Group Head of Financial Planning, Analysis and Control

Purpose of the role

The Group Head of Financial Planning, Analyisis and Control (HFAC) is part of the senior management of the Finance department and reports to the Group CFO. The team is focused on three functions; business control (OPEX, CAPEX, and Overheads), P&L Cycle planning and forecast, and KPI Performance Management. In total the team consists of seven FTE.

The essence of the role consists of three elements. First, it is vital to deliver accurate and actionable financial and non-financial KPIs and metrics-based steering information to all business owners: Operator, Developer, and Energy. Second, manage the budget and planning cycle and ensure that countries and group management are aware of performance against budget and KPI targets and that remainder analysis is provided for management to develop corrective actions. Third, ensure that control systems are in place, supported by its users to produce steering information, such as dashboards, budget planning tools, and analysis tools.

Key responsibilities

• Manage and coach a team of three direct reports;
• Manage the budget and planning cycle and prepare the budget for senior management;
• Prepare long-term financial planning forecasts;
• Deliver Group P&L and support / review country P&L;
• Manage forecasting, deviation analysis, and perform variance analysis;
• Evaluate both financial and non financial KPIs, proactively discuss with countries and senior management to prepare for decision-making in the areas of business development, construction, property management and others;
• KPI and metrics reporting (performance management);
• Contribute to developing dashboards and intelligence, and actively use them as steering instruments;
• Ensure that regional development controllers have adequate tools and reporting to support country projects;
• Develop and implement processes for overhead, opex and capex control and reporting;
• Work with Funding and Consolidation to produce cash-flow forecasting and manage variances in reporting;
• Participate in internal auditing processes.

Key Success Factors

The person in this role is likely to be more successful when highly supportive to the country CFO’s in delivering actionable steering information, such as dashboards and advice on corrective actions. Modernaisation of tools, timely guidance on the budget cycle and a clear vision on the added value of business control are essential. Implementing country P&L as a guiding tool for local performance is an important factor. The predictive and forecasting part of business control is underdeveloped and it would help to professionalise this discipline within CTP. The role requires a high level of collaborative skills and internal stakeholder management. The successful candidate feels comfortable in a fast-paced entrepreneurial and hands-on environment.

Key requirements