Job Description: Finance Manager (Supporting the CFO)
Role Overview
The Finance Manager will support the CFO / Director – Finance in managing the end‑to‑end finance operations for the campus / business unit. The role is responsible for driving robust financial planning, performance monitoring, controls, and compliance, while acting as a key execution partner to convert strategic intent into operational outcomes.
This role is hands‑on, detail‑oriented, and critical to ensuring financial discipline, timely reporting, and decision‑ready insights for leadership. The Finance Manager will work closely with academic, operations, and central finance teams in a matrix environment and will oversee outsourced accounting partners.
The role reports directly to the CFO / Director – Finance
Key Responsibilities
- Budgeting, Forecasting & Performance Management
- Support preparation of annual budgets and rolling forecasts aligned with campus plans and intake strategies.
- Track actuals vs. budget; analyse variances and highlight risks and opportunities.
- Prepare periodic performance reports covering revenue, costs, margins, and KPIs at program and cohort level.
- Assist in monitoring unit economics and identifying margin improvement initiatives.
- Financial Analysis & Decision Support
- Provide financial analysis for pricing decisions, scholarships, faculty hiring, infrastructure costs, and vendor contracts.
- Support evaluation of new programs, initiatives, partnerships, and operational changes.
- Prepare breakeven, ROI, and sustainability analyses for proposals reviewed by the CFO and leadership team.
- Translate complex financial data into clear, management‑ready insights.
- Accounting, Close & MIS
- Oversee day‑to‑day accounting activities managed by outsourced accounting firms.
- Ensure timely monthly closes and accuracy of books and management information systems (MIS).
- Review journals, reconciliations, and schedules to ensure compliance with accounting standards.
- Maintain integrity of financial data across systems and reports.
- Controls, Compliance & Audit
- Support the CFO in maintaining strong internal controls, approval matrices, and finance policies.
- Coordinate statutory, tax, and internal audits, collaborating closely with external auditors and advisors.
- Ensure timely compliance with tax, regulatory, and secretarial requirements for the entity.
- Track remediation of audit observations and strengthen control processes over time.
- Reporting & Stakeholder Management
- Prepare financial reports, dashboards, and presentations for internal leadership and central finance teams.
- Function as a first‑level reviewer for capex requests, contracts, and commercial commitments.
- Coordinate financial inputs required for partner institutions, boards, or governance forums.
- Cash Flow & Operational Readiness
- Support cash flow forecasting, working capital tracking, and funding visibility.
- Monitor vendor payments, receivables, and cost commitments to ensure liquidity discipline.
- Assist in implementation and adoption of finance systems, tools, and standard reporting formats as operations scale.
Key Interfaces
- CFO / Director – Finance
- Campus leadership and operations teams
- Central finance, tax, and legal teams
- Outsourced accounting and audit firms
- External advisors and vendors
Desired Profile
Experience & Qualifications
- Chartered Accountant with 4–8 years of post‑qualification experience.
- Experience in operational finance, BU finance, or single‑entity roles.
- Exposure to education, services, infrastructure, or operations‑heavy environments preferred.
- Experience working with outsourced accounting models is an advantage.
Core Skills & Capabilities
- Strong grounding in accounting, budgeting, and financial controls.
- Analytical mindset with ability to support commercial and strategic decisions.
- High diligence with comfort managing execution‑heavy responsibilities.
- Ability to work in a matrix and evolving organisation.
- Clear communication and stakeholder‑management skills.
Why This Role
- Direct exposure to CFO‑level decision‑making and campus economics.
- Broad hands‑on responsibility across finance, controls, and performance management.
- Opportunity to gain experience into a future finance leadership role as scale and complexity increase.
- Work in a structured, governance‑driven JV environment with global partners.
