Key Responsibilities
Financial Strategy & Leadership
- Develop and execute the company’s financial strategy in alignment with overall business objectives.
- Provide strategic financial guidance to the GM/CEO and senior management.
- Establish financial objectives, policies, procedures, and internal controls.
- Lead the Finance function and ensure effective organizational structure and talent development.
- Support long-term business planning and strategic decision-making.
Financial Planning & Performance Management
- Lead the annual budgeting and business planning process.
- Develop and monitor financial forecasts and rolling forecasts.
- Analyze actual performance against budget, forecast, and prior-year results.
- Provide management with clear financial insights, business performance analysis, and recommendations.
- Establish and monitor financial KPIs across the organization.
- Identify financial risks, opportunities, and areas for performance improvement.
Commercial Finance
- Partner closely with Sales, Marketing, and Supply Chain teams to drive profitable growth.
- Evaluate pricing strategies, promotions, discounts, and trade spending.
- Monitor customer and channel profitability.
- Analyze product, brand, category, and channel profitability.
- Support commercial teams in evaluating new customers, products, markets, and business opportunities.
- Provide financial analysis for promotional campaigns and assess their return on investment.
- Monitor Gross-to-Net sales and ensure appropriate control over commercial deductions.
- Challenge commercial assumptions and ensure decisions are supported by sound financial analysis.
Working Capital & Cash Flow Management
- Lead working capital optimization across the business.
- Monitor cash flow, liquidity, receivables, payables, and inventory levels.
- Improve cash conversion cycle and optimize cash utilization.
- Establish appropriate credit control policies and customer credit limits.
- Monitor overdue receivables and ensure effective collection processes.
- Work closely with Supply Chain and Procurement to optimize inventory and payment terms.
Inventory & Supply Chain Finance
- Monitor inventory valuation, stock levels, and slow-moving and obsolete inventory.
- Partner with Supply Chain to improve inventory turnover and reduce working capital requirements.
- Analyze supply chain costs, logistics costs, and procurement savings.
- Ensure accurate product costing and margin analysis.
- Support decisions related to sourcing, distribution, warehousing, and logistics.
Financial Reporting & Compliance
- Ensure accurate and timely monthly, quarterly, and annual financial reporting.
- Oversee financial statements and management reporting.
- Ensure compliance with applicable accounting standards, tax regulations, and local laws.
- Manage relationships with external auditors, tax advisors, banks, and other financial institutions.
- Ensure effective financial controls and appropriate governance across the organization.
Cost Management & Profitability
- Develop and implement cost-control initiatives without compromising business growth.
- Monitor operating expenses and identify cost optimization opportunities.
- Analyze gross margin, contribution margin, EBITDA, and overall profitability.
- Drive financial discipline across departments.
- Ensure business decisions consider both revenue growth and profitability.
Risk Management & Internal Controls
- Identify and manage financial and business risks.
- Maintain a strong internal control environment.
- Ensure appropriate segregation of duties and financial authorization processes.
- Establish risk mitigation plans and monitor their effectiveness.
- Ensure compliance with company policies and corporate governance requirements.
Business Partnership & Decision Support
- Act as a strategic partner to the CEO, Country Manager, and senior leadership team.
- Provide financial modeling and scenario analysis for major business decisions.
- Evaluate investments, capital expenditure, new business opportunities, and strategic initiatives.
- Translate financial data into clear business insights and actionable recommendations.
- Support organizational transformation and business growth initiatives.
Qualifications
- Fluent in English and Arabic.
- Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business Administration, or a related field.
- Professional qualification such as CPA, ACCA, CMA, or equivalent is highly preferred.
- 15+ years of progressive experience in Finance and Accounting, with significant senior leadership experience.
- Proven experience as a Finance Director, CFO, Financial Controller, or in a similar senior finance leadership position.
- Strong experience in the Consumer Goods industry is highly preferred.
- Strong commercial finance and business partnering experience.
- Proven experience in budgeting, forecasting, financial planning, and performance management.
- Strong knowledge of working capital, inventory, cash flow, and profitability management.
- Experience managing and developing finance teams.
- Strong knowledge of financial reporting, taxation, internal controls, and corporate governance.
- Experience working with ERP systems and financial reporting tools.
- Strong analytical, strategic, and decision-making skills.
- Excellent communication, negotiation, and leadership skills.
