Senior Manager Cost Control Performance

The Senior Manager Cost Control leads the regional cost governance and savings agenda for RNA Operations, ensuring visibility, accuracy, and optimization of operational costs. Drives cost efficiency initiatives, partnering across different departments to identify and implement improvements in cost per unit. It oversees P2P governance, cost validation, and compliance while ensuring system accuracy of negotiated costs and savings. The position leads automation efforts to improve reporting, controls, and productivity. Ensures team strong performance, workload balance, and capability development. The role provides actionable cost analysis, KPIs, and insights to senior leadership to support decision-making. It also ensures audit readiness and compliance with internal and external requirements. Strong leadership, analytical capability, and stakeholder management are essential, along with the ability to operate in complex and ambiguous environment.

• Lead the Regional Cost Control function for North America, ensuring effective governance, visibility, and management of operational costs across all business areas.

• Own the consolidation, tracking, reporting, and delivery of regional cost savings and cost avoidance initiatives, ensuring alignment with global and regional objectives.

• Drive continuous improvement in cost performance by identifying, prioritizing, and implementing initiatives to reduce cost per unit and improve operational efficiency.

• Partner with all Operations, Customer Service, Commercial, Finance, and other stakeholders to develop, validate, and execute cost optimization opportunities.

• Establish and maintain a robust cost control framework, including performance monitoring, reporting standards, controls, and escalation processes.

• Review and ensure compliance with the ICCL report and respond promptly and ensure to advise root-cause analysis, to facilitate exemption resolutions.

• Responsible for ensuring the negotiated costs are accurately reflected in our systems, reporting tools, and financial forecasts and changes are proactively communicated with appropriate stakeholders.

• Regional point of entry for P2P (Purchase to Pay – Invoice verification and dispute management process). Together with the Director of Cost Control, define productivity targets for the validation and processing of invoices

• Assist management with various analyses and ad-hoc reporting, as well as participate in various Hapag-Lloyd working groups and business processes.

• Sponsor and lead automation and digitalization initiatives that improve cost visibility, reporting accuracy, process efficiency, and Ops. productivity. 

• Coach and develop individual department managers and staff. Have regular performance reviews in line with company’s policy and management requirements 

• Guides, coaches, and supports the OPS performance team including hiring, firing, annual reviews, approving overtime and vacation and individual coaching and development.

• Act as the regional subject matter expert for operational costs, supporting business cases, financial evaluations, benchmarking, and strategic decision-making.

• Develop meaningful KPIs, dashboards, and performance metrics to support data-driven decision-making and operational accountability. 

• Assists internal and external stakeholders in resolving complex issues requiring specialized knowledge of a functional area and/or broad knowledge across functions.

• Keeps staff informed of new requirements, processes, and procedures.

• Makes certain that all departmental and functional training requirements are fulfilled.

• Communications are well organized, clear, and concise.

• Emphasizes key points. Effective communication skills, pragmatic, and decision-making.

• Strong leadership skills.

• Liaison for internal and external audits (QEM, Internal Audits, external audits, etc.).

• Bachelors degree and a minimum of 5 years of experience in the Maritime Industry or the equivalent combination of education and experience. 

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to interpret complex data, identify trends, and develop actionable recommendations across operations and other departments.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel and PowerPoint; experience with Project, QlikView / QlikSense, or similar business intelligence and reporting tools.
• Proven ability to make sound decisions in ambiguous situations, adapting to changing circumstances and providing clear rationale for recommendations and actions.
• Strong organizational, project management, and time management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines effectively 
• Self-motivated, proactive, and solution-oriented, with a strong sense of speed, accountability and ownership.
• Demonstrated leadership experience, including the ability to lead, develop, coach, and motivate teams to achieve business objectives.
• Communications are well organized, clear and concise. Emphasizes key points to ensure communications are understood by others. Uses the vocabulary and level of technical complexity that will give the audience the knowledge they need. 
• This position is located in the United Staes and requires eligibility to work in the US and completion of the employment eligibility form required under federal law upon hire. 

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job the incumbent is regularly required to sit, talk and hear.  The incumbent regularly uses hands and fingers in the course of daily job duties, including the use of a personal computer. The vision requirement includes close vision. May incur mental stress due to time deadlines.