The Head of Finance Operations is responsible for leading and optimizing the company’s core finance processes, including Accounts Payable (AP), Accounts Receivable (AR), banking and payments (treasury operations), regulatory reporting, and overhead accounting. This role ensures accurate, efficient, and well-controlled financial operations while driving process improvements, automation, and scalability—primarily within SAP.
The role manages a team of four and works closely with Program Finance, Tax, and IT/SAP teams, reporting directly to the CFO. The position also serves as the primary point of contact for external auditors for the areas within scope.
Accounts Payable (AP):
- Oversee end-to-end AP processes, including invoice intake, processing, approval, and payment
- Ensure accurate and timely recording of purchase invoices in SAP using OCR tools (xSuite)
- Manage both PO-based and non-PO invoice processes
- Monitor and improve invoice approval workflows to ensure timely processing and payment
- Oversee payment execution processes and controls
- Drive automation and efficiency improvements in AP processes, including integration with banking tools
- Ensure strong governance over vendor master data (business partner setup and changes)
Accounts Receivable (AR):
- Ensure accurate accounting and reporting of AR balances
- Oversee reconciliations of customer accounts and resolve discrepancies
- Provide structured and accurate AR reporting per customer to support collections
- Drive system improvements and automation of the collections process in SAP
- Monitor AR aging and support initiatives to optimize cash collection performance
- Strengthen controls and visibility over receivables processes
Treasury Operations (Banking & Loans):
- Maintain oversight of all company payments and cash outflows
- Ensure accurate bank statement processing and reconciliation
- Manage loan drawdowns and repayments
- Maintain operational relationships with banking partners
- Drive improvements in payment automation and banking integration
Regulatory Reporting (CBS):
- Oversee preparation, accuracy, and timely submission of CBS (Statistics Netherlands) reporting
- Ensure compliance with Dutch regulatory requirements
- Maintain robust processes, documentation, and controls over reported data
- Act as the key point of coordination for CBS-related queries and audits
Overhead Accounting:
- Oversee accounting for overhead costs including office expenses, payroll journals, and employee travel & expenses
- Ensure accurate posting, reconciliation, and analysis of overhead cost drivers
- Provide insights and reporting on overhead spend trends
Audit Leadership:
- Act as the primary point of contact for external auditors for AP, AR, and banking/treasury operations
- Lead the audit process for areas of responsibility, ensuring timely and accurate delivery of audit requests
- Coordinate responses across the team and ensure high-quality supporting documentation
- Drive resolution of audit findings and implement process improvements where required
- Strengthen audit readiness and documentation standards across finance operations
Team Leadership & Management:
- Lead and develop a team of four:
- Accounting Manager (Amsterdam)
- AP Specialist (Amsterdam)
- 2 × AP/AR Specialists (Poland)
- Set clear objectives, monitor performance, and support professional development
- Foster a high-performance, collaborative, and service-oriented culture
- Ensure clear allocation of responsibilities and workload across locations
Process Improvement & Systems:
- Drive continuous improvement and standardization of finance operations processes
- Lead automation initiatives within SAP and supporting systems (e.g., xSuite, banking tools)
- Collaborate with IT/SAP teams to enhance system functionality and data quality
- Strengthen internal controls and ensure compliance with company policies
- Strong background in finance operations, accounting, or shared services leadership
- Proven experience managing AP, AR, and payment processes in an SAP environment
- Experience with OCR invoice processing tools (e.g., xSuite) preferred
- Solid understanding of financial controls, reconciliations, and audit processes
- Experience leading international teams
- Strong track record in process improvement and automation
- Strong written and verbal communication in English
- Additional language skills – Dutch and German is desirable
Skills & Competencies
- Strong leadership and people management skills
- Process-oriented with a continuous improvement mindset
- Strong stakeholder management and communication skills
- Hands-on, pragmatic, and solution-driven
- Ability to work in a fast-paced, evolving environment
