Director - Corporate Planning

Location: London, United Kingdom

About Us

• Since 1989, SHI International Corp. has helped organizations change the world through technology. We’ve grown every year since, and today we’re proud to be a $16 billion global provider of IT solutions and services.
• Over 17,000 organizations worldwide rely on SHI’s concierge approach to help them solve what’s next. But the heartbeat of SHI is our employees – all 7,000 of them. If you join our team, you’ll enjoy:
• Our commitment to diversity, as the largest minority- and woman-owned enterprise in the U.S.
• Continuous professional growth and leadership opportunities.
• Health, wellness, and financial benefits to offer peace of mind to you and your family.
• World-class facilities and the technology you need to thrive – in our offices or yours.

Job Summary

The Director, Corporate Planning is the single-point owner of SHI's enterprise-wide corporate planning agenda.

The role designs, leads and executes the company's end-to-end planning process, and is accountable for three things:

• Defining how the business plans: the calendar, governance, standards and operating rhythm.
• Establishing the strategic and financial assumptions that underpin the plan.
• Translating plans into a coherent, consolidated financial model that supports executive decision-making.

This is a senior, highly visible leadership role requiring executive presence, independent judgement and the credibility to act as a trusted partner to the Finance Leadership team and senior business leaders. It runs a business-led planning cycle in which segment and function leaders own their numbers, while this role sets the parameters, challenges submissions, consolidates the outcome and holds the calendar.

Role Description

• Enterprise planning ownership (end to end)
• Own the full planning lifecycle: annual operating plan, reforecast process, rolling monthly latest view, 3–5 year long-range model and strategic scenario planning.
• Define and maintain the planning calendar, templates, milestones, submission process and checkpoint reviews.
• Ensure outputs are timely, decision-oriented and aligned to strategy rather than mechanically produced.
• Strategic plan design and executive alignment
• Partner with the Finance leadership team to translate enterprise strategy into a financial plan and to frame priorities, trade-offs and investment choices.
• Set planning parameters and assumptions with the CFO and relevant leadership ahead of each cycle opening.
• Act as the primary FP&A interface to executive leadership during the cycle; represent the planning function at executive meetings with clear strategic insight.
• Constructively challenge assumptions and elevate discussion beyond incremental budgeting.
• Corporate financial model and consolidation
• Design and own the corporate planning model, ensuring scalability across sales segments and business units, consistency of assumptions, and clean consolidation and reconciliation.
• Build and maintain the driver models behind planning: revenue and gross profit, cost and headcount.
• Own the target-setting cascade from the top-down goal to segment and function level, including target and capacity modelling.
• Maintain a clear audit trail and version control across planning iterations.
• Business engagement and rollout
• Lead the rollout of the corporate plan through clear guidance, structured templates and consistent assumptions.
• Pressure-test segment and function submissions and hold process discipline across functions.
• Own the pack for check-in reviews and consolidate submissions into a single coherent position; present risks and opportunities.
• Planning governance, risk and continuous improvement
• Establish planning standards and governance covering assumption management, scenario discipline and change control.
• Analyse forecast accuracy by segment and driver after each cycle (where we missed, by how much and why) and feed findings into the next cycle's assumptions and methodology.
• Own the process improvement agenda, including tooling, automation and the practical use of AI, to reduce cycle time and increase executive confidence in outputs.
• Ensure planning processes comply with accounting standards, regulatory requirements and data protection obligations, and support financial risk management by flagging exposure early.

Team leadership

Provide leadership to the planning function: begin as a hands-on leader and build a team as the function matures.

Foster a culture of financial discipline, shared responsibility and continuous improvement; coach and develop team members.

Other

Lead and support on FP&A and Corporate finance projects

Support M&A

Support Quarterly business reviews (QBR) design, implementation and process

Behaviors and Competencies

Strategic Thinking: Can analyze complex situations, drive organizational transformation, and adapt strategies to changing market conditions.

Leadership: Can lead strategic team initiatives, inspire others to take leadership roles, and foster a culture of shared responsibility and continuous improvement.

Business Acumen: Can provide strategic guidance and insights to drive overall business success.

Communication: Can lead and model exceptional communication at all levels of the organization, develop and implement communication strategies, and coach others to improve their communication skills.

Collaboration: Can lead complex team projects, inspire others to collaborate effectively, and foster a culture of mutual respect and shared purpose.

Problem-Solving: Can lead strategic problem-solving initiatives, inspire others to improve their problem-solving skills, and foster a culture of proactive problem-solving.

Financial Awareness: Can provide financial guidance and strategic planning

Detail-Oriented: Can foster a culture of detail orientation, inspiring others to maintain high standards of accuracy and completeness in their work.

Strategic Implementation: Can lead the development and execution of comprehensive strategic plans, inspire and guide teams, and drive organizational change to achieve strategic objectives.

Continuous Improvement: Can lead others in identifying and implementing major improvements and proactively drive continuous improvement across the organization.

Overseeing operational processes and procedures to ensure alignment with legal regulations, ethical standards, and business objectives. - Expert

Ability to identify and mitigate risks, aligning with the responsibility of safeguarding the organization’s operations and reputation. - Expert

Proficiency in building and maintaining relationships with internal and external stakeholders to drive strategic initiatives and organizational success. - Expert

Skilled in strategic planning and implementation. - Expert

Understanding of corporate governance and compliance requirements, overseeing operational processes and procedures to ensure alignment with legal regulations, ethical standards, and business objectives. - Expert

Proficiency in using Business Intelligence tools to analyze and interpret data for informed decision-making. - Expert

Completed Bachelor’s degree in finance or a related field, or equivalent relevant work experience.

Master’s degree in finance or a related field, or equivalent experience (preferred).

Professional accountancy qualification (e.g. ACA, ACCA, CIMA) is advantageous.

10+ years' experience in finance, including 7+ years of progressive FP&A experience and multiple years at Director or equivalent senior level.

7+ years in a management position, with experience leading or building teams.

Ability to travel to SHI, Partner, and Customer Events

Ability to travel 25%

SHI UK is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or any other legally protected status. We encourage applications from all qualified candidates and we are dedicated to providing a fair and accessible recruitment process.

Equal Employment Opportunity – M/F/Disability/Protected Veteran Status