Tropics Hub Seeds R&D Finance Lead

About Syngenta
At Syngenta Seeds Field Crops, we're shaping the future of agriculture and empowering farmers to meet the ever-growing demand for food and fuel. We’re a global Ag Tech powerhouse, headquartered in the United States, with passionate, local experts collaborating with farmers to deliver solutions that create market opportunities.  We unite precision breeding, advanced biotechnology trait choice, and digital platforms for unmatched in-field performance.  Our seeds help mitigate risks such as disease, insect, weed, and extreme weather pressures, all while promoting sustainable farming practices that protect and enhance our planet. Join our mission of revolutionizing food security and transforming agriculture.

Position Summary:

As the Tropics Hub R&D Finance Lead you will be a key member of the Tropics Hub Seeds R&D Leadership Team.  You will co-create and execute strategies to both maximize long-term R&D investment prioritization as well as lead the steering of Tropics Hub Seeds R&D Financial Operations across the world.  In this role you will regularly engage with and influence senior cross-functional leaders through sound financial expertise and business steering on long-term strategy across the Global Seeds Commercial Strategy Team and the Seeds Business Leadership Team.

The Finance Lead is responsible for building long-range plans, creating and managing forecasts, developing reporting and metrics, and establishing best practices.  Additionally, the role involves scenario planning, investment trade-offs, managing risks and opportunities, and advancing finance modernization initiatives to support R&D finance across all regions. Key stakeholders include the leadership teams of the respective R&D hub functions, Regional/Country Finance partners, and Global/Regional BOP teams, ensuring alignment and collaboration to deliver financial results and drive strategic initiatives.

Accountabilities:

• Act as a thought partner for senior leadership to develop and implement business strategies that deliver on core Seeds targets and objectives.
• Influence decision-making processes by providing financial insights and recommendations, developing investment cases, collaborating on operational initiatives, and developing financial models which include the use of data science and modeling various portfolio scenarios.
• Advance digital transformation in Seeds Finance by implementing reporting dashboards and designing modern finance models with digital tools and predictive analytics.
• Oversee long-range planning, budgeting, forecasting, and financial analysis to support business planning and performance.
• Manage the Seeds Tropics Hub R&D P&L with focus on functional costs and risk/opportunity assessment.
• Partner closely with Regional Commercial, Strategy, R&D, and Finance teams to assist in the development of a multi-pillared R&D portfolio valuation and prioritization model.
• Partner with Regional, Country Finance teams within Tropics Hub as well as finance teams cross hubs to drive consistent global processes for Budgets, Long Range Plans etc.  
• Analyze financial data to identify trends, risks, and opportunities for growth and efficiency.
• Lead financial processes for forecasts, budgets, and long-term plans, CAPEX, and key initiatives.
• Provide financial expertise to support strategic initiatives and projects across Tropics Hub functional areas.
• Train the business community on functional financial matters.
• Ensure adherence to financial regulations and company policies and controls through close partnership with Group Accounting, Internal Audit, and External Auditors to ensure compliance by leveraging financial excellence and best practices.
• Identify and mitigate financial risks to safeguard company assets.
• Support Agile initiatives and process improvements.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, or a related field; MBA, CPA, or professional certification preferred.
• Minimum of 10+ years in finance.
• Proven experience in a finance leadership role, preferably within the agriculture, seeds, or related industry.
• Demonstrable track record of successfully using influence & leadership to achieve results in a matrixed environment.
• Advanced skills in financial planning, analysis, modeling, and benchmarking.
• Proficiency in standard financial tools like NPV and risk assessment.
• Ability to prepare long-range plans, budgets, and forecasts.
• Experience in business partnering, providing strong thought partnership to support and challenge business decisions.
• Strong communication skills for all organizational levels.
• Ability to improve processes using Agile methodologies and digital tools.
• Detail-oriented with a focus on quality processes.
• Advanced Excel and business modeling skills.
• Experience in business transformations and M&A projects

Syngenta is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or any other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status. 

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