Product Owner Finance & P&O

The Digital Technologies Product Owner (Architect) – Finance & People & Organisation is responsible for defining and executing the technology strategy, architecture, product roadmap, and delivery priorities across Finance and P&O domains for Mars Snacking AMEA.

The role serves as the primary technology leader and trusted advisor for Finance, partnering with Finance leadership, Global Digital Technology (DT) teams, Enterprise Architecture, Product teams, and delivery partners to drive business value through modernisation, standardisation, automation, and operational excellence.

The role is focused primarily on Finance technology platforms and processes, including SAP S/4HANA, SAP ECC, Record-to-Report (R2R), Procure-to-Pay (P2P), Treasury, Tax, Product costing, Profit Centre, Profitability Analysis, Project systems and costing, Consolidation, Compliance, Planning and Reporting capabilities. The product owner will define and manage the regional Finance technology roadmap, ensure alignment with global templates, and lead transformational initiatives that improve business performance, control, compliance and productivity.

The role also requires responsibility for deploying People & Organisation technologies, with particular emphasis on Workday deployment, adoption, integration, and optimisation. The Product Owner will partner with global DT and Regional P&O leads to ensure seamless integration between Workday, SAP platforms, and enterprise applications while supporting the broader people digital agenda.

The role combines business partnership, product ownership, enterprise architecture, and delivery leadership to ensure Mars Snacking AMEA has secure, scalable, compliant and future-ready digital capabilities that accelerate business growth and operating efficiency.

What will be your key responsibilities?

Finance Technology Strategy & Product Ownership:

• Own the AMEA Finance technology product strategy, roadmap and portfolio aligned to business priorities and the global digital transformation agenda.
• Serve as the primary DT partner for Finance leadership across AMEA.
• Translate business objectives into scalable digital products, platform capabilities and architecture solutions.
• Lead the regional deployment of global Finance templates and transformation initiatives across AMEA markets.
• Identify opportunities to simplify, harmonise, standardise, and automate Finance processes and applications across markets and business units.
• Maintain alignment with global Finance technology standards, architecture principles, product roadmaps, templates and governance frameworks.
• Own and manage product backlogs, prioritisation decisions, risk mitigation, release planning, dependencies, adoption, roadmap execution, and value realization.
• Ensure delivery of measurable business outcomes, productivity improvements, control enhancements and compliance objectives.

SAP S4/HANA and ECC Solution Architecture:

• Provide architecture leadership across SAP S/4HANA, SAP ECC landscapes, BPC, Anaplan and their integrations.
• Lead solution design for core Finance capabilities including GL, AP, AR, Controlling, Tax, Asset Accounting, Product costing, Profitability analysis, Project systems and costing, Intercompany processing, Finance close & consolidation.
• Define and govern integration architecture across SAP and non-SAP Finance applications in partnership with Enterprise Architecture and relevant global platform teams.
• Ensure effective integration between SAP Finance and upstream and downstream processes, including Procure-to-Pay, Order-to-Cash, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, P&O, payroll, banking, tax, planning, consolidation, and enterprise reporting.
• Ensure Finance solutions support master data consistency, financial reconciliation, auditability, statutory requirements, management reporting, and enterprise controls.
• Collaborate with Enterprise Architecture teams to define and evolve the future-state Finance technology landscapes.
• Lead technical decision-making on platform rationalisation, simplification, AI & automation and innovation opportunities.
• Govern architecture compliance, technical debt reduction and platform lifecycle, application health, and non-functional requirements.

Finance Governance & Continuous Improvement:

• Ensure reliable, secure, compliant and cost-effective operation of Finance technology products and services.
• Establish effective product governance, decision forums, architecture reviews, delivery controls, and performance reporting.
• Partner with Finance Controls, Risk, Audit and Cyber Security, Privacy, and Compliance teams to ensure regulatory, security, control, audit and compliance requirements are met.
• Provide technology leadership for Finance data migration, master data governance, financial reconciliation, cutover, and business-readiness activities within transformation programs.
• Govern dependencies, risks, issues, scope, quality, and delivery outcomes across the Finance product portfolio.
• Manage relationships and delivery performance with strategic vendors, system integrators, service providers, implementation partners, and global delivery teams.
• Champion Agile product delivery and continuous improvement, AI & automation, knowledge management, and measurable value delivery practices.

P&O Tech Ownership for AMEA:

• Act as the regional technology lead for selected P&O initiatives, with emphasis on Workday-related deployment initiatives, integration, adoption within AMEA.
• Define and manage regional P&O technology priorities in alignment with global P&O product roadmaps (E.g. Workday), architecture standards, and programme governance.
• Support deployment, stabilisation and optimisation of Workday capabilities across the region.
• Ensure successful integration of Workday with SAP, identity management, payroll, service management and enterprise platforms.
• Partner with P&O stakeholders to enhance employee experience, digital HR processes and reporting capabilities.
• Drive adoption, continuous improvements, and value realisation from Workday and related P&O technology investments.

Success Measures for Finance, P&O business function technologies.

• Successful delivery of agreed technology transformation roadmap and priority initiatives.
• Programme outcomes delivered on time, within budget, quality, and business adoption with minimal disruption.
• Improved process efficiency, data quality, control effectiveness, AI and automation initiatives, and compliance metrics.
• Successful deployment, integration, stabilization and adoption of solutions implemented across AMEA markets.
• Stable and high-performing application landscape. Reduction in technical debt, application complexity, and avoidable operating costs.
• Increased stakeholder satisfaction and demonstrated product value realisation.
• Delivery of measurable productivity, cost optimisation, risk reduction, and business performance benefits.
• Effective vendor and delivery-partner performance against agreed outcomes and service expectations.

What are we looking for?

• Bachelor’s degree in finance & accounting, business administration, Technology, Engineering, Information Systems or related discipline.
• 12+ years of experience in Enterprise Applications, Digital Technologies or ERP delivery.
• 10+ years working with SAP Finance solutions.
• Experience in FMCG, Consumer Products or Manufacturing industries
• Deep expertise in SAP ECC and SAP S/4HANA Finance architectures.
• Proven experience leading large-scale Finance transformation programmes, including global template deployments, and multi-country implementations in Asia pacific region.
• Strong knowledge of FI, CO, Treasury, Tax, Financial Planning & Reporting, HR applications and integration with Payroll.
• Experience in product ownership, enterprise architecture or solution architecture leadership.
• Experience with Finance data migration, master data governance, Chart of Accounts harmonization, financial reconciliation, cutover, and business readiness.
• Knowledge of internal controls, audit, compliance, segregation of duties, security, and regulatory requirements relevant to Finance platforms.
• Demonstrated ability to own product roadmaps, prioritize backlogs, govern architecture decisions, and deliver measurable business outcomes.
• Strong understanding of integration architecture and middleware platforms.
• Experience managing third-party vendors, system integrators, and global delivery teams.
• Excellent stakeholder management and executive communication skills
• Strong influencing, decision making skills.

Preferred

• A professional Finance or Accounting qualification such as CA, CMA, or equivalent is desirable.
• MBA or equivalent postgraduate qualification preferred.
• Experience with Workday HCM and Workday integrations
• Exposure to SAP BTP, AI-enabled automation
• Enterprise Architecture certification and/or SAP certifications

What can you expect from Mars?

• Work with diverse and talented Associates, all guided by the Five Principles.
• Join a purpose driven company, where we’re striving to build the world we want tomorrow, today.
• A strong focus on learning and development support from day one, including access to our in-house Mars University.
• An industry competitive salary and benefits package, including company bonus.

#TBdigital