Group Financial Planning & Analysis Manager

Job description / Role

Purpose

Responsible for managing the Group's financial planning in its several components, being it either in-year forecasting, yearly budgeting or medium & long-term financial planning and scenario building, and responsible for building their respective communication materials, incl. presentations to CFO, Shareholders, Board, and external parties. Support in the preparation and review of management reporting materials, in close collaboration with the rest of the Financial Planning & Strategy department (Mgmt. Reporting, Finance Business Partners, and Corporate Strategy) and the rest of the Finance division (namely, Financial Reporting & Control, Treasury, and the CFO). This role is to report to the SM of Group Financial Planning, together with an existing team member.

Accountabilities

- Financial Planning & Analysis
- Manage end-to-end process of in-year forecasting, budgeting and long-term planning activities, incl. defining calendar and activities/ owners to meet set deadlines and identifying key assumptions;
- Manage inputs from several internal stakeholders, incl. ensuring comprehensiveness of inputs collected and alignment of assumptions;
- Prepare forecasted Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statements for the entities being forecasted;
- Liaise with Finance Business Partners and the rest of the FP&Strategy team, with Treasury, Financial Reporting and other finance and business functions to fully understand, and challenge, forecasts prepared;
- Prepare top-down forecasts and what if scenarios, based on deep knowledge of key value/ cost drivers for each of the areas being forecasted;
- Highlight risks and opportunities in business proposals, challenging assumptions, proposing revisions and suggestions alternatives and thus assisting leadership in the evaluation of impact of proposals on business overall.
- Carry out valuations of EAG subsidiaries and apprise management of company's assets to assist in strategic decision making.

- Capex, fleet ownership and debt forecasting

- Prepare quarterly capex forecasts, in close coordination with Finance Business Partners, Fleet Planning and Financial Reporting;
- Prepare fleet ownership forecasts as per IFRS16, together with Fleet Planning, Treasury and Financial Reporting, and suggest opportunities for efficient management of cost and of leverage;
- Prepare debt forecasts, together with Treasury and Financial reporting;
- Reflect forecasts prepared on the group financial plans being put forth.
- Prepare all related communication materials, being it either to internal stakeholders (Strategy & Investment Committees or Board Meetings, for example) or external stakeholders (e.g., support in the preparation of materials for investors or to support discussion with rating agencies).
- Existing tools and processes: improve existing tools and processes for the management of the budgeting and forecasting processes, incl. playing an active role in the rolling out of the new budgeting tool - Anaplan.
- Produce and analyze monthly cash flow statements, incl. explanation of key differences vs. budget and forecasts, in close liaison with Financial Reporting
- Carry out benchmarking exercises regularly, together with Corporate Strategy, to allow for objective evaluation of performance against peers and help identify/challenge areas of improvement for business
- Ensure internal control and compliance with all Group policies and procedures and assist internal audit for ad-hoc requests on data sharing for owned processes.
- Requires engaging with stakeholders across several areas and of different tenures, incl. Chiefs, VPs, Heads of Department, and Senior Managers. This is particularly the case with the rest of the team (Finance Business Partners and Corporate Strategy), the VP of Financial Planning & Strategy, the VP of Treasury and the VP of Financial Reporting & Control and their appointees (e.g., Head of Accounting or Investor Relations) and with the CFO and CEO.

Requirements

Education & Experience

- Masters or a Bachelors Degree in Business/Finance or equivalent;
- Minimum of 6 years of work experience with at least 4 years in accounting, finance, budgeting and/or forecasting;
- Preferred experience in corporate finance roles; experience with airlines is a plus;
- Proficient in building and managing complex excel models (experience in other tools such as Anaplan is a plus);
- Ability to make recommendations based on data and analysis;
- Ability to apply governance, risk and compliance components, and to maintain confidentiality;
- Ability to build top-down but detailed and visually appealing decks;
- Advanced communication skills - English (verbal and writing); fluency in Arabic is an advantage.

About Etihad Airways

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, was formed in 2003 and quickly went on to become one of the world's leading airlines. From its home in Abu Dhabi, Etihad flies to passenger and cargo destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and North America. Together with Etihad's codeshare partners, Etihad's network offers access to hundreds of international destinations. In recent years, Etihad has received numerous awards for its superior service and products, cargo offering, loyalty programme and more. Etihad is recognised as one of the world's leading airlines in response to COVID-19 and was the first airline in the world to fully vaccinate its crew on board.

About the Company

Etihad Airways is the National Airline of the United Arab Emirates. The airline was set up by a Royal Decree in July 2003, with Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, as its hub. Etihad started commercial operations in November 2003.

With Etihad, everyone who flies with us is welcomed as our guest.

This simple credo illuminates everything we do, from big things like making sure that our fleet is one of the most advanced in the sky, to small touches like letting you choose the films you watch.

Were proud to be the National Airline of the United Arab Emirates. At the crossroads between Europe and Asia, our home reflects our commitment to bringing the world closer together - as does our highly cosmopolitan staff.