Vice President, Finance – Product Development and Design and Development Portfolio Management

The VP Finance, Product Development and Design, and Development Portfolio Management has global responsibility to partner with collaborators to ensure sound financial capital allocation decisions for investment in the design and development (D&D) portfolio are made, as well as leading financial planning and analysis for the Product D&D spend. With approximately AUD $1bn annual investment in D&D, this is the highest priority for Aristocrat, supporting our strategy for the future.

This role supports the Chief Product Officer and the business unit CFOs in decision support and optimizing the global D&D portfolio spend.

• Business partners with the Chief Product Officer and Chief Technology Officer (both US-based), as well as the CFOs for each of our three businesses (Gaming, Interactive, and Product Madness), in decision support with the vision to enable the business to optimize global D&D portfolio spend. Provides data-led insights supporting the nature of the spend and the profitability projections linked to capital allocation decisions.
• Facilitates and supports the processes and analysis required for investment decision making for global D&D spend, including developing cases to support investment choices in line with Aristocrat’s investment frameworks. This will initially require crafting and embedding global standard processes. Works cross-functionally to resolve when key assumptions have changed, and further leadership dialogue is needed, and conducts periodic pulse checks on the results of investments.
• Will collaborate with SVP Product Strategy and EVP Enterprise Program Management to ensure the product ideas are connected from opportunity identification, through prioritization, cases, and program execution.
• Leads the FP&A team that supports global D&D spend in the Product function, and coordinates standard processes across each of our respective commercial business divisions (Gaming, Interactive, and Product Madness) and Product Technology to ensure spend is run, understood, and reported across all reporting cycles, including identification and management of financial risks and opportunities. Close collaboration with the VP Finance, Product Technology will be important to build detailed connections.
• Supports and drives personal and professional development of the extended D&D Finance team. Direct reports will include a Senior Finance Director, Product FP&A, and a Finance Director for D&D Portfolio Planning, and an extended team of six additional individuals. Provides direction and mentorship to ensure quality in execution and strong business partnerships across the organisation.
• Supported by the FP&A team, ownership for the preparation of the D&D global annual budget, forecasts during the year, and monitoring spend vs expectations, with analysis across multiple business divisions and currencies
• Produce regular executive-level analysis on return on investments and visibility of the portfolio spend
• Provide thought leadership to drive and challenge continuous improvement
• Partner with the Finance enterprise reporting center of quality to enable financial reporting to meet the needs of the D&D function
• Together with the team, leads various projects, including the design of processes where allocation of existing spend is attributed to specific programs of work. Annually, gain an understanding of where time is spent through collaboration with D&D leaders. Develop a taxonomy and develop simple allocations of cost.
• This role may require commercial business support for M&A activity and strategic projects as it relates to Product & Technology spend.
• As a senior member of the Group Finance team, actively participate in the leadership of the broader function supporting our Finance culture vision and transformation journey

• CA/CPA qualified, MBA, or equivalent experience preferred
• 15+ years of large, multi-layered corporate finance environment, of which 8+ years in leadership positions.
• Thrives in a global, fast-paced organisation
• Motivated by building, maintaining, and leading multiple relationships across global locations.
• Excellent eye for business, with the ability to lead…