Interim Shared Service Center Build & Near Shore Director Bucharest, Romania

About Our Client:

Our client is an internationally listed group with several thousand employees and global operations, pursuing rapid growth across its markets. It operates in the life sciences, medical, and pharmaceutical sector, with corporate roots across Germany and Switzerland.

The organisation is executing a large-scale global transformation programme, a central pillar of which is the establishment of a new shared service and nearshore centre in Bucharest, Romania, consolidating a range of core business support functions from across its European operations.

The build is at an early, formative stage. The client requires an experienced operator on the ground in Bucharest who can create structure, pace and direction from limited existing infrastructure, and lead the build through to a controlled handover to a permanent successor.

Further mandate details will be shared with qualified Interim Managers under a signed non-disclosure agreement.

Project Description:

The Interim Shared Service Center Build & Nearshore Lead will take personal, hands-on responsibility for standing up the Bucharest centre from a near-zero starting point, operating as the on-the-ground counterpart to senior transformation leadership at headquarters. The assignment is practical and building-focused rather than advisory, largely without an existing local playbook to follow.

• Reports into senior transformation leadership at headquarters, acting as legal and local line lead in Bucharest during the build phase
• Leads local recruiting and team build-up from a standing start, appointing functional and process leads as headcount ramps
• Migrates core finance and business support processes from source locations into the new centre
• Coordinates the practical steps required to stand up the operating site
• Takes on broadening scope as further functions transition in, within a governance structure that is still being defined
• Prepares a structured handover to the permanent successor, who will combine local finance leadership with ongoing shared service centre leadership

Expected Results:

Success will be measured by how quickly the Bucharest centre moves from concept to a functioning, credible operation that headquarters can rely on.

• Practical infrastructure in place and an initial local team recruited and functioning across the centre’s core areas
• Core business processes transitioned into the centre without disruption to business-as-usual
• Clear reporting lines and working governance established as the operating model matures
• Reliable visibility for headquarters into progress, risks and resourcing decisions throughout the build
• A stable operating rhythm that a permanent successor can take on with minimal disruption
• A structured, well-documented handover

Interim Manager Required Skills:

A senior finance or shared services executive, Romanian and based in or close to Bucharest, with a personal track record of standing up shared service operations for international groups.

• Background as CFO, Finance Director, Head of Shared Services or comparable, with direct centre build-out experience
• Prior exposure to internationally governed, listed corporate environments, ideally within life sciences, diagnostics or a similarly regulated sector
• Hands-on experience transitioning core finance processes into a new location
• Practical experience coordinating the operational set-up of a new site
• Direct experience recruiting and building local teams from zero
• A pragmatic, hands-on leadership style suited to working without a fully defined playbook
• Fluent Romanian with genuine familiarity with Bucharest’s HR, labour law and shared services talent market
• Able to operate credibly across German and Swiss headquarters expectations and local Romanian delivery realities
• Comfortable being one of the early faces of a still-forming organisation

Track Record Required:

Interim Managers should be ready to provide concise, specific examples of shared service or nearshore centre build assignments they have personally led. Each example should cover:

• The size, scope and location of the centre built
• The starting situation and the mandate given
• The processes and functions transitioned, and how
• The team built, including recruitment approach and headcount reached
• The governance and reporting model established
• The measurable results achieved and the time taken to achieve them
• How the handover to permanent leadership was managed

Priority will be given to Interim Managers with recent, comparable experience in Romania or the wider Central and Eastern European region.

Key Requirements:

• Shared service or nearshore centre build-out experience in Eastern Europe
• Senior finance background including direct process migration expertise
• Hands-on recruiting and team-building from zero
• Comfortable working within an evolving governance and reporting structure
• Native or fluent Romanian with local HR and labour-law fluency
• Available at short notice

Type of Assignment:

Interim

Scope of Interim Assignment:

Greenfield, Transformation, Growth Acceleration

Functional Area of the Interim Manager:

General Management

Location:

Bucharest Romania

Duration:

6-12 months

Start Date:

Why work with us?

CE Interim delivers proven executive interim leaders within 72 hours across borders, cultures, and industries. We specialize in high-impact interim management for private equity firms, family offices, and global corporations facing moments of transition: digital transformation, market entry, operational turnaround, post-merger integration, or crisis.

What sets us apart is not just the speed or depth of our network, it’s how we lead. Every engagement is personally guided by a CE Interim managing partner: former CEOs, CFOs, or COOs who’ve been on your side of the table, steering organizations through high-stakes decisions.

With a global talent pool and operational reach spanning Europe, the USA, and the Middle East, we don’t fill roles, we build trust, lead transitions, and deliver outcomes.

As part of the Valtus Alliance, the world’s largest alliance of Executive Interim Management companies, we ensure seamless international execution through 25+ offices and 80+ senior partners in over 50 countries.

Executive Leadership Breaking Borders. Outcomes Without Compromise.