Solution And Transformation Lead (R2R), VT Captain

Do you want to be part of an inclusive team that works to develop innovative therapies for patients Every day, we are driven to develop and deliver innovative and effective new medicines to patients and physicians. If you want to be part of this exciting work, you belong at Astellas!
Astellas Pharma Inc. is a pharmaceutical company conducting business in more than 70 countries around the world. We are committed to turning innovative science into medical solutions that bring value and hope to patients and their families. Keeping our focus on addressing unmet medical needs and conducting our business with ethics and integrity enables us to improve the health of people throughout the world. For more information on Astellas, please visit our website at www.astellas.com .
This position is based in Northbrook, Illinois. Remote work from certain states may be permitted in accordance with Astellas Responsible Flexibility Guidelines. Candidates interested in remote work are encouraged to apply.
Purpose And Scope
This role serves as the primary transformation driver within the Record-to-Report Pod and regional operational lead. It is accountable for leading the execution of the R2R transformation roadmap and coordinating end-to-end regional financial close activities, ensuring compliance with global standards. The position acts as the critical link between the R2R Pod Lead, Operational Value Teams, and local business stakeholders to deliver high-quality, efficient, and compliant accounting operations.
Responsibilities And Accountabilities
Agile Delivery and Value Team Management

• Drive adoption of best-in-class RTR practices, including automation, touchless close, analytics, and centralized governance.
• Oversee process reengineering, change management, and organizational readiness for all RTR improvement projects.
• Ensure regional end-to-end accountability for accurate, timely, and compliant R2R accounting operations, including journal entries, reconciliations, and month-end close, and ensure alignment and coordination with global timelines, translated into regional compliance.
• Act as the primary regional focal point for the financial close, ensuring all critical path activities are executed efficiently and effectively.
• Manage the regional close calendar and coordinate the key milestones, ensuring local statutory and business deadlines are integrated into the global schedule.
• Drive the integrity and compliance of local financial reporting processes with IFRS, internal accounting policies, to ensure consistent audit readiness.
• Champion the adoption of Agile methodologies across regional R2R teams, ensuring consistent application of Agile practices in process accounting, intercompany, and reporting workflows.
• Act as a key point of contact between the Operational Value Teams and the Pod Lead, ensuring transparency, alignment, and progress reporting.
• Partner with DigitalX to evaluate and implement automation technologies (e.g., BlackLine, workflow tools) that enhance efficiency.
• Facilitate cross-team coordination for complex period-end close activities, ensuring alignment across time zones and regions.

• Lead the regional rollout of global policies, systems, and process changes, ensuring effective local adoption and minimizing operational disruption.
• Support regional rollout of taxonomy and adoption of Global KPI/SLA framework
• Communicate clearly on deliverables, deadlines, and issue resolution.
• Champion project initiatives globally.
• Lead sprints and workshops to gather pain points, inefficiencies, control weaknesses, and technology gaps.
• Act as a strategic partner to ensure alignment across end-to-end processes (Corporate Controller Group, FPA, P2P, O2C).
• Provide thought leadership and coaching to R2R teams, supporting skill development and a culture of continuous improvement.
  

Direct Geographically Aligned Operational Support

• Oversee and assure execution of key local financial activities, ensuring compliance with local statutory accounting and tax regulations, and collaborating with BPO partners where necessary
• Provide leadership over local financial operations, working closely with Tax, Treasury, and Consolidations to ensure compliant tax support, efficient treasury processes, and robust management of historical accounting records with high data integrity.
• Serve as a key accounting and finance point of contact for local business functions, providing technical accounting guidance, financial insights, and strategic advice. Oversee local J-SOX controls and financial operations within the R2R Pod, maintaining strong governance frameworks in line with internal accounting policies.
• Manage prioritization across Value Teams to balance transformation initiatives with Business-As-Usual delivery, ensuring operational stability is maintained.
  

Escalation Channel and Risk Management

• Serves as the designated Time Zone Representative for RTR, acting as an escalation point for resolving operational obstacles and time-critical controls.

• Looking to get Placed? Try our Placement Guarantee Plan

  Get Hired
  Proactively identify and mitigate risks, escalating capability issues to the Chapter Lead and delivery/operational issues to the Pod Lead as appropriate
• Triage issues related to local financial systems and data integrity (e.g., Master Data), working to ensure timely resolution.
• Proactively manage cross-team risks and dependencies to remove blockers and maintain delivery momentum.
• Identify potential process gaps or human-related challenges, enabling timely escalation or resolution proposed to the POD Lead or Chapter Lead.
  

Required

• Bachelors in Finance or Accounting required; CPA, CMA, MBA preferred.
• 15+ years of progressive experience in RTR, Controllership, Accounting Operations, or Finance Transformation. Experience in pharmaceutical or life sciences preferred (commercial + manufacturing + R&D exposure preferred).
• Technical Qualifications: Strong knowledge of IFRS, internal controls, regulatory compliance and solid understanding of pharmaceutical accounting a plus (GTN, inventory valuation, sample reconciliation, and clinical trial accruals).
• Shared Services Exposure: Background in a GBS, shared services, or outsourced delivery environment (especially in the process management area)
• Enterprise Tooling Experience: Familiarity with relevant finance systems (SAP, BlackLine) is essential.
• Agile Certification: Formal training or certification in Agile methodologies is desirable.
• Data Literacy: Comfort with interpreting financial and operational data to inform prioritization, OKRs, and performance discussions.
• Cultural Awareness: Experience operating in multicultural environments; familiarity with Japanese working culture is a plus.
• Process Improvement: Experience in running process improvement initiatives. Process improvement certification e.g. Lean Six Sigma is beneficial.
  

Category Global Business Solutions
Astellas is committed to equality of opportunity in all aspects of employment.
EOE including Disability/Protected Veterans