleon email account (@haleon.com). If you are not sure whether the email you received is from Haleon, please get in touch.