Operations Finance Manager (Working Capital)

UTAC is a market-leading international group in digital & sustainable mobility, customisable testing solutions, customisable testing systems, vehicle engineering, homologation, regulatory advice & expertise, certification, training, corporate events and classic & sportscars festivals.

The Group provides services and systems to customers in the various sectors: mobility, transport, tyre, petrochemical, agriculture and defence industries. UTAC operates test centres and laboratories in France (including the official Euro NCAP facility), the UK, USA, Finland, Morocco, and Germany; it has subsidiaries in China, Korea and Japan. UTAC employs around 1300 people across its various locations.

As a group we share a strong and clear vision to deliver safe and efficient solutions and systems to our customers. We are proud and confident in our heritage, our capabilities and our people and believe that by creating a culture where individuals feel they can make a difference and enjoy coming to work, we can deliver the best possible service to our customers.

Our core values of Expertise, Innovation and Integrity provide a clear daily guide to how we work together safely, as one team, helping each other to succeed.

We are seeking a results-driven and analytical Group Working Capital Manager to lead the end-to-end optimization of working capital across UTAC Group. Reporting directly to the Group CFO, this strategic role owns the Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC), optimizing liquidity, and managing cash performance across all business lines, subsidiaries, and geographical locations.

The ideal candidate will combine deep expertise in cash management, accounts receivable/payable processes, and operational finance to unlock trapped cash, strengthen free cash flow (FCF), and build robust forecasting models.

Key Responsibilities

1. Working Capital Strategy & Optimization

• Design, implement, and oversee the group-wide Working Capital Strategy, Policies and Documentation (credit, intercompany funding, financing (agreements)...) to align with UTAC’s overall financial and growth objectives.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives across the Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC), focusing on reducing Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), Overdues (OD), optimizing Days Inventory Held (DIH), and strategically managing Days Payables Outstanding (DPO).
• Set working capital targets and KPIs for regional finance and business units, driving & monitoring group and country performance against targets.
• Help bringing Credit and Collections teams to their full potential

2. Cash Management & Liquidity Planning

• Oversee global cash positioning, liquidity forecasting, and cash flow operations, ensuring sufficient liquidity to meet operational needs and strategic investments.
• Design & implement cash pooling structures, minimize bank fees, and maximize yield on short-term cash surpluses.
• Direct the preparation of rolling short-term (weekly/monthly) and long-term cash flow forecasts, tracking variance analysis to continuously improve forecasting accuracy.

3. Operational Process Ownership (AR, AP, and Inventory)

• Accounts Receivable (AR): Partner with commercial and billing teams to streamline order-to-cash (O2C) workflows, enforce credit risk policies, manage collections proactively, and reduce overdue accounts. Maximization of Factoring opportunity.
• Accounts Payable (AP): Collaborate with procurement to optimize procure-to-pay (P2P) cycles, capturing early payment discounts where beneficial while strategically leveraging payment terms. Explore & possibly implement reverse factoring solutions
• Inventory Management: Work closely with supply chain, operations, and procurement teams to evaluate inventory levels, identify slow-moving or obsolete stock, and enforce optimum stock rotation policies.

4. Cross-Functional Leadership & Business Partnering

• Act as the primary bridge between Corporate Finance and operational business units (Supply Chain, Sales, Procurement, and Legal) to embed a cash-conscious culture across the organization.
• Lead cash calls & other rhythms that would be beneficial to cash generation.
• Conduct regular working capital reviews with regional business leaders and controllers to highlight bottlenecks and drive corrective action plans.
• Support M&A integration activities by rapidly standardizing working capital policies and cash management procedures in newly acquired entities.

5. Reporting & Analytics

• Design and implement comprehensive working capital dashboards and executive reporting packs for the CFO, Executive Committee, and Board.
• Utilize advanced data analytics tools to identify trends, seasonal impacts, and structural working capital inefficiencies across different markets.

Key Qualifications & Requirements

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related field. Master’s degree (MBA) or professional certifications (CFA, ACT, AMCT, or CPA) are strongly preferred.
• Experience:
  • 7 to 10+ years of progressive hands-on corporate finance experience, with a heavy emphasis on working capital management, treasury, or operational controlling within a complex, multi-entity, or manufacturing environment.
  • Proven track record of successfully executing working capital improvement projects that delivered measurable cash flow benefits.
• Technical Skills:
  • proficiency in financial modeling, ERP systems (e.g., Sage, Oracle), and data visualization tools (e.g., Power BI).
  • Appetite and interest for Artificial Intelligence
• Soft Skills & Competencies:
  • Exceptional stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to influence cross-functional leaders without direct authority.
  • High analytical rigor, problem-solving capabilities, and attention to detail.
  • Resilience, adaptability, and capability to thrive in a fast-paced global corporate environment.

For you, as a potential UTAC team member, we believe that the international and diverse nature of our business combined with the passion, energy and friendliness of our people create a great place to work. UTAC is proud to be an equal opportunities employer, valuing inclusion and supporting our people to be themselves and at their very best.

By joining us you will gain access to a broad range of learning relevant to your role and personal development, as well as exposure to leading technologies and expertise.

Our reward and benefit programmes are designed to support our people with competitive and locally tailored packages combined with support for individual health and wellbeing both inside and outside of work.

Learn more about UTAC and what and how we do what we do at www.utac.com

Candidates for positions at UTAC must be able to provide proof of identity and eligibility to work in the country the role is based in. Immigration visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Note to Recruitment Agencies :

UTAC do not accept speculative applications from agencies for our open positions and any submissions made will not be accepted and no fees will be accepted or paid in respect of speculative CVs received.