Job Description

Xylem is a Fortune 500 global water solutions company dedicated to advancing sustainable impact and empowering the people who make water work every day. As a leading water technology company with 23,000 employeesoperating in over 150 countries, Xylem is at the forefront of addressing the world's most critical water challenges. We invite passionate individuals to join our team, dedicated to exceeding customer expectations through innovative and sustainable solutions.

Job Title: Manager, Finance – UK Transport Division

Reporting To: Director Finance, WI Transport Division

Location: UK, Nottingham

This role acts as the strategic right hand to the Commercial Director, playing a pivotal role in running the local business. The focus is on translating corporate vision into actionable local plans and ensuring local strategies are aligned with broader business objectives. This is not an advocacy role for the local business — it is a role of challenge, support, and offering insight.

The role requires a forward-looking, proactive mindset, with a strong emphasis on continuous improvement (CI) and 80/20. The individual is expected to question the status quo, connect data to business narratives, and drive clarity in decision-making. This also includes developing and presenting a range of financial scenarios, each with clear assumptions around revenue streams, cost structures, and margin drivers. These scenarios will illustrate how shifts in pricing strategy, customer mix, operational efficiency, or service offerings could impact profitability. The goal is to provoke strategic reflection on the sustainability and scalability of the current business model, and to identify potential levers for improvement or transformation.

Core Expectations

• Be a strategic challenger, advocate and activist — not just a reporter of numbers.
• Translate strategy — from corporate to local, and local to corporate.
• Drive insight — not just analysis. Provide context, trends, and implications.
• Adopt a CI, 80/20 mindset — Continually look for opportunities of simplification.
• Be proactive — anticipate needs, surface risks, and propose solutions.

Key Responsibilities

P&L Management

• Support Project Managers with revenue recognition expectations.
• Analyze book-and-ship trends and backlog to identify risks and opportunities.
• Understand profitability drivers and impact of decisions on EBITDA.
• Connect data points to build a coherent business story.
• Guide communication of key drivers and insights.
• Load flash numbers into OneStream as needed.
• Partner with HR to ensure accurate headcount coding and reporting.

Month-End / Quarter-End Close

• Collaborate closely with accounting to ensure accuracy and alignment.
• Identify and explain EBITDA drivers and trade-offs.
• Translate data into clear, actionable business narratives.

AOP / Forecasting

• Support Corporate FP&A in identifying and improving key business drivers.
• Translate corporate expectations into grounded, local financial plans.
• Conduct bottoms-up reviews to identify gaps and mitigation plans.
• Support local teams with investment requests and scenario planning.
• Load data and adjustments into OneStream when required.

Team Collaboration

• Actively contributes to brainstorming, feedback sessions, and team initiatives.
• Support ad hoc requests and cross-functional projects as they arise.
• Network with peers to support each other and build community.
• Act as a true leader beyond finance scope in leadership team meeting to bring different perspectives and angles of reflection.

Travel Expectations

• Be in country at least once per month.
• Actively participate in business partners team meetings.

Industry Knowledge

• Continuously deepen industry knowledge by actively monitoring customer expectations, market trends, cost structures, and revenue models to inform strategic decision-making and drive business growth.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, or related field (MBA and/or CPA preferred)
• 10+ years of progressive finance experience, including global or multi-regional P&L responsibility
• Strong background in FP&A/ operations finance/ Accounting within a manufacturing or industrial environment
• Demonstrated ability to support growth-focused business strategies in a matrixed organization
• Strong business partnering, analytical, and people leadership skills

Success in This Role Looks Like

• Strategic alignment - local division vs segment/ corporate.
• Clear, data-driven insights that influence decision-making.
• Proactive identification of risks and opportunities.
• Continuous improvement in processes and reporting.
• Strong, trusted relationships with Commercial, FP&A, HR, and Accounting teams.

Join the global Xylem team to be a part of innovative technology solutions transforming water usage, conservation, and re-use. Our products impact public utilities, industrial sectors, residential areas, and commercial buildings, with a commitment to providing smart metering, network technologies, and advanced analytics for water, electric, and gas utilities. Partner with us in creating a world where water challenges are met with ingenuity and dedication; where we recognize the power of inclusion and belonging in driving innovation and allowing us to compete more effectively around the world.