This role requires a Chartered Accountant (ICAI) — mandatory qualification, with 5–6 years of post-qualification experience (industry experience preferred). The position is based in Gurugram / Mumbai (Hybrid), reporting to the Director, Finance, within the Commercial Finance & Business Partnering function.

Role Summary

We are looking for a commercially sharp Chartered Accountant to join our Finance team as a key business partner to operations, procurement, and leadership. The role is anchored in commercial finance — driving cost discipline through rigorous benchmarking, leading vendor negotiations with data-backed insights, and partnering with business units to translate financial analysis into strategic decisions. This is a high-visibility role with direct exposure to senior management.

Key Responsibilities

1. Vendor Negotiation & Procurement Finance

• Lead end-to-end commercial negotiations with vendors, service providers, and contractors — covering pricing, payment terms, SLAs, and penalty clauses.

• Build and maintain TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) models to evaluate vendor proposals beyond headline rates.

• Develop negotiation briefs for procurement teams, including BATNA positions, market intelligence, and financial risk assessments.

• Review and redline commercial terms in vendor contracts with a focus on payment schedules, escalation clauses, and indemnity exposure.

• Track and report savings realised vs. targets, presenting outcomes to HoD and procurement leadership on a monthly basis.

• Establish preferred vendor frameworks and rate cards across major spend categories.

2. Cost Benchmarking & Analytics

• Design and maintain a cost benchmarking repository across all major spend categories — capex, opex, manpower, logistics, and technology.

• Conduct peer benchmarking using industry databases (CRISIL, Bloomberg, market surveys) to assess competitiveness of existing contracts.

• Develop price indices and inflation-adjusted cost trackers to support renegotiation triggers and budgetary planning.

• Identify cost outliers and variance drivers; prepare deep-dive analyses with actionable recommendations for leadership.

• Collaborate with category owners to translate benchmarking findings into sourcing strategies and contract structures.

3. Business Partnering & FP&A

• Partner with business unit heads to provide financial insights that support pricing decisions, new business bids, and product profitability analysis.

• Own the monthly MIS for commercial spend — tracking actuals vs. budget with commentary on variance and forward-looking risks.

• Lead the annual operating expense budget process for commercial functions, including zero-based budgeting exercises.

• Build financial models for new initiatives, capex proposals, and make-vs.-buy decisions.

• Support HoD with board-level presentations on cost performance, savings pipeline, and commercial risk exposures.

4. Commercial Controls & Compliance

• Ensure all vendor engagements are aligned with the company's delegation of authority (DoA) and procurement policy.

• Review commercial terms in agreements for GST, TDS, and related tax implications; coordinate with the tax team for structuring inputs.

• Maintain a contract repository with key commercial milestones, renewal dates, and performance triggers.

• Support internal and statutory audit requirements related to vendor payments, advances, and contract documentation.

• Drive continuous improvement in commercial processes — standardising templates, approval workflows, and policy adherence.