Head of Financial Control, Centre of Excellence

In this newly created leadership role within the Professional Services and global finance transformation, you will oversee retained financial accounting processes within the Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Financial Control and selected in-country operations. Your responsibilities will include providing high-level technical accounting advice and leading specialist retained services across P2P, O2C, R2R, and CLM. You will ensure accurate, timely reporting and robust risk and control management in line with corporate policies and accounting standards. Your role will also involve statutory reporting, tax review and filing, cashflow oversight, audit support, and driving continuous improvement in partnership with Group Controllership and the Managed Service Provider (MSP). Your contribution is crucial in embedding consistent standards, strengthening governance, and leading behavioral and process change across transactional finance and monthly close activities. **Key Responsibilities:** - Provide high-level technical accounting advice - Lead specialist retained services across P2P, O2C, R2R, and CLM - Ensure accurate, timely reporting and robust risk and control management - Drive continuous improvement in partnership with Group Controllership and the MSP - Embed consistent standards and strengthen governance - Lead behavioral and process change across transactional finance and monthly close activities **Qualifications Required:** - Good understanding of commercial finance - Considerable years of financial controllership and related experience - Strong influencing and negotiating experience - Experience managing and developing teams - Strong Financial Control experience and knowledge of Professional Accounting Standards In this role, you will provide strategic leadership and people management to the Controllership team, modeling British Council values and fostering professionalism, accountability, and a client-focused mindset. You will champion financial discipline and insight, embedding a culture of continuous learning and performance improvement. Your accountabilities will involve working closely with the MSP to ensure accurate, timely financial reporting and strong control management. Additionally, you will lead senior stakeholder engagement and business partnering across the global finance network, ensuring compliance with professional accounting standards and external reporting requirements. The ideal candidate for this position should possess flexibility, independence, and initiative to perform successfully in a rapidly changing environment. You should be a pro-active self-starter with the ability to think strategically while keeping an eye on the detail. Leadership skills are crucial in inspiring others, changing behaviors, and creating the right working culture. Building relationships at all levels of the organization and relaying complex financial information in an easy-to-understand way are also key skills required. **Education and Experience:** - Qualified accountant with considerable experience post-qualification - Experience in Shared Services Operations is desirable - Leadership of change projects/initiatives is an added advantage - SAP/ERP experience is a plus The British Council systems and global processes operate in English, therefore written and verbal proficiency in English is required for this role. The role offers a competitive starting salary of INR 60,00,000 per annum plus benefits, with scope for higher remuneration based on experience and suitability. Applicants must already have the legal right to work in India as visa sponsorship or relocation support is not available. Flexible and hybrid working arrangements are supported, subject to operational requirements and line manager approval. Applications for this role will close by Sunday, 08th March 2026 (11:59 PM local time), and interviews are expected to take place in the following weeks. In this newly created leadership role within the Professional Services and global finance transformation, you will oversee retained financial accounting processes within the Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Financial Control and selected in-country operations. Your responsibilities will include providing high-level technical accounting advice and leading specialist retained services across P2P, O2C, R2R, and CLM. You will ensure accurate, timely reporting and robust risk and control management in line with corporate policies and accounting standards. Your role will also involve statutory reporting, tax review and filing, cashflow oversight, audit support, and driving continuous improvement in partnership with Group Controllership and the Managed Service Provider (MSP). Your contribution is crucial in embedding consistent standards, strengthening governance, and leading behavioral and process change across transactional finance and monthly close activities. **Key Responsibilities:** - Provide high-level technical accounting advice - Lead specialist