Job Description:
Location: Aimargues, near Montpellier (France)
Type of contract : Permanent (CDI)
Entity: Royal Canin France
Great opportunity ahead to shape the world we want tomorrow by driving our French strategy today!
We are looking for the Chief Financial Officer for the Royal Canin France unit. As a member of the French Leadership Team, this is a unique opportunity to shape the choices we make today towards a better world tomorrow. At Mars, we ensure sustainable business growth and deliver our purpose of transforming the health and well-being of cats and dogs.
In this position, you will play a critical role in bringing our business ambition to life by driving the financial agenda, ensuring robust financial health, and leading the transformational changes needed to be a sustainably growing business in today's volatile environment. Your partner and Line Manager will be the General Manager (GM) of France.
What are we looking for?Bachelor's degree/MBA Finance, Economics, Business Administration, or a related field
Fluent English and mandatory French proficiency
12+ years of experience Finance Leader
Relationship Building: Building trusting relationships with the people around you is important to you and you know how to do this, especially with senior executives, commercial directors, and regional leaders to gain support and achieve strategic business goals
Change Management: You love leading people through change, from financial system implementations (e.g., ERP, Copilot frameworks) to operational transformations – you can bring people along on the journey
Analytical Acumen: Projects like driving profitability, cost of employment analysis, supply chain optimization, and margin improvement are what you are truly passionate about
Influencing Skills: Proven skills & the ability to influence business decisions to a positive commercial outcome, navigating the complex distribution landscape of the French market
Navigating Ambiguity: You know how to effectively navigate within ambiguity and prioritize business needs, investment proposals, and resources
Communication: Excellent oral and written communication skills in both English and French
Agility & Drive: You have a strong work capacity and are able to move quickly from operational, day-to-day financial issues to high-level strategic co-piloting
You have a strong work capacity and are able to move quickly from one subject to another
You have an experience in leading Organisation transformation with work councils in France
Alongside our General Manager, you are the inventor, guardian, and champion of our financial and value creation strategy in the Unit. You will work with full energy so our investments, resource allocation, and strategy help us meet our business and financial goals.
Strategic Co-Piloting & Value Creation
Understand the operational pulse of the organization to build business strategies, manage structural costs, and ensure a "fit for future" structure.
Ensure sustainable performance of the BU and be responsible for the P&L and NCFO delivery through the S&OP+ cycle together with the FP&A team
Partner with the French leadership team to build and execute the strategy and drive operational effectiveness.
Engage and communicate results and strategy with the team to the wider business unit associates through periodic townhalls and seminars
Partner with the European CFO to support European strategy deployment and ad hoc projects.
Financial Governance, Compliance
Ensure that the S&F function provides the best qualitative, efficient, and legally compliant financial control, accounting, and governance, equipped by best-in-class corporate processes and tools.
Guide, upskill, and partner with our Line Managers to foster financial acumen, strong budget accountability, and cost-conscious decision-making across all local teams.
Actively engage as a member of the Royal Canin Europe Finance leadership team and participate in regional and global financial projects.
Ensures local work council communications
People Leadership & Talent Development
Passionate about talent management, you will act as our S&F Capability Champion. You will build a highly engaged, future-ready team, developing the right financial co-pilots in the right roles.
Directly lead the S&F French team (team of 12) and role-model an exemplary Great Line Manager experience, fostering a speak-up culture, supporting individual development plans.
Being based at the heart of Royal Canin, this role is a great opportunity to support the connection and development of Royal Canin HQ S&F associates.
Manage IT scope (phone, security..) associate for Campus site
Work with diverse and talented Associates, all guided by The Five Principles.
Join a purpose driven company, where we’re striving to build the world we want tomorrow, today.
You will work in a unique campus, which gathers more than 800 Associates working for: the international HQ, the French subsidiary, two laboratories, a kennel and a cattery with more than 200 cats & dogs, and finally the most important factory of the Royal Canin group
Best-in-class learning and development support from day one, including access to our in-house Mars University.
#LI-CB1
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree or MBA in Finance, Economics, Business Administration, or related
- Fluent English and mandatory French proficiency
- 12+ years of experience as a Finance Leader
- Experience leading organisation transformation involving French work councils
- Proven experience in financial system implementations and change management (e.g., ERP, Copilot frameworks)
- Strong analytical experience in profitability, cost analysis, supply chain optimization, and margin improvement
- Proven ability to influence senior executives and navigate complex distribution/commercial environments
- Experience managing and developing finance teams (people leadership, talent management)
- Excellent oral and written communication skills in English and French
Mars Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Mars and has not been reviewed or approved by Mars.
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Healthcare Strength — The benefits package is positioned as comprehensive, with broad medical coverage and additional protections like life insurance and short- and long-term disability. Mental health support is emphasized, including free mental health services and wellbeing programming under initiatives such as Mars Be Well.
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Parental & Family Support — Paid parental leave is highlighted as market-leading in the U.S., with an example of 18 weeks fully paid for both parents. Additional family-related leave types such as sick time for caregiving and bereavement leave are also described as part of the overall package.
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Retirement Support — Retirement offerings are described as strong, including 401(k) matching (with a 6% match cited) and pension plans in some cases. The broader package also references retirement savings options and contributions aligned to local market practice, supporting long-term financial security.
Mars Insights
What We Do
For more than a century, Mars, Incorporated has been driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. This idea is at the center of who we have always been as a global, family-owned business. Today, Mars is transforming, innovating and evolving in ways that affirm our commitment to making a positive impact on the world around us. Across our diverse and expanding portfolio of confectionery, food, and petcare products and services, we employ 133,000 dedicated Associates who are all moving in the same direction: forward. With $40 billion in annual sales, we produce some of the world’s best-loved brands including DOVE®, EXTRA®, M&M’s®, MILKY WAY®, SNICKERS®, TWIX®, ORBIT®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, SKITTLES®, WHISKAS®, COCOAVIA®, and 5™; and take care of half of the world’s pets through our pet health services AniCura, Banfield Pet Hospitals™, BluePearl®, Linnaeus, Pet Partners™, and VCA™. We know we can only be truly successful if our partners and the communities in which we operate prosper as well. The Mars Five Principles – Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom – inspire our Associates to take action every day to help create a world tomorrow in which the planet, its people and pets can thrive.
