Senior VP, Global Finance

Senior VP Global Finance

Location: Dudley, Hybrid

Reports To: Chief Finance Officer

Summary of Company

As a CDMO to pharmaceutical companies across the world, Sterling delivers comprehensive small molecule, bioconjugation and peptide services spanning discovery, development and manufacturing. Key to this delivery is our experienced and passionate team. Widely recognised for its expertise in complex, hazardous chemistry and its service-oriented customer experience, Sterling is a proven and trusted partner to the world’s most innovative biotech and leading pharmaceutical companies.

Sterling has a 50+ year track record of providing a range of complementary services, with the capacity to seamlessly support products through their entire lifecycle. This experience, combined with a commitment to embracing emerging technologies, enables Sterling to add value at every stage in a customer’s project. Sterling’s service offering is distinctive in the way it approaches each project. The business firmly believes that whilst science can be complex, working with an outsourced partner shouldn’t be.Sterling prides itself on being easy to do business with and doing the right thing.

Summary of Role

The Senior VP Global Finance serves as the strategic right hand and Second-in-Command to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO). In this high-impact leadership role, you will oversee the group finance organisation, driving financial excellence, operational scale, and strategic growth. You will step in for the CFO (as required), drive systems and process improvements in the business, support lender and investor discussions and ensure seamless continuity of financial leadership across all global entities.

Essential Functions

Strategic Leadership & Execution

• CFO Deputy: Act as the primary proxy for the CFO, representing the finance function at Executive Committee (ExCom) meetings and Audit and Risk committee meetings as required.
• Corporate Strategy and projects: Partner with the CFO to shape long-term corporate strategy, evaluating mergers and acquisitions (M&A), capital allocation, liaison with banks and lenders and finance projects.
• Transformation Driver: Lead financial transformation initiatives, upgrading global systems, data analytics, and automation to support scaling.
• Drive the end-to-end design and execution of our global tax strategy, ensuring full regulatory compliance while optimizing tax efficiency across all direct and indirect operations.

Global Financial Operations & Control

• Financial Oversight: Direct all global finance workstreams, including financial planning and analysis (FP&A), accounting, treasury, tax, and internal controls.
• Performance Management: Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) across global business units to optimize profitability and cash flow.
• Governance, Risk and Controls: Lead the development and maintenance of an effective global financial governance, risk and control framework, ensuring appropriate policies, delegated authorities and internal controls are designed, implemented, documented and operating effectively. Establish and oversee a risk-based control-testing programme, ensure deficiencies are remediated promptly, manage internal and external audit relationships, and support the CFO and Audit and Risk Committee through clear reporting, insight and assurance.
• Deliver and assist in hands-on operational finance work with appropriate complexity to support wider business needs.
• Ensure the accuracy, transparency and usefulness of financial reporting and analysis, presenting clear insights, trends and key performance indicators.
• Provide timely, relevant financial information that enables informed decision-making and direct action by key stakeholders.
• Work as a strategic business partner with business leaders.
• Support CFO with financial due diligence for potential M&A activity.

Team Leadership & Stakeholder Management

• Talent and Capability Development: Lead the development and execution of a structured global finance capability and upskilling plan, aligned with the organisation’s strategic priorities and future requirements. Build the skills, knowledge, leadership capability and career pathways of finance colleagues across all regions, strengthening succession and developing the team into a high-performing, world-class global finance organisation.
• Stakeholder Relations: Support the CFO in building effective relationships with the Board, shareholders and investors, banks and lenders, auditors, advisers and other external stakeholders. Lead the preparation and delivery of clear, accurate financial information for financing, governance and investor discussions.

Other

• Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.
• Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Environment, Health and Safety (EHS)

• Comply with all global EHS requirements including safety policies and procedures.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree required; accounting qualification such as CPA, ACCA or ACA or equivalent required.
• Minimum 15 years’ experience with an exceptional track record of progressive financial leadership, including significant experience operating in a complex global environment.
• Demonstrable success leading, developing and upskilling geographically dispersed finance teams is required, together with experience managing complex relationships across senior internal and external stakeholders, including Board members, shareholders, investors, lenders, auditors and advisers.
• Experience working in a private equity-owned business, or supporting private equity investors and their reporting requirements, would be advantageous.
• Experience owning and delivering company taxation strategy.
• Deep technical and commercial finance expertise, with a proven record of managing complex, cross-border operations and delivering large-scale finance transformation.
• Brings strong capability across performance management, financial control, treasury, tax, reporting, data and systems, and can translate financial insight into clear strategic and operational decisions.
• A credible finance leader who combines strategic judgement, intellectual agility, integrity and delivery focus. Inspires high performance, attracts and develops exceptional talent, constructively challenges senior leaders and communicates complex matters with clarity and confidence to executive, Board, investor and external audiences.
• Strong technical accounting ability that would underpin strong internal and external reporting.

Key Competencies

• Excellent communication skills across verbal, written, online and in-person channels, with the ability to craft clear messages for diverse stakeholders.
• Results orientation: proactive, solution-driven and focused on implementing initiatives that deliver transformation, improved processes and sustainable business growth.
• Strong presentation and influencing skills, with the ability to adapt style for the CEO, Board, advisors, private equity investors and wider stakeholders.
• Strategic thinking: highly analytical and detail oriented, while operating as a strategic thought partner who contributes beyond finance to shape long-term strategy.
• Business and financial acumen: strong financial reporting and analysis capability, with the confidence to act on insight and apply judgement to business performance metrics.
• Confidentiality & Integrity - Handles sensitive information with discretion and upholds the highest ethical standards
• Drive integration across multiple sites by leveraging automation and advanced technologies, to centralise processes and reduce duplication.
• Demonstrated ability in using Microsoft (MS) Office/365 applications including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams.
• Experience in Onestream or a similar tool advantageous.

Travel Requirement

Regional and international travel as required.Ability to be onsite at HQ with Chief Finance Officer.

Diversity and Inclusion

Sterling values diversity and we are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All employment decisions are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, pregnancy, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, past or present military service, marital status, gender identification or expression, medical condition (including genetic characteristics) or any other protected characteristic as established by law.