Head of Finance, France & Southern Europe F/H

Head of Finance, France & Southern Europe

Paris, France

Imagine being part of a dynamic leadership team at AXA XL, the leading provider of Property & Casualty insurance and specialty insurance for the largest companies in France, including those in the CAC40 and SBF120. Here, your expertise will play a crucial role in shaping the future of insurance and risk management on both a national and international scale.

At AXA XL, we pride ourselves on offering tailored insurance and reinsurance solutions that empower our clients to navigate complex risks. Whether it’s through our comprehensive coverage for traditional risks like liability and property damage, or specialized areas such as political risk, environmental issues, crisis management, fine art, and even space insurance, we are committed to helping our clients protect what matters most to them.

You will have the overall responsibility for the Finance & Accounting, Budget & Reporting activities of AXA XL France and will steer, monitor and coordinate the same activities for the other countries of the Southern Europe Region (Italy and Spain).

You will be a strategic Business Partner and Advisor to the Regional Manager and the Leadership teams of the Region. You will create strategies, policies, and operating plans to design and operate robust finance processes and supportthe growth and profitability objectives of the Region.

You will also report through a dotted line to the CFO of XL ICSE / BU APAC & Europe and will as such be a member of the Leadership team of the XL ICSE / BU Finance team.

As a major actor within our organization, you will play a key role in the management of shareholders, regulatory relationships and actuary works.

Here is some key figures to highlight the finance playground you can be part of :

ØSouthern Europe Entities (XLICSE & XLCSSE) have insurance revenues of UDS 2,5Bn, across 16 lines of business and a balance sheet size of $7Bn.

ØTotal Opex controlled of $ 248m

ØResponsible for leading the finance function in an organization with 1270+ employees

ØMember of the AXA XL France Leadership team, Southern Europe Regional team and APAC EUR Finance Leadership team

DISCOVER your opportunity Day to Day activities

Adequate accounting registry of all business activities

Manage and control the expense budget

Deliver financial reports for all entities on a statutory basis and on AXA XL and AXA standards basis

Manage the treasury operations, ensuring cash flow is appropriate for the organization’s operations

Support of Tax functions and deliver the tax return / payment

Oversee the proper management and control of accounts receivables and payables

Analyze results and challenge business for improvements and savings

When applicable, manage relationship with external auditors and other key external stakeholders (tax authorities, regulators...)

Advocate for efficiency initiatives to optimize productivity

Preparation, monitoring and reporting of the budgeting and forecasting processes

Preparation, monitoring and reporting of the performance of the company along the year

Follow up and report financial targets (Revenues, Claims, Opex, Reinsurance, cash,)

Contribute to the strategic planning and productivity increase

Participate on the company projects, helping with business cases preparation, validation and analyses

Participate as member of the France and Southern Europe leadership teams to steer the performance of the branches in Southern Europe,

participate in the strategic discussion, and drive the financial communication.

Participate as member of the BU APAC & Europe finance leadership team to steer the financial process of the BU.

Motivate and develop team members to deliver a high level of performance, especially by incorporating the Navigator in their everyday work. You’ll also be using company performance management practice (tools /process/ behavior) including goal setting, monitoring performance through regular check ins, performance reviews and development plans.

Coach team members to unlock their potential, supporting them with access to appropriate training and development opportunities.

Identify training needs and arrange relevant training that allows the team to enhance their performance and deliver customer, business and regulatory needs.

Identify team members ‘ potential and help them progress and ensure that development plans are in place to accelerate their development. Understand their career aspirations and actively plan careers by supporting them to identify future roles within the organization

Regularly monitor workloads and operate a flexible approach to sharing resources, especially with the wider team to hand le peak demand/sharing tasks across teams

Effective management and monitoring of all employee relations issues, including absence, disciplinary & performance issues in conjunction with HR advice as appropriate.

Explore new ways of working, lead change and encourage team member to test and learn and take risks to provide new solutions

Effective communication & relationship management

Steer and coordinate the monitoring and reporting of the company’s performance through adequate KPIs.

Develop open channels of communication to enable constructive debate and collaboration, eliciting the ideas and opinions of the team

Build and maintain effective cross department relationships

Business Management

Understand the company’s strategy / vision and what it means for the role / team

Manage financial / budgeting procedures as required according to the local market

Ensure that the appropriate risk and controls procedures are in place to ensure compliance with the local regulatory requirements

Participate in activities to support business development and client centricity, according to the requirements of the local market

You will report to Regional Manager, Southern Europe

Your Profile SHARE your talent

Significant experience in accounting and financial planning in the insurance industry

Technical skills such as financial planning and accounting, risk management

Accounting or business degree qualification

Knowledge of industry and local markets, regulatory environment, competitors

Problem solving skills and the ability to exercise sound judgment and make decisions based on accurate and timely analyses

Experience in a multi-cultural environment with proven leadership skills in managing multi-site teams

Ability to Influence stakeholders in one’s own functional area, non-finance community and Excom members

In-depth understanding of financial and business dynamics of the assistance / insurance industry

High level of integrity and dependability with a strong sense of urgency and results-orientation

Fluency in English and French

FIND your future AXA XL, the P&C and specialty risk division of AXA, is known for solving complex risks. For mid-sized companies, multinationals and even some inspirational individuals we don’t just provide re/insurance, we reinvent it.

How? By combining a comprehensive and efficient capital platform, data-driven insights, leading technology, and the best talent in an agile and inclusive workspace, empowered to deliver top client service across all our lines of business − property, casualty, professional, financial lines and specialty.

With an innovative and flexible approach to risk solutions, we partner with those who move the world forward.

Diversity & Inclusion #J-18808-Ljbffr