Finance Lead

**The Role**:
**Where you fit in**

Shell Catalysts and Technologies (part of Projects & Technology) provides catalysts, services, and related technologies in support of the Group aspiration to become the most competitive and innovative energy company in the world. Shell Catalysts and Technologies (SC&T) is an end-to-end business which develops, scales up, manufactures, and markets catalyst and technologies across the globe. In addition to its strategic value to Royal Dutch Shell, SC&T monetizes its technology, services, and catalysts through sales to third parties.

The SC&T Leuna manufacturing plant located at the Infraleuna Chemiestandort produces the complete range of specialty catalysts and is the sole supplier for a specialty performance catalyst product produced exclusively for Shell’s Gas To Liquid plants.

**What’s the role?**

The main accountabilities for this position are:
**Commercial/Business Finance**
- Provide on-site finance support for the SC&T Leuna Plant Leadership Team, responding in German language to local requests for specific company information and analysis, as and when required (InfraLeuna Chemiestandort, German authorities, associations, chambers, consultancy firms).
- Interface with Contracting & Procurement (C&P)and the business (Manufacturing and Research & Development laboratory) to ensure value protection in local Leuna purchasing contracts.
- Provide coding for import duties and tax related invoices/payments and submit to Accounts Payable team for further processing (most incoming invoices/ customs assessments are in German language and must be analysed/evaluated by someone with SAP accounting skills).

**Operational Finance**
- Provide local finance support to Plant Leadership Team during the annual planning/budgeting process conducted by Shell Business Operations (SBO) Chennai planning team, inter alia:
Prepare together with SBO Chennai planning team the required numbers input on FTE/headcount and associated salary and burden calculations.

Support the annual product standard costing exercise, review and confirm the correctness of fixed and variable activity rates, and newly calculated standard costs.
- Coordinate monthly plant closing activities in the various Leuna business departments.
- Ensure the required spending reviews of all plant cost centers, process orders and internal orders are executed in tandem with SBO Chennai Team.
- Participate in special Leuna plant Business, Continuous Improvement (CI), Health, Safety, Security & Environment (HSSE) projects, such as new required systems planning and implementation, when and where required.

**Governance, Controlling and Accounting**
- Support and co-ordinate together with diverse in/external stakeholders (SBO Krakow Team, Shell Hamburg Tax department, external tax advisory firms) local tax compliance. Work together with SBO Krakow and external consultants to ensure correct reporting and timely payment of direct/indirect taxes, customs, energy taxes etc.
- Ensure SC&T Leuna gets annually reimbursed for pre-paid energy taxes on annual or monthly basis by data collection / filling returns together with Business / external parties involved.
- Ensure that Leuna inventory (products and spare parts) are physically counted in accordance with Company policies, properly controlled, and that reporting of inventory movements is sound and performed on a real-time basis.
- Manage processes around fixed assets and spare parts to ensure that reporting is sound and that they are properly safeguarded. This includes:

- First level review of investment proposals ensuring proper accounting treatment, proper retirement data, cash forecast, inclusion of economics where necessary, etc.
- Ensure all capital projects are closed in a timely manner with appropriate degree of detail for fixed asset ledger and all associated retirements are carried out.
- Perform yearly physical verification of assets in accordance with Company policies.
- Ensure estimated completion dates, commitments and latest estimates are reviewed and updated monthly in SAP.

**Audits - Internal and external Stakeholder Management**
- Provide finance support during the Leuna legal entity annual audits and tax authorities / statutory pensions in collaboration with Controller Team Hamburg.
- Support internal audits for finance matters

Serve as back-up for the manufacturing finance activities in the SC&T Ghent manufacturing plant during periods of holiday or absence.

The Finance Lead will also be responsible for the following local business support:
Act as central focal point for all imports into SC&T Leuna:

- Support the local business partners with all import related documentation when importing catalysts, spent catalyst samples, raw materials, IT equipment, etc.
- Ensure that the proper customs and transport agencies have been arranged and are standby at the place of import.
- Provide coding for the customs related invoices and submit to Accounts Payable (AP) team for