Senior Manager Finance Business Partner
Location: Ahmedabad (with frequent on-site presence at APM Terminals Pipavav, Gujarat)
About APM Terminals
APM Terminals, part of the A.P. MollerMaersk Group, is a global leader in port and terminal operations, present in over 60 countries. We enable global trade through world-class infrastructure, operational excellence, and a strong commitment to safety, sustainability, and long-term value creation.
About APM Terminals Pipavav
Located in Gujarat, APM Terminals Pipavav is one of India's leading gateway ports, offering integrated terminal and logistics solutions with strong hinterland connectivity. Known for its customer-centric mindset and high safety standards, Pipavav plays a critical role in strengthening India's trade ecosystem.
The Role
As Senior Finance Business Partner, you will be a trusted strategic advisor to the CFO and terminal leadership, driving financial performance, capital discipline, and data-driven decision-making. This role blends hands-on financial leadership with forward-looking business partnering, influencing strategy, investments, and performance across the terminal.
You will sit at the intersection of finance and operationschallenging assumptions, shaping outcomes, and ensuring capital and resources are deployed to maximize value, resilience, and sustainable growth.
Why This Role
This is not a back-office finance role. This is a true business-facing finance leadership roleworking closely with the CFO and terminal leadership to drive performance, capital discipline, and value-based decision-making.
This is a front-row seat to strategy, investments, and leadership decisions at one of India's most important gateway portswithin a globally respected organization that values impact, integrity, and long-term thinking.
Key Responsibilities :
1. Financial Planning, Forecasting & Performance Management
- Lead the terminal's end-to-end planning, budgeting, and forecasting processes in alignment with group guidelines.
- Drive high forecast accuracy and continuous improvement in financial predictability.
- Partner closely with functional heads to translate business strategy into meaningful KPIs, targets, and actionable insights.
- Conduct scenario modelling and simulations to support strategic and operational decision-making.
- Track performance against targets, identify deviations, and ensure corrective actions are implemented.
- Deliver clear, high-quality financial narratives to senior internal and external stakeholders.
2. Capital Employment & Investment Governance
- Lead and govern the investment decision-making process in line with group investment policies.
- Challenge business cases on strategic fit, timing, scope, and necessity of investments.
- Evaluate alternatives such as process optimization, asset rationalization, leasing, or divestment.
- Validate assumptions, perform robust risk analysis, and translate outcomes into IRR/NPV ranges and sensitivity scenarios.
- Oversee execution of the capital program, ensuring delivery against time, budget, and scope.
- Proactively flag and manage risks related to delays, cost overruns, or value erosion.
3. Strategic Business Partnering
- Act as a core member of the terminal leadership team, committees, and cross-functional forums.
- Build strong, trusted relationships across operations, commercial, HR, procurement, and regional teams.
- Provide forward-looking analytics, predictive modelling, and value-based insights to guide leadership decisions.
- Support large projects, tenders, and contracts with financial and commercial expertise.
- Influence outcomes through data-backed challengeeven when holding a minority or contrarian view.
- Simplify complex problems, break silos, and enable faster, better-quality decision-making.
4. Finance Operations & Governance
- Partner with the GSC Accounting and Business Analyst teams to ensure accurate, timely month-end closing and reporting.
- Ensure robust cost control, correct accruals, capitalization, payroll alignment, and cost center accuracy.
- Review and provide commentary on financial reports including P&L, SG&A, CAPEX, forecasts, and performance dashboards.
- Maintain strong controls, compliance, and transparency across finance processes.
5. Lean, Change & Performance Culture
- Champion APM Terminals Lean Way of Working and continuous improvement mindset.
- Drive policy deployment by translating strategy into measurable objectives, KPIs, and action plans.
- Promote standardization through digital cockpits and performance tools, minimizing unnecessary customization.
- Contextualize performance results, distinguishing controllable vs. non-controllable drivers, and define mitigation actions.
What We're Looking For
- 10+ years of progressive finance experience, ideally within capital-intensive or large-scale infrastructure environments.
- Chartered Accountant (CA), MBA Finance, or equivalent qualification.
- Strong expertise in FP&A, investment appraisal, cost optimization, and financial governance.
- Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders with strong commercial and business acumen.
- Experience leading cross-functional initiatives and driving change.
- Excellent communication, storytelling, and presentation skills.
