Senior Manager / Associate Director, Strategic Finance & Programme Performance

Job Summary

We are seeking an experienced and strategic Senior Manager or Associate Director, who will serve as a trusted advisor to programme teams on fiscal sustainability and play a key role in driving data-informed financial decision-making. This is an individual contributor role that combines operational financial insight with strategic planning capabilities, contributing to the organisation's overall financial health and sustainability. This role focuses on evaluating income and cost structures across multiple programme areas, assessing the financial viability of new initiatives, and monitoring whether existing programmes are on track against forecasts. The role will collaborate closely with the Office of Finance, which handles expense booking and grant monitoring, while independently delivering strategic and operational insights through data analysis, financial modelling, and business advisory support. The role requires the ability to synthesise complex financial information, anticipate risks and opportunities, and proactively make clear, actionable recommendations to guide programme and institutional planning. The role includes advising programme teams on optimal utilisation of grants and supporting the preparation of funding requests to grantors.

Key Responsibilities

1. Programme Income & Cost Structure Analysis
2. Analyse programme-level revenue and cost data across different programme areas
3. Identify structural inefficiencies or funding gaps
4. Recommend financial improvements to enhance sustainability
5. Financial Modelling & Forecast Tracking
6. Develop and maintain financial models for forecasting income and expenditure
7. Track actuals against forecasts and investigate variances
8. Support strategic planning, budgeting, and financial review processes
9. New Initiative Profitability Assessment
10. Review business cases and financial projections for new programmes or projects
11. Evaluate financial viability and sustainability
12. Provide recommendations to support both tactical decisions and long-term business planning
13. Collaboration with Office of Finance
14. Align expense bookings and grant monitoring data with programme-level analysis
15. Coordinate with OFN to ensure data integrity and reporting consistency
16. Reporting & Communication
17. Prepare monthly and ad-hoc reports for senior management
18. Present insights and recommendations to internal stakeholders

Requirements

Education:

1. Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or related field
2. Chartered Accountant (CA) qualification is a strong advantage

Experience:

1. Prior experience in an FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods) environment is strongly preferred
2. Minimum 8 years in financial planning & analysis (FP&A), strategic finance, or programme-level financial leadership roles
3. Proven ability to analyse unstructured data and build robust financial models
4. Experience working independently and communicating with both finance and non-finance teams

Skills:

1. Strong Excel and financial modelling proficiency
2. Familiarity with business intelligence tools (e.g. Power BI, Tableau) and experience with Python for data analysis are both advantages
3. Working knowledge of enterprise finance systems (e.g. SAP) and Xero accounting software
4. Excellent communication and presentation skills