Director – Financial Planning & Business Partner at du · Dubai

To lead the financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, business partnering, management reporting, and financial governance activities of the organization. The role provides strategic financial leadership and decision support to ensure effective resource allocation, investment optimization, cost control, risk management, and delivery of business objectives. The role is also responsible for driving profitability analysis, cost optimization initiatives, financial performance management, business case governance, and continuous improvement of financial processes and controls.

Key Responsibilities:

Planning & Organization

• Lead and coordinate budgeting, forecasting, and financial planning processes, ensuring alignment of organizational targets and objectives.
• Identify risks, gaps, and opportunities within financial plans and recommend corrective actions prior to final approval.
• Provide strategic financial recommendations and guidance to senior leadership regarding budgets, forecasts, investments, and business plans.
• Develop and oversee action plans to ensure successful delivery of team and departmental objectives.
• Monitor financial performance against plans and drive initiatives to improve business outcomes.

Financial Excellence

• Analyze financial and operational performance against budgets, forecasts, and strategic objectives.
• Lead financial planning, budget control, forecasting, and performance management activities.
• Review, evaluate, and approve business cases, investment proposals, pricing initiatives, and capital expenditure requests in line with delegated authority and governance frameworks.
• Facilitate financial evaluation of strategic initiatives and investment decisions.
• Prepare and present management reports, financial analyses, performance insights, and recommendations to senior stakeholders.
• Drive cost optimization and value creation initiatives across the organization.
• Ensure effective governance and oversight of capital expenditures and investment portfolios.

Customer Excellence

• Act as a trusted finance business partner and key point of contact for business leaders and stakeholders.
• Support the development and execution of operational and financial plans by providing robust financial advice and analysis.
• Advise leadership on financial performance variances, risks, opportunities, and recommended corrective actions.
• Proactively communicate significant financial developments, issues, and emerging risks to relevant stakeholders.
• Build strong collaborative relationships that support business decision-making and organizational success.

People Excellence

• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing finance team by creating growth opportunities and enabling capability development.
• Establish and maintain a culture that promotes accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement, and high performance.
• Foster knowledge sharing and professional development opportunities across teams and functions.
• Drive employee engagement and support succession planning and talent development initiatives.
• Promote organizational values and effective business partnering practices.

Process Excellence & Risk Management

• Ensure compliance with financial policies, accounting standards, governance procedures, and internal controls.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance financial processes, reporting quality, and operational efficiency.
• Implement and optimize key financial governance processes and systems.
• Conduct post-implementation reviews of major initiatives and investments to assess benefits realization and performance.
• Identify, evaluate, communicate, and mitigate financial risks while promoting a strong control environment.
• Lead initiatives that improve financial awareness, accountability, and decision-making across the organization.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business Administration, or another numerate discipline.
• Professional Accounting Qualification such as CMA, CIMA, ACCA, CA, or CPA.

Experience:

• Minimum 15 years of overall professional experience.
• Minimum 10 years of experience in Financial Planning & Analysis, Business Partnering, Budgeting, Forecasting, Business Case Evaluation, Financial Governance, and Cost Management.
• Proven experience in leading large-scale financial planning and decision-support activities within a complex organization.
• Minimum 10 years of people management experience.

Skills:

• Strong business and commercial acumen with the ability to understand key financial drivers and organizational growth objectives.
• Advanced financial planning, forecasting, and financial modelling capabilities.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-support skills.
• Experience developing and implementing finance strategies and business performance programs.
• Ability to operate independently and exercise sound judgment in complex business situations.
• Strong stakeholder management, influencing, and business partnering capabilities.
• Excellent presentation, communication, and executive engagement skills.
• Demonstrated ability to challenge assumptions and drive value-based decision-making.
• Strong financial governance and control environment expertise.
• Knowledge of ERP and financial management systems.
• Good knowledge of IFRS and financial reporting standards.
• Leadership, coaching, conflict management, and team development skills.