To further professionalize their business, Ecolab is seeking an ambitious Finance Manager Benelux. This is a new and key role in the Benelux organization of Ecolab. As Finance Manager Benelux, you will build new processes and reinforce the existing ones. You play a key role in bringing new culture and to force the change of it and you interact with the key stakeholders within Ecolab in regards to the Benelux cluster.

Your mission is to cooperate and support the VP & Country Manager in the definition of the strategy and play an active role in key company projects. This position will serve as a strategic business partner for the Benelux region for contract & project management, budgeting and cost accounting. The position will also be responsible for the finance organization to ensure full compliance with global policies and methodologies and with any other accounting requirements related to Ecolab.

Ecolab is looking for a true Business Partner, someone who is highly analytical, eager, driven, ambitious, with strong leadership- and consulting skills. You need to have strong convincing skills, be a critical thinker, take the lead, push for improvement, curious and shift quickly between different subjects and different levels of abstraction. It is imperative that you have understanding of both financial accounting & reporting and commercial finance.

It is essential that the successful candidate builds strong financial and commercial relationships across the large and diversified Ecolab businesses and brings strong leadership and the ability to effectively communicate broadly.

Company profile:

Ecolab is the global leader in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services that provide and protect clean water, safe food, abundant energy and healthy environments.

Founded in 1923 and headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, Ecolab’s global workforce of 45,000 associates works to protect people and vital resources by delivering comprehensive solutions and on-site service to promote safe food, maintain clean environments, optimize water and energy use and improve operational efficiencies for customers in the food, healthcare, energy, hospitality and industrial markets in more than 170 countries around the world.

Ecolab’s ambition is to grow through acquisitions and organic growth from € 15 billion to € 20 billion in 2020.

Responsibilities and Main Tasks

• Implement the Planning and Control cycle
• Manage the accounting & reporting team in the Netherlands and Belgium
• Prepare and review of balance sheet account reconciliations
• Generate and review entity and Business Unit management reports
• Coordinate the administration of cost reporting and analysis
• Compilation of a detailed month end audit file
• Preparation of monthly calculation of income tax and deferred tax
• Correct and timely completion of statutory reporting of indirect taxation and associated returns
• Coordinate the preparation of annual accounts and management of year end local audit cycle
• Coordinate the preparation of annual tax return data in conjunction with tax advisors
• Responsible for the Dutch accounting and tax GAAP: statutory accounts and prep work for tax returns of operational and holding companies in the Netherlands
• Responsible for US GAAP including tax accounting
• Responsible for Payroll accounting
• Actively initiate or engage in key business initiatives and activities to support business growth
• Support to the management team and the VP & Country Manager by making ad hoc analysis on commercial performance, cost developments, investment cases etc.
• Business partnering of the management team through value adding analysis

Functional Requirements

• University degree in Finance or Business-related subject
• Qualified recognized professional accountancy qualification
• 5 or more years of in a commercial finance role within a (US) multinational
• Strong planning, organizational and prioritization skills
• Proactive, process driven, analytical, logical and disciplined approach to problem solving
• Self-motivated and ability to work unsupervised on own initiative
• Excellent verbal and written communication, with the ability to converse at all levels
• Good English language skills – (additional language knowledge beneficial)
• Flexible, as the job may require travel and additional working hours
• Proficient with using Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel and PowerPoint
• SAP knowledge
• Legal background (sales contracts)
• Familiar with Dutch tax and labor law is beneficial
• Experience managing teams