Readiness is
not a feeling,
it is a decision...

An unique opportunity has arisen for an experienced Senior Payroll Specialist to join a growing international organisation during a period of significant expansion.

This is a key role within the business, offering the opportunity to take ownership of payroll operations across multiple countries, drive process improvements, and play a central role in shaping future payroll strategy.

This is an excellent opportunity for a payroll professional looking to take on a highly visible role within a growing international organisation where they can influence change, improve processes and contribute to long-term success.

ABOUT THE ROLE:

As the payroll subject matter expert, you will oversee end-to-end payroll delivery across multiple jurisdictions, ensuring accuracy, compliance, efficiency, and an exceptional employee experience.

Key responsibilities include:

• Ownership of multi-country payroll operations
• Managing outsourced payroll providers and service delivery
• Ensuring compliance with payroll legislation and regulatory requirements
• Driving payroll process improvements, automation and efficiencies
• Supporting international payroll expansion projects
• Partnering closely with HR, Finance and key stakeholders
• Developing robust controls, reporting and audit processes
• Resolving complex payroll queries and escalations

ABOUT THE PERSON:

• Significant payroll experience with exposure to multiple entities
• Strong knowledge of payroll legislation, compliance and controls
• Experience with BrightPay, Megapay or similar payroll systems
• Advanced Excel and strong analytical capability
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills
• Proven ability to manage multiple deadlines and priorities
• Experience leading payroll transformation, implementation or continuous improvement initiatives would be highly advantageous

Barden are delighted to be partnering with a global business in the energy technology space as they seek to hire an ambitious and smart Senior Financial Accountant to join their well-established and highly collaborative finance team.

The successful person will work closely with the Finance Manager on a range of tasks including month-end reporting, variance analysis, statutory reporting and ad-hoc project work. This person will get broad exposure across the global business while liaising with multiple teams across finance and beyond.

“This would be a great move for someone looking to take the next step in their career as a qualified accountant, who wants to gain experience in gaining more hands-on experience of a business. We will support someone’s long-term career development” – Finance Manager

ABOUT THE ROLE:

Responsibilities include:

• End-to-end accounting for your assigned entities within the EMEA region
• Preparation of the month-end and quarter-end reporting processes
• Responsible for supporting and preparation of the statutory accounting activities for your assigned entities
• Completion of variance analysis and related reports for your entities
• Liaise with internal and external auditors and support the audit process by providing timely and accurate information and data
• Assistance with Corporate tax, VAT and payroll tasks
• The development of strong relationships with key stakeholders across the business
• Ad-hoc projects as required.

ABOUT THE PERSON:

• Recently qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CPA or CIMA) with 2+ years’ PQE;
• Experience in a multinational environment is a strong advantage but not essential;
• Strong Excel and systems experience;
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills;
• Strong team player with the ability to interact with stakeholders at all levels of the organisation.

Curious? Feel free to get in touch with Siobhán Sexton in Barden (siobhan.sexton@barden.ie) for more information.

Senior QA Automation Engineer | Cork City (Hybrid)

I’m working with an exciting client in Cork City that is heavily investing in AI and looking to hire a Senior QA Automation Engineer to join their growing team.

This is a fantastic opportunity for someone with 5+ years’ experience in test automation who wants to make a real impact in a collaborative, fast-moving environment.

Key responsibilities/experience required:

• Design, build, and maintain automated test suites for core functionality and regression testing using Python and Playwright.
• Develop and maintain BDD test coverage using Behave (Gherkin) where appropriate.
• Leverage Claude Code and Cursor to accelerate test development, debugging, and test maintenance.
• Integrate automated testing into Azure DevOps CI/CD pipelines to ensure fast, reliable feedback loops.

What’s on offer?

• Hybrid working: 3 days per week in the Cork city centre office
• Innovative company with a strong focus on AI
• Excellent culture and supportive team environment
• Opportunity to grow with the business and influence quality practices as the company scales

If you’re a Senior QA Automation Engineer with experience in the technologies listed above, please apply using the link below.

ROLE:                 Senior Manager, Finance Transformation

LOCATION:        Dublin South | Hybrid

CONTRACT:       12-month contract

Barden are delighted to partner with a high-profile Irish PLC on the appointment of a Senior Manager Finance Transformation. An exciting opportunity to play a key leadership role within a global finance transformation function, driving large-scale change across systems, processes and reporting.

ABOUT THE ROLE:

Key responsibilities:

• Lead the end-to-end delivery of global finance transformation initiatives, ensuring solutions are effectively implemented, embedded, and adopted across the organisation to deliver measurable business value
• Act as a critical conduit between Finance, Technology and Data teams, translating business needs into scalable system and process solutions, while ensuring alignment with overall strategic objectives
• Drive finance process optimisation across end-to-end workflows, identifying opportunities to simplify, standardise and automate processes to improve efficiency, control, and data integrity
• Champion the use of automation and digital tools to reduce manual intervention, enhance reporting capabilities, and enable more timely, insight-driven decision-making
• Partner closely with technical teams to shape solution design, ensuring finance requirements are clearly defined, prioritised, and delivered in a practical and sustainable way
• Proactively identify and evaluate emerging technologies, including AI and advanced analytics, to support the evolution of a more data-led, digitally enabled finance function
• Lead and influence the prioritisation of transformation initiatives across the finance function, balancing business needs, resource constraints, and strategic impact
• Embed robust governance and control frameworks into all transformation activities, ensuring compliance with SOX and audit requirements by design
• Drive a culture of continuous improvement, encouraging innovation, ownership, and accountability across finance teams and transformation programmes
• Support and enable finance stakeholders through change, ensuring business readiness and building capability in new systems, tools, and ways of working

ABOUT THE PERSON:  

What you will ideally need:

• Qualified ACA or ACCA professional with significant post-qualification experience and a strong foundation in finance and business operations.
• Proven track record delivering finance transformation, process improvement and automation initiatives within complex environments.
• Strong programme and stakeholder management capabilities, with experience influencing and collaborating across multiple functions.
• Commercially minded problem-solver who can translate complexity into clear, actionable solutions and drive change effectively.
• Experience working with enterprise finance systems, reporting tools and data-driven transformation programmes; knowledge of SOX and controls environments is highly desirable.

Barden is thrilled to be partnering with our client, a leading Biopharmaceutical company, as they expand their Irish and European operations. They are now seeking a Quality Assurance Lead, to play a key role in this pivotal phase of growth.

As Quality Assurance Lead for Europe, you will play a key role in shaping the future of their Irish and European operations. This is a unique opportunity to combine strategic oversight with hands-on execution.

If you are looking for a chance to a make real, lasting impact and help shape a company’s growth story, this role offers exactly that.

ABOUT THE ROLE:

What You will Do:

• Lead the deployment and validation of Veeva eQMS for document control, deviation, CAPA, and change control management.
• Author and manage Quality Manuals, SOPs, and governance policies to ensure traceability, scalability, and operational efficiency.
• Administer the QMS post-implementation, driving continuous improvement and process harmonization across product categories and global interfaces.
• Design, implement, and maintain a fit-for-purpose PQS that supports MAH and WDA obligations, aligned with EU GMP, GDP, and ICH Q10 principles.
• Act as a primary QA contact with HPRA, MHRA, and other competent authorities during inspections, audits, and regulatory interactions.
• Ensure all aspects of product release, distribution, and market quality align with regulatory commitments and approved dossiers.
• Establish and maintain the supplier quality management system, including qualification, audits, ongoing monitoring, and periodic performance reviews.
• Oversee contract manufacturing organisations (CMOs), contract testing laboratories, and quality-relevant service providers to ensure adherence to technical agreements
• Oversee product lifecycle quality, including batch documentation review, complaint management, Product Quality Reviews (PQRs), and trending.
• Lead or support root cause investigations, risk assessments, and CAPA implementation.
• Collaborate with Regulatory Affairs and Pharmacovigilance to ensure post-market quality alignment across labelling, variations, and product changes.

ABOUT THE PERSON:

• 10+ years of experience in Quality Assurance or compliance, ideally within a MAH, CMO oversight, or pharmaceutical distribution setting.
• Bachelor’s degree: Ideally in Chemistry, Microbiology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, or a related life science; advanced degrees are a plus.
• Experience with Veeva, Trackwise, MasterControl, or similar systems.
• Proven track record in designing, implementing, or modernizing Quality Management Systems (QMS/PQS) fully compliant with GMP and GDP standards.
• Hands-on experience managing regulatory inspections and audits (HPRA, MHRA, EMA, FDA).
• Supplier qualification, vendor management, and oversight of external manufacturing partners.

Barden has been retained by our global specialty chemicals client to support them on appointing a Commercial Director for Ireland.

This is a key Senior Commercial Leadership appointment as the organisation establishes a long-term presence in Ireland to support the pharmaceutical and life sciences sector. The business is part of an international group with operations throughout Europe and Asia, which are now entering an exciting phase of European expansion and market development.

The Opportunity

Reporting into senior leadership, the Commercial Director will take ownership of Irish market entry and long-term commercial development.

This is a high-impact, market-facing role responsible for building early-stage relationships across pharmaceutical manufacturers, CDMOs/CMOs, and specialty chemical distributors, before developing deeper, higher-value partnerships in CDMO and custom synthesis over time.

The role combines commercial strategy, technical engagement, and market development, and would suit a leader who enjoys building markets from the ground up while working closely with global technical and operational teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the commercial strategy for Ireland
• Build relationships across pharma manufacturers, CDMOs/CMOs, and specialty chemical distributors
• Lead market entry via specialty chemicals and intermediates to establish trust and credibility
• Progress accounts into CDMO and custom synthesis opportunities over time
• Act as the commercial and technical interface with customers
• Provide market insight on pricing, regulation, and supply chain trends
• Work closely with global technical, supply chain, and compliance teams
• Represent the business at customer meetings and industry events
• Support the development of future local capability as the market expands

About You

• 10+ years’ experience in business development, technical sales, or commercial leadership within chemicals, pharma, CDMO, or related industries
• Strong technical background in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related field preferred
• Proven ability to build trusted relationships in complex technical B2B environments
• Strong commercial acumen with both strategic and hands-on capability
• Entrepreneurial mindset with experience operating in growth or build-out environments
• Strong communicator with ability to translate technical capability into commercial value

Barden has been retained by our global specialty chemicals client to support them on appointing a Commercial Director for Ireland.

This is a key Senior Commercial Leadership appointment as the organisation establishes a long-term presence in Ireland to support the pharmaceutical and life sciences sector. The business is part of an international group with operations throughout Europe and Asia, which are now entering an exciting phase of European expansion and market development.

The Opportunity

Reporting into senior leadership, the Commercial Director will take ownership of Irish market entry and long-term commercial development.

This is a high-impact, market-facing role responsible for building early-stage relationships across pharmaceutical manufacturers, CDMOs/CMOs, and specialty chemical distributors, before developing deeper, higher-value partnerships in CDMO and custom synthesis over time.

The role combines commercial strategy, technical engagement, and market development, and would suit a leader who enjoys building markets from the ground up while working closely with global technical and operational teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the commercial strategy for Ireland
• Build relationships across pharma manufacturers, CDMOs/CMOs, and specialty chemical distributors
• Lead market entry via specialty chemicals and intermediates to establish trust and credibility
• Progress accounts into CDMO and custom synthesis opportunities over time
• Act as the commercial and technical interface with customers
• Provide market insight on pricing, regulation, and supply chain trends
• Work closely with global technical, supply chain, and compliance teams
• Represent the business at customer meetings and industry events
• Support the development of future local capability as the market expands

About You

• 10+ years’ experience in business development, technical sales, or commercial leadership within chemicals, pharma, CDMO, or related industries
• Strong technical background in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related field preferred
• Proven ability to build trusted relationships in complex technical B2B environments
• Strong commercial acumen with both strategic and hands-on capability
• Entrepreneurial mindset with experience operating in growth or build-out environments
• Strong communicator with ability to translate technical capability into commercial value

A large, multi-site UK & Ireland services organisation is creating a brand new, business facing leadership role to fix fragmented reporting and build a centralised reporting and insights capability from scratch. They’re mid-way through a major cloud data platform (Microsoft Fabric) rollout and want this hire shaping its reporting and governance structure from here on.

About the Role:

• Own enterprise reporting strategy and standards across the business (excluding finance).
• Move reporting from fragmented and reactive to standardised, trusted, and insight-led – with a path toward predictive/AI-driven insights.
• Define common KPIs, data definitions, and governance; tackle current data access/security gaps.
• Be the single point of accountability for reporting demand and prioritisation.
• Build and lead a reporting/analytics team (currently none exists).
• Present insights directly to senior leadership and exec forums.

About the Person:

• Track record operating at Head of / senior leadership level in reporting, BI, analytics, or performance management.
• Demonstrated success owning enterprise-wide reporting strategy and driving standardisation across a large, complex organisation.
• Credible and influential at C-suite and board level, with a track record of shaping how a business makes decisions.
• Bonus: multi-site/regulated experience, Power BI/Fabric/Databricks exposure, data lake/platform transformation leadership.
• An outsider’s perspective is welcome – they want someone to challenge how things are done.

We’re working with a well-established Cork business, based in Little Island, who are adding a new Administrator to their team. This is a permanent role with flexible start times, and the chance to work in a state-of-the-art facility alongside a team of six administrators working closely with colleagues across sales, accounts, purchasing and dispatch.

ABOUT THE ROLE:

• Be a point of contact for customers, handling queries around products, orders and deliveries
• Process orders, investigate shortages or claims, and review “on hold” sales orders
• Support Sales Representatives with admin tasks and account management
• Help with monthly reporting and product information requests
• Provide support to Dispatch and Purchasing as needed
• Share valuable customer feedback with the wider team
• Keep on top of general office admin

ABOUT THE PERSON:

• Previous experience in administration, sales support or customer service
• Confident with MS Office (Excel in particular)
• Organised, adaptable, and a strong team player

This is a varied administration role where you’ll work closely with colleagues across different teams and play an important part in supporting the wider business.