Director of Shared Services

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Job Purpose

RWS is seeking an experienced Director of Shared Services to lead our global financial and operational Shared Services Centres. The successful candidate will be a strategic leader responsible for driving operational excellence, optimising cash management, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. This role is critical in transforming our business processes and leading cross-functional teams to achieve our strategic objectives, as the business transitions to a more technology led strategy.

You will report into and support the Group Financial Controller but work closely with Finance leaders, the wider finance team and senior stakeholders across the organisation.

About Group Finance

In joining RWS's Finance team you will be a critical part of supporting a listed world-leading provider of technology-enabled language, content, and intellectual property services. RWS has growing revenues of over £750m through a combination of value accretive acquisitions and organic growth. Group finance includes diverse teams across the globe operating in functions including business partnering, operational finance, specialist, and group functions. We cover a footprint of over 100 legal entities in 43 different countries worldwide.

It's a very exciting time to join RWS Finance for an individual who enjoys change and making an impact! As part of the overall RWS business strategy we are making a significant investment in upgrading our financial systems and processes to deliver enhanced reporting and control, more efficient processing enabling great value through enhanced business partnering and decision support.

Job Overview

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Define and execute the strategic roadmap for the Shared Services Centres, ensuring alignment with the company's overall business objectives.
• Act as a change agent to drive transformation, automation, and process optimisation across all shared services functions.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with business unit leaders and key stakeholders to ensure the shared services model is meeting their needs.
• The ideal candidate will possess a strong commercial mindset, constantly seeking to align shared services with the broader business objectives. A key responsibility will be to proactively identify, evaluate, and implement emerging technologies-such as AI, machine learning, and advanced automation-to not only drive down costs but also to fundamentally improve the quality, accuracy, and speed of service delivery.
• Advise senior leadership with actionable insights on innovation, compliance, and risk.
• Communicate complex technical issues in a concise, executive-ready format.

Operational Management

• Oversee the day-to-day operations of all Shared Services Centre functions, including Order to Cash (O2C), Procure to Pay (P2P), Record to Report (R2R), Master Data and Automation Management, and Cash and Treasury Management.
• Ensure that service level agreements (SLAs), key performance indicators (KPIs), and quality standards are appropriately set and consistently met or exceeded.
• Proactively partner with the Group Financial Controller to materially improve the speed and efficiency of the year-end audit process, ensuring that all shared services functions deliver accurate, timely, and audit-ready financial information.
• Monitor and manage operational risks, compliance, and internal controls to ensure the integrity of our financial and operational processes.

People Leadership

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team across multiple functions, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous learning.
• Drive employee engagement and talent development initiatives to build a world-class shared services team.
• Work with the Group Financial Controller to prepare, implement, monitor, and evaluate strategic and operational projects and functions.

Skills & Experience

• Strong experience in a Shared Services leadership role of a multinational FTSE / listed company
• Qualified accountant (ACA/CIMA/ACCA or global equivalent)
• Proven reputation for delivering successful, large-scale change initiatives, with a demonstrable ability to translate strategic vision into tangible, measurable outcomes that are supported by positive stakeholder feedback.
• Team player: Highly collaborative with a customer service mindset
• Experience of leading teams across multiple geographies
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with a proactive approach
• Accustomed to working towards tight deadlines whilst maintaining quality of work
• Experience with different finance systems
• Strong English language skills
• Strong analytical mindset with a "hands on/ can do" attitude
• Excellent attention to detail and commitment to accuracy and quality
• Familiarity with multi-currency environments and complex group structures

Life at RWS

RWS is a content solutions company, powered by technology and human expertise. We grow the value of ideas, data and content by making sure organizations are understood. Everywhere.

Our proprietary technology, 45+ AI patents and human experts help organizations bring ideas to market faster, build deeper relationships across borders and cultures, and enter new markets with confidence - growing their business and connecting them to a world of opportunities.

It's why over 80 of the world's top 100 brands trust RWS to drive innovation, inform decisions and shape brand experiences.

With 60+ global locations, across five continents, our teams work with businesses across almost all industries. Innovating since 1958, RWS is headquartered in the UK and publicly listed on AIM, the London Stock Exchange regulated market (RWS.L).

RWS Values

We Partner, We Pioneer, We Progress - and we'll Deliver together.

For further information, please visit: RWS

RWS embraces DEI and promotes equal opportunity, we are an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind. RWS is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions at RWS are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, religion, nationality, ethnicity, sex, age, disability, or sexual orientation. RWS will not tolerate discrimination based on any of these characteristics

Recruitment Agencies: RWS Holdings PLC does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward any unsolicited resumes to any RWS employees. Any unsolicited resume received will be treated as the property of RWS and Terms & Conditions associated with the use of such resume will be considered null and void.

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