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About the Role

The Group Financial Controller is a critical leadership role responsible for technical accounting, financial close, audit, and compliance across Optimizely's global entities. This role involves leading an international team, partnering with senior finance leadership, and championing AI-enabled finance transformation within a PE-backed SaaS business.

Responsibilities

Own the global month-, quarter-, and year-end close process across all entities, driving a well-sequenced calendar.
Oversee monthly regional and consolidated flux analysis; present key fluctuations, risks, and run-rate changes to finance leadership.
Deliver accurate, audit-ready consolidated management accounts on time, partnering with FP&A for a coherent narrative.
Oversee group statutory financial statements under IFRS.
Continuously improve close timelines via automation while maintaining control.
Serve as in-house technical accounting authority on IFRS (IFRS 15, 16, 2, 3, IAS 36, etc.).
Lead the transition to IFRS 18 (early adoption where possible), ensuring Chart of Accounts readiness.
Prepare and review position papers on complex or judgmental accounting matters.
Monitor and adopt new accounting standards, communicating impacts across finance.
Lead annual external audits end-to-end for the group and subsidiaries.
Manage statutory filings across all jurisdictions, including UK, US, Sweden, UAE, Singapore, and Bangladesh.
Ensure global regulatory and statutory compliance, proactively resolving risks.
Maintain year-round audit readiness.
Lead regional controllers across EMEA, North America, and APAC, driving accuracy and ownership.
Provide technical guidance, coaching, and IFRS capability development.
Ensure consistency in accounting policies, Chart of Accounts, and intercompany processes.
Partner with revenue and shared services to ensure transactional accuracy.
Lead adoption of AI and automation tools (close automation, reconciliations, flux analysis, journal reviews).
Evaluate, pilot, and scale finance tech solutions to reduce manual effort and accelerate insights.
Partner with Head of Finance AI Transformation to embed tooling while maintaining strong controls.
Cultivate a tech-curious team culture that challenges traditional close processes.
Support design and operating effectiveness of the global accounting controls framework.
Drive prompt remediation of audit deficiencies and identify emerging risks.
Maintain robust intercompany processes, clean eliminations, and transfer pricing consistency.
Support lender reporting, covenant tracking, and PE sponsor requirements.
Own cash flow forecasting and liquidity planning, maintaining visibility on headroom.
Provide accounting oversight for FX exposure, hedging, and intercompany movements.
Maintain transaction-ready standards (IPO, trade sale, or secondary) with clean audit trails.
Provide financial accounting input for M&A diligence, carve-outs, and integration.
Partner with Tax and Legal on entity rationalization, cash repatriation, and hedging.

Requirements

10+ years in accounting or controllership, with at least 2 years in a senior group or regional controller role within a complex, multi-entity international business.
Proven track record managing statutory reporting and external audit across multiple jurisdictions simultaneously.
Past audit experience, ideally at a top 10 firm, preferred.
Experience in PE-backed SaaS or high-growth technology businesses is strongly preferred.
Hands-on experience with NetSuite or a comparable ERP is essential.
Familiarity with close automation platforms (Ledge, FloQast, BlackLine) and AI-enabled finance tooling is a strong differentiator.
Exceptional technical accounting judgment — ability to form a clear, defensible view on complex IFRS questions and communicate it simply to non-technical stakeholders.
Strong people leadership — ability to build a high-performing, distributed accounting team and develop individuals who want to grow.
Commercial awareness and the ability to connect accounting outcomes to business performance.
High attention to detail without losing sight of the bigger picture.
Clear, confident communicator — ability to brief the CFO, manage an audit partner, and coach a junior accountant.

Skills

IFRS technical accounting
IFRS 15
IFRS 16
IFRS 2
IAS 36
IAS 21
IFRS 18
NetSuite or comparable ERP
Close automation platforms (Ledge, FloQast, BlackLine)
AI-enabled finance tooling
Automation and AI in finance
People leadership
Commercial awareness
Attention to detail
Communication

Location

Global

Work Type

Full-time

Experience Level

10+ years accounting/controllership experience
2+ years senior group or regional controller experience

Education Level

Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CPA, or equivalent)

About the Company

Optimizely is a MarTech company providing AI-powered content creation, a world-class CMS, and an experimentation platform.
10,000+ brands use Optimizely, including H&M, PayPal, and Zoom.
Recognized as a leader in MarTech by Gartner, Forrester, and IDC.
Has 1,600+ employees across 12 global offices.
Values curiosity, collaboration, and genuine care for the work.
Focuses on shaping the future of marketing technology.

Equal Opportunity

Optimizely is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace.
Optimizely is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or other legally protected status.