Accounting & Payroll Manager – Southern Europe

About Permira

Permira is a global investment firm that backs successful businesses with growth ambitions. Founded in 1985, the firm advises funds across two core asset classes, private equity and credit, with total committed capital of approximately €80bn. The Permira private equity funds make both long-term majority (Buyout) and minority (Growth Equity) investments in four key sectors: Technology, Consumer, Healthcare, Services. The Permira credit funds support businesses with flexible financing solutions across Direct Lending, Strategic Opportunities and CLO Management. Established in 2007, the firm advises investment funds and products which have provided approximately €20 billion of debt capital to over 300 businesses.

ROLE OVERVIEW

Permira is searching for a professional, ambitious and driven Finance Manager to join the Spanish Office. Reporting to the Head of Group Accounting in the UK within the Firm Finance function, the primary day to day responsibilities will include core financial accounting functions and coordination of the south Europe cluster.  This role will have oversight & ownership of the financial statements & will perform the closing processes and reconciliations, cash management, review and preparation of financial statements and periodic financial reporting.

Permira’s Group Accounting team is based predominately across London, Guernsey & Madrid, but with members also in New York, Singapore, and Hong Kong, and a growing number of our other European offices. The Group Accounting team totals 26 FTE and the overall Finance function (including Treasury, Transformation and Financial Planning & Reporting) is in excess of 40 FTE. The role will require collaboration both throughout the broader Finance function but also with other functional departments (ie Operations, Tax, HR, IT, Legal, Compliance).

KEY RESPONSABILITIES

Financial Accounting & Control:

• Overall responsibility for the financial management of the Madrid and Milan offices.
• Oversight and review of bookkeeping activities performed by the 3rd party provider (Infor Sun), including ownership of monthly balance sheet reconciliations and control framework.
• Approval and execution of bank payments, ensuring compliance with internal controls and segregation of duties.
• Ownership of data upload and reconciliation into the Group consolidation system (OneStream), ensuring accuracy and alignment with Group reporting standards.
• Preparation and presentation of periodic management reporting packs, including variance analysis and commentary to senior stakeholders.
• Full ownership of the annual budgeting and forecasting process for the Madrid and Milan offices, including stakeholder engagement and cost control monitoring.
• Management of the Abort Cost process, ensuring appropriate allocation, tracking and reporting.
• Oversight and approval of staff expenses and management of the corporate Amex programme, including policy enforcement and compliance monitoring.
• Continuous improvement of finance processes, systems and internal controls.

Audit/Statutory:

• Lead and coordinate annual audit processes for Southern European entities, ensuring delivery within agreed timetables.
• Primary liaison with Group and local auditors.
• Responsibility for preparation and review of statutory financial statements under Spanish and Italian GAAP.
• Organisation and coordination of local board meetings, including preparation of supporting financial documentation.
• Ensure compliance with local regulatory and corporate governance requirements.

Payroll Administration:

• Coordination and review of payroll processes in collaboration with external payroll providers.
• Oversight of employee onboarding and offboarding processes from a finance and administrative perspective.
• Financial management of employee benefits administration (Medical/Life insurance, Fudeat, flexible retribution), holiday and sickness records.
• Liaison with HR, Legal and external advisors on employment-related financial matters.

Other:

• Act as key finance contact for Southern Europe, partnering with Operations, Tax, Legal, Compliance and HR.
• Management of relationships with external auditors, administrators, payroll providers, banks and other service providers.
• Support cross-border initiatives within the Firm’s global finance function.
• Regular travel within the Firm’s network (principally Milan, Paris and London).
• Contribution to global finance projects and professional events.
• Scope for further regional or international responsibility within the Firm.

DESIRED SKILLS & CHARACTERISTICS

We are looking for someone with a strong work ethic, who can work as part of a close team, but also be a self-starter.  The successful candidate should be professional, demonstrate excellent communication and inter-personal skills, and have the desire and ambition to develop a career within a leading global Private Equity Firm.   

• Desired experience:
  • Qualified accountant (or equivalent) with 5-9 years of experience
  • Strong experience finance manager for a small to medium sized office
  • Sound understanding of financial accounting and reporting processes
  • Experience of working for an international organisation
  • Experience of working with major ERP systems and reporting tools would be useful but not essential (Onestream and Infor Sun). High level excel skills.
  • Excellent project management skills.

• Key attributes
  • Excellent organisational skills. The role requires the individual to be able to manage multiple tasks simultaneously across a variety of products and work streams
  • Demonstrable ability to maintain the highest level of confidentiality at all times
  • Highly personable and a natural collaborator, with the desire and ability to create relationships across the Group’s network
  • Strong communication skills and fluent English and Spanish, both written and verbal.
  • Demonstrable experience working in a matrix, ambiguous environment.
  • Proactive approach with the ability to take initiative and apply sound judgement
  • Highly driven and motivated individual, with the patience and ambition to build a rewarding career within private equity.

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