Position Summary
The Asia Supply Chain Manager (Finance) reports directly to the Global Finance Director and is responsible for overall financial oversight, governance, and performance management of supply chain operations across Asia. This role provides functional leadership to Plant Accountants and oversees financial operations for manufacturing plants and warehouse sites within the region.
This role collaborates closely with Global Supply Chain Finance, FP&A, Commercial Finance, and regional Operations leadership to ensure consistent reporting, strong internal controls, and standardized processes across all Asia sites.
You'll also serve as the primary finance business partner to Asia Supply Chain leadership and plays a key role in driving cost transparency, inventory optimization, working capital improvement, and operational efficiency.
- Oversight of multiple manufacturing plants and warehouse sites across Asia
- Standardization of reporting formats and financial processes
- Alignment with Global Finance on costing, inventory, and rebate governance
- Collaboration with Global Business Services (GBS) teams
- Role is based in Penang – some regional travel may be required
- This role will have 4 direct reports
- This is a highly visible regional role with interaction across Supply Chain, Supply Chain Finance, Commercial Finance, FP&A, IT, and Global Operations teams.
What You'll Do
- Provide financial leadership and oversight to Plant Accountants across Asia, ensuring consistency in financial reporting, costing methodology, and internal controls.
- Oversee month-end close activities across Asia plants, ensuring compliance with corporate policies, accounting standards, and SOX requirements.
- Lead regional manufacturing finance processes including:
- Standard cost development and annual cost roll
- Manufacturing variance analysis (PPV, labor, overhead, scrap)
- Inventory valuation and provisions (slow-moving & obsolete)
- Cost benchmarking across sites
- Review and validate Capital PARs for completeness and compliance prior to regional submission.
- Support and manage the Annual Operating Plan (AOP) process, including regional consolidation and alignment with Global Finance.
- Partner with Supply Chain leadership on utilisation, productivity improvements, and cost savings initiatives, including footprint optimization and make vs buy decisions.
- Provide monthly commentary on plant performance, cost trends, and working capital metrics to Regional and Global leadership.
- Review and challenge plant-level financial results prior to regional and global submission.
- Lead financial review of capital projects, including ROI analysis, approvals, and post-investment performance tracking.
- Ensure integrity of inventory transactions, asset controls, and ERP data governance.
- Drive standardization and automation of financial reporting and processes in alignment with Lean Accounting principles.
- Support cross-regional initiatives and best practice sharing with North America and other regions.
You'll get to interact with multi-level stakeholders below:
- Global Finance Director (direct reporting)
- Asia Supply Chain Organization (Plant Managers, Operations, Procurement, Warehouse, Logistics)
- Regional and Global Supply Chain Finance teams
- Commercial Finance and Business Unit Leaders
- FP&A
- Global Business Services (GBS)
- IT and ERP teams
What does the Role entail in terms of both Challenge and Improvement Opportunity
- Standardization of reporting across Asia plants (P&L, inventory reporting, forecasting processes).
- Driving automation and improved data visibility through SAP and reporting tools.
- Enhancing cost transparency, utilization, and accountability across multi-site manufacturing operations.
People Profile, Education & Experience We're Looking For
- Bachelor's degree required – Accounting degree holder mandatory
- Professional accounting qualification (CA, CPA, ACCA or equivalent) preferred
- Postgraduate qualification (MBA or equivalent) preferred
- Minimum 7–10 years Supply Chain Finance experience within a manufacturing environment
- Proven experience supporting multi-site manufacturing operations
- Must have strong ERP experience — minimum SAP ERP experience required (manufacturing, costing & inventory modules)
Additional Qualifications
- Experience with SAP Business One (B1) advantageous
- Experience with enterprise reporting systems such as OneStream or Hyperion required
- Mandarin language capability preferred (to support regional stakeholder engagement), but not essential
- Strong financial modeling and analytical capability
- Advanced Microsoft Excel skills; experience with BI tools preferred
- Strong understanding of manufacturing cost structures and internal controls
- Ability to work both independently and within a team, generating results with minimal guidance
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills with strong executive presentation capability
- Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, high-volume manufacturing environment
- Strong organization, planning, and cross-functional leadership skills
If you're looking for a regional role with real operational impact, we'd love to hear from you!
