Finance Manager

Job description / Role

The Head of Finance is responsible for managing the financial planning and analysis process, reviewing monthly financial reporting from country operations and consolidating financial results. The role will also involve, ensuring compliance with accounting and company policies, providing overall financial leadership and guidance to country finance teams in relation to standardizing the company's policies and procedures.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES
- Manage the monthly financial reporting process and analyse monthly results from country operations.
- Prepare consolidated financial results and provide a monthly summary highlighting the major issues and trends per individual country.
- Provide big picture analysis reports to the Executive Committee on the financial status of the country operations.
- Prepare weekly reports on business critical drivers (eg exchange rates, sugar prices, sales volumes etc) and highlight significant trends for the CEO and Executive Committee.
- Review, improve and standardize the formats of reports received from country operations.
- Oversee the standardization and implementation of IFRS accounting policies in country operations.
- Ensure compliance with accounting policies.
- Ensure reports are prepared daily in country operations reconciling daily sales to daily banking and prepare a weekly summary of these results for the CEO and Executive Committee.
- Manage the annual business planning and mid year review process.
- Benchmark financial results and ratios between Continental Beverages companies and with other bottling businesses.
- Propose areas for possible cost reductions, primarily through performing analyses and benchmarking of country operations.
- Provide financial forecasts, financial modelling and scenario planning highlighting the impact of market variables.
- Ensure the standard implementation and use of Continental Beverages approved IT systems in country operations.
- Provide added value financial leadership and guidance to country operations.
- Assist in the evaluation of expansion into new countries.

Requirements

- Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance or Economics, ideally with an MBA.
- Qualified / Certified Accountant or CMA.
- Solid understanding of IFRS.
- A minimum of 7 years experience in a financial reporting environment in a multinational company, preferably FMCG and/or manufacturing.
- Strong IS /IT ERP systems experience (preferably Navision).
- Excellent reporting and presentation skills.
- Ability to understand business drivers and design and develop management reports for key business performance indicators.
- Hands-on and detail oriented while understanding the big picture.
- Results oriented; gets things done.
- Focus on continual improvement.
- Ability to motivate and influence others.
- Firm, but fair minded.
- Pragmatic and resilient.
- Willingness and ability to travel within Africa - about 20% travel.

About the Company

Continental Beverages is PepsiCos largest independent bottler group in Africa with 6,000 employees and 14 bottling plants located in Nigeria, Tanzania and Ghana. Continental Beverages is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lebanon-based MAK Holdings and the companys head office is located in Beirut.

The company began operations in 1960, in Nigeria, as the Seven-Up Bottling Company and eventually it took over the Pepsi bottling business in Nigeria. The Nigerian operation, still known as the Seven-Up Bottling Company, has market leadership in Lagos, the largest city in Nigeria, and has a nationwide market share of 40%.

In 2001, Continental Beverages acquired the Pepsi bottling business in Tanzania and in 2005 the company took market leadership in the capital city Dar es Salaam and other key cities. Nationwide, our market share is 38%.

In 2005, the company was named PepsiCos bottler of the year in the Africa and Middle East region, the fourth time it won that honor in the previous ten years. In 2009, it was runner-up in PepsiCos worldwide bottler of the year competition, after having won the worldwide honors for the first time in 2003.

In 2008, the company acquired the Pepsi bottling business in Ghana and we are improving Pepsis market share and performance in that country.

In 2010, the company broke ground on building a bottling plant in Kenya and production and sales of PepsiCo products will begin in 2012.

Continental Beverages currently produces and sells 8 million servings of Pepsi-Cola, 7-Up, Mirinda and Mountain Dew products every day