EMEA Regional Governance Lead
About Astellas:
At Astellas we are a progressive health partner, delivering value and outcomes where needed.
We pursue innovative science, focussing initially on the areas of greatest potential and then developing solutions where patient need is high, often in rare or under-served disease areas and in life-threatening or life-limiting diseases and conditions.
We work directly with patients, doctors and health care professionals on the front line to ensure patient and clinical needs are guiding our development activities at every stage.
Our global vision for Patient Centricity is to support the development of innovative health solutions through a deep understanding of the patient experience. At Astellas, Patient Centricity isn’t a buzzword - it’s a guiding principle for action. We believe all staff have a role to play in creating a patient-centric culture and integrating an awareness of the patient into our everyday working practices, regardless of our role, team or division.
We work closely with regulatory authorities and payers to find new ways to ensure access to new therapies. We deliver the latest insights and real-world evidence to inform the best decisions for patients and their care-givers, to ensure the medicines we develop continue to provide meaningful outcomes.
Beyond medicines, we support our stakeholder communities to drive initiatives that improve awareness, education, access and ultimately standards of care.
The Opportunity:
Are you a seasoned finance professional ready to lead governance across a dynamic EMEA region? Join a global pharmaceutical company where innovation meets integrity. As the EMEA Regional Governance Lead, you will play a key role in shaping financial reporting, strategy, and governance across multiple countries and business units. This is a high-impact position that requires strong leadership, deep technical expertise, and the ability to drive change in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.
Hybrid Working:
At Astellas we recognise the importance of balancing your work and home life, so we offer a hybrid working solution allowing time to connect with colleagues in person at the office alongside the flexibility to work from home; optimising the most productive work environment for you to succeed and deliver.
Key Responsibilities:
As the EMEA Regional Governance Lead, you will be entrusted with high-level oversight and strategic influence across the region.
Your core responsibilities will include:
- Establishing and leading a regional Finance Scorecard to evaluate and enhance financial reporting performance across EMEA.
- Driving strategic improvements in financial operations by identifying systemic gaps and implementing robust, scalable solutions.
- Designing and enforcing a comprehensive finance reporting calendar, ensuring alignment with global, regional, and local compliance requirements.
- Championing financial governance standards, collaborating with cross-functional leaders to embed best practices and elevate reporting quality.
- Monitoring regulatory developments (Global, EU, and local) and translating them into actionable strategies and operational adjustments.
- Overseeing audit outcomes (internal and external), synthesizing insights to strengthen financial controls and reporting integrity.
- Providing governance leadership in statutory budget creation, ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory frameworks.
- Leading transformation initiatives to automate and streamline financial reporting processes, reducing risk and increasing efficiency.
- Advising senior stakeholders on complex technical accounting matters, ensuring clarity, compliance, and strategic alignment.
- Fostering a high-performance finance culture, mentoring teams and influencing senior stakeholders to drive excellence and innovation.
Essential Knowledge & Experience:
- A recognized professional accounting qualification (ACA, ACCA, CIMA, CPA or equivalent), with deep technical expertise in financial reporting and governance.
- Extensive experience gained in global organizations, ideally across diverse business models such as commercial operations, manufacturing, R&D, and intellectual property.
- Demonstrated ability to design and implement financial control frameworks, including JSOX environments, with a strong focus on compliance and risk mitigation.
- A history of leading transformation initiatives in finance, including automation, process optimization, and the integration of emerging technologies such as AI.
- Advanced proficiency in financial consolidation systems, particularly SAP/BPC, and the ability to manage complex reporting hierarchies.
- Deep knowledge of IFRS and local GAAP, with the ability to interpret and apply standards across multiple jurisdictions and communicate implications to senior stakeholders.
- Strong analytical acumen, capable of translating data into strategic insights and driving operational improvements across regional finance functions.
- Proven success in navigating regulatory change, with the ability to anticipate impacts and proactively adjust processes and systems.
- A collaborative leadership style, with the ability to influence cross-functional teams, build trust, and foster a high-performance culture.
- Fluency in spoken and written English, with excellent communication and presentation skills tailored to senior audiences.
Preferred Knowledge & Experience:
- Background in pharmaceutical or regulated industries..
- Advanced degree in finance, accounting, or related field
- Experience with statutory accounts under IFRS and local GAAP.
- Familiarity with regulatory change and its impact on reporting.
- Exposure to automation, AI, and finance transformation.
- Strong collaboration with auditors and senior stakeholders.
- Ability to operate across diverse EMEA markets.
Additional Information:
- This is a permanent role based in our Global Capability Centre in Warsaw, Poland and hybrid working with the expectation for some office presence. Flexibility may be required in line with business need. Candidates must be located within a commutable distance of the office.
Astellas’ Global Capability Centres – Overview:
Astellas’ Global Capability Centre’s (GCCs) are strategically located sites that give Astellas the ability to access talent across various functions in the value chain and to co-locate core capabilities that are currently dispersed. Our three GCCs are located in India, Poland and Mexico.
The GCCs will enhance our operational efficiency, resilience and innovation potential, enabling a timely response to changing business demands.
Our GCCs are an integral part of Astellas, guided by our shared values and behaviors, and are critical enablers of the company’s strategic priorities, sustainable growth, and commitment to turn innovative science into VALUE for patients.
We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
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