Senior Financial Controller

Job description / Role

Company Overview

Established in the 1930s as a trading business, Al-Futtaim Group today is one of the most diversified and progressive, privately held regional businesses headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Structured into five operating divisions: automotive, financial services, real estate, retail, and healthcare; employing more than 35,000 employees across more than 20 countries in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, Al-Futtaim Group partners with over 200 of the world's most admired and innovative brands. Al-Futtaim Group’s entrepreneurship and relentless customer focus enables the organization to continue to grow and expand; responding to the changing needs of our customers within the societies in which we operate.

By upholding our values of respect, excellence, collaboration, and integrity, Al-Futtaim Group continues to enrich the lives and aspirations of our customers each and every day.

Overview of the Role

The Senior Finance Controller plays a critical role in leading the financial controlling agenda across Al-Futtaim’s divisions. Reporting to the Group Head - Controlling, this senior group-level role involves ensuring high-quality financial reporting, strict compliance with IFRS and Group accounting policies, effective audit practices, and fostering a culture of financial excellence and integrity. The role requires regular interfacing with senior stakeholders across the organization, including the Group Controller, Group CFO, Divisional CFOs, and Financial Controllers, demanding excellent communication and stakeholder management skills. Strong influence and negotiation abilities are essential to drive consensus on financial policies and initiatives across different divisions.

What You Will Do

General

• Lead and drive the financial controlling agenda across all divisions ensuring high-quality financial reporting and strict compliance with IFRS and Group accounting policies.
• Liaise with Group Functions; Divisional/BU Controllers, FSSC to set, govern, and assess divisional controlling programs and promote best practices.
• Govern and update the Group’s accounting policies framework and roll out updated accounting policies across all divisions.
• Establish a robust financial control framework for balance sheet and P&L substantiation with monthly attestation/sign-off process for financial accounts.
• Collaborate with FSSC and support divisions in statutory financial statement preparation and regulatory compliance.
• Engage with Group Reporting financial reporting priorities to Group management and external stakeholders and regulators.
• Lead initiatives for finance process improvement and system standardization across divisions, including ERP and finance system integration.
• Act as the primary liaison between Group Functions, FSSC, and Divisional Finance Controllers to achieve controlling agenda.
• Enable effective external audit program management to fulfill business requirements by coordinating audit preparedness and support.
• Facilitate knowledge sharing and best practice dissemination among divisions to drive a cohesive controlling agenda.

Required Skills to Be Successful

• Expert knowledge of IFRS and financial consolidation.
• Advanced proficiency in MS Excel and experience with enterprise ERP systems (preferably SAP).
• Strong analytical skills and capability to manage large data sets.
• Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail.

What Qualifies You for the Role

• Chartered Accountant (CA), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), or equivalent qualification required.
• 12–15+ years of progressive experience in finance, including significant exposure to financial controlling and compliance at a divisional or group level.
• Proven track record of leading or influencing finance teams and driving cross-functional projects or initiatives.
• Experience with ERP implementations or finance transformation programs in a large organization is highly desirable.

About Al-Futtaim Group Real Estate

The real estate development and operations arm of Al-Futtaim, Al-Futtaim Group Real Estate is responsible for a multi-billion-dollar portfolio across MENA. With high-quality residential, business, retail, tourism, educational, and healthcare developments, the master developer caters to the diverse needs of cities and communities in the region. From origination, conception, development, sales, procurement, and construction of mega-projects and the leasing, operation, and management of these projects after completion, Al-Futtaim Group Real Estate (AFGRE) has been developing and managing owned landbanks, unlocking the economic potential of the region and contributing to future development for more than 40 years.

Our focus is to enable and invest in meaningful relationships to make our properties the best places to live and work, build additional products and services, and enable partnerships to create true value to our customers throughout their entire experience with us.

AFGRE is responsible for master planning of all projects in its portfolio, including two large scale mixed use destinations: Dubai Festival City and Cairo Festival City.

About Al-Futtaim Malls

Al-Futtaim Malls provides development and asset management expertise, specializing in building retail-led super regional malls in prime locations across MENA and beyond. With a proven track record of creating both sustainable revenue growth and value enhancement for tenants, Al-Futtaim Malls delivers exceptional experiences and exciting shopping environments for customers.

Part of the Al-Futtaim Group, Al-Futtaim Malls leadership team brings more than 30 years of experience and a deep understanding and knowledge of the retail sector, both from a shopper’s point of view but as curators of space or landlords to other brands. The company has a directly managed portfolio including over 9 million sqft of retail space across four malls in the MENA region and two under development. Malls under the Al-Futtaim Malls portfolio include Dubai Festival City Mall and Festival Plaza in the UAE, Cairo Festival City Mall in Egypt, Doha Festival City in Qatar, and Zenata Mall, Morocco.

Leveraging on the expertise of its parent company, Al-Futtaim Malls established PLEX Management Services offering a full array of services including asset management and development, leasing, and brand experience expertise to shopping mall landlords and retail organizations globally. Implementing global best practice and deploying Al-Futtaim Mall’s deep understanding of mall management and retail dynamics, PLEX promises to deliver continuous growth and long-term value for its partners.

About Al-Futtaim Engineering & Technologies

Al-Futtaim Engineering & Technologies offers customers complete engineering and systems integration solutions.

The engineering arm operates in the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt providing a wide variety of products and services from air conditioning, scaffolding and access solutions, elevators and escalators, control and life safety, facilities management, building products, MEP, energy management, technology infrastructure, and digital transformation.

The technologies division provides complete business solutions to large, medium, and small customers that include contact centre solutions, business applications, business intelligence, data management, advanced analytics amongst others. The IT infrastructure portfolio comprises IP telephony, ELV systems, networking solutions, professional audio-visual solutions, and managed services.

These solutions are further complemented by services that include project management, installation, testing, commissioning, and after-sales maintenance contracts.

About the Company

Established in the 1930's, the Al-Futtaim Group initially operated as a trading enterprise. Rapid development throughout the 1940's and 50's saw it establish itself regionally as an integrated commercial, industrial and services organisation, positioning itself one of the leading business houses in the lower Gulf region. Today, it operates collectively over 40 companies bearing the Al-Futtaim name, dominates many market segments in the UAE, and has expanded its sphere of operation to include Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Egypt.

The Group comprises a diverse range of strategically positioned operating subsidiaries and associate companies, structured to give the Al-Futtaim Group the flexibility and versatility to keep ahead of local competition while keeping pace with the ever-evolving global business scenario. The Groups continued investment in world-class systems technology is clear evidence of its commitment to maintain leading edge performance and service delivery.

The success of the Al-Futtaim Group can be attributed to a business approach that combines the ability to change with the traditional values of integrity, service and social responsibility that define its core business philosophy. This, linked with the Groups belief in decentralisation, gives the heads of the operating companies a high degree of functional autonomy and authority, providing the Group with essential flexibility, and individual employees a clearly defined work culture and sense of responsibility.