Finance Director - FMCG

Job description / Role

The Business Unit Finance Director is a crucial strategic and operational role at the heart of the FMCG & retail arm of our client – which is a diverse local group.

This particular BU has seen significant growth in the past 3 years, with new stores opening up monthly.

Reporting to the Group CFO and partnering with the GM, the Finance Director assumes full responsibility for all financial aspects of the business. This involves analyzing financial performance, advising the GM on these findings and implementing recommendations to achieve the most profitable results for the business. Only someone with significant experience in FMCG or Retail will be shortlisted for this job.

This is a hands-on role, overseeing a small finance team, covering commercial and accounting aspects.

The successful Finance Director will be a fully chartered accountant, possessing exceptional commercial acumen and strategic business insight. As an operational leader, the Finance Director will manage the departmental budget and implement robust financial systems and processes.

Responsibilities

• Lead the annual budgeting and quarterly forecasting process
• Conduct IRR analysis and feasibility studies for potential new brand and retail store acquisitions and provide analysis to assist decision making
• Leading the finance team
• Margin analysis, advising on sale prices
• Oversee the inventory/stock turnovers, ensuring not too much stock is ordered throughout the seasons
• Ensure financial controls, systems and processes and ensures accuracy and integrity of the BU financial records
• Lead the preparation of Management Reports, monthly performance reviews and provide ad hoc analysis on business initiatives. Provide insightful drivers of performance to senior stakeholders across the business.
• Provide guidance and advice, related to the management of cash flow, cost controls and expenses for different departments of the BU identifying potential financial opportunities and weaknesses and recommending corrective actions
• Provide business insight to Internal Stakeholders and decision makers with insightful information to optimize decisions and challenge when required
• Evaluate and appraise investments, capital expenditures and financing of projects and provide guidance and recommendation
• Carry out analysis of the business including external environment (retail Malls) to support sales growth and improve/protect profitability
• Develop KPIs to report business performance measured against targets, strategies, and trends
• Able to turn business decisions into measurable metrics from both quantitative and qualitative information that can be tracked and managed
• Provide ad hoc modelling and analysis, develop scenarios to investigate ongoing or one-time operational issues or drive better management decisions
• Responsible for accurate and timely MIS reporting (SAP/Power BI) with a thorough and detailed analysis of variances as per internal guidelines and timelines

Requirements

• Track history of leading a commercial entity in FMCG and/or retail
• Past experience managing a finance team with 5 years at senior FC or junior FD level
• Professional Certificate (i.e. CFA, CPA, CMA or CA)
• Maximum 15-20 years total number of years Post Qualified
• Due to diversity reasons, our client prefers female candidates this time, but male candidates can also be considered

Thank you for your interest. All applications are viewed and evaluated according to the role requirements. We aim to contact shortlisted candidates within 2 weeks. As we often receive a high volume of applications, we are unable to reply to everyone. If you have not heard back from us within 2 weeks, please consider your application unsuccessful.

About the Company

Inspire Selection is an award winning recruitment agency, headquartered in Dubai which recruits across the Middle East region. We employ highly knowledgeable, professional consultants who are experts in connecting the right people with the right opportunities. Our reputation has been built upon our honesty, integrity and our ability to source candidates of the highest calibre right across our specialist sectors. As a result, we are recruitment partners to a wide spectrum of organisations - from leading blue chip companies to smaller, local businesses. Sectors we cover include HR, Administration, Finance & Accounting, Legal, Sales & Marketing including Digital Marketing, IT, Oil/Gas/Energy, Engineering, Procurement, Manufacturing, Higher Education.