Finance Planning - Sharjah, United Arab Emirates - Identiscents

Description

Job Description:

Reporting to Finance Director

Role summary Lead FP&A activities supporting Identiscents strategic and operational decision-making. Deliver robust budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, profitability and scenario modelling, with particular responsibility for foreign-exchange (FX) risk reporting, detailed cost calculation (product and project costing), and financial evaluation of capex and strategic investments. Translate financial insights into clear, actionable recommendations for business heads and the executive team.

Core responsibilities

Financial planning, budgeting & forecasting

• Lead annual budgeting and quarterly/rolling forecasts across revenue, gross margin, OPEX, working capital and cash flow.
• Build driver-based rolling forecast models that integrate volumes, pricing, raw material input costs, FX rates, freight and duty.
• Consolidate department budgets and validate assumptions with department heads; challenge where appropriate to ensure alignment with corporate strategy.
• Maintain and improve budget control processes, cut-off calendars and budget governance.

Business performance & variance analysis

• Deliver monthly, quarterly financial performance packs explaining variances vs budget/forecast and prior year; provide root-cause analysis and actionable recommendations.
• Track and report KPIs: revenue by product/region/channel, gross margin by SKU/product family, contribution margins, A&P ROI, working capital days, plant utilization, yield/losses, and on-time delivery.
• Lead deep-dive reviews for margin leakage (price vs mix vs cost vs FX vs volume) and propose corrective actions.

Reporting, dashboards & investor communications

• Prepare monthly management reports and presentation materials for the Executive Committee, Board and investors.
• Design and maintain interactive dashboards (Power BI / Tableau / Excel) to increase visibility of drivers (sales, production, procurement, FX exposures, inventory aging).
• Ensure all reports are timely, accurate and include clear recommendations and sensitivity tables.

Foreign exchange (FX) management & reporting

• Maintain a consolidated FX exposure map (transactional and translational exposures) by currency, legal entity, and instrument (invoices, intercompany, loans).
• Model FX impacts on P&L, gross margin and cash flow under multiple scenarios; quantify net exposure and potential P&L volatility.
• Recommend and quantify hedging strategies (forwards, options, natural hedges) in coordination with Treasury; calculate hedge effectiveness and accounting implications.
• Build monthly FX revaluation and realized/unrealized gain-loss reporting; include stress-tests for extreme currency moves.
• Work with procurement to establish FX pass-through or pricing adjustment mechanisms and with sales to include currency clauses where appropriate.

Cost calculation & margin analysis

• Develop and maintain cost models: standard costing, actual costing, activity-based costing (ABC) as applicable.
• Calculate unit costs by SKU and product family including raw materials, direct labor, manufacturing overhead, packaging, freight, customs duties, and waste/throwaway rates.
• Create landed cost models for imported raw materials, including FX, freight, insurance, duty and local handling.
• Support pricing decisions through contribution margin and break-even analysis; model price increases and promotional impacts.
• Implement costing governance: update BOMs, routing, yield factors, and overhead allocation methods in ERP; reconcile standard vs actual cost variances monthly.

Investment appraisal & project finance

• Lead financial evaluation of CAPEX projects, product launches, and strategic investments (JV, plant expansion, automation).
• Prepare full business cases: NPV, IRR, payback, scenario and sensitivity analysis, working capital impact and tax implications.
• Assess financing options (internal funding, debt, leasing, vendor financing) and recommend optimal capital structure for projects.
• Track project budgets vs actuals, change requests and benefits realisation; produce post-implementation reviews.
• Collaborate with Legal and Procurement on contract economics and with Operations on implementation timelines and KPI targets.

Cost control, working capital & cash forecasting

• Work with supply chain and operations to identify and deliver cost savings (material substitutions, yield improvement, freight optimization).
• Build rolling cash forecasts tied to sales, production plans, collections and payments; forecast short-term liquidity needs and recommend actions.
• Monitor and improve working capital metrics: DSO, DPO, inventory turns; propose actions to optimise cash conversion cycle.

Decision support & cross-functional partnership

• Act as business partner to Sales, Marketing, Operations and Procurement; provide decision support for promotions, product portfolio decisions, contract bids and customer negotiations.
• Participate in product rationalisation, SKU optimization and margin improvement initiatives.
• Train non-financial managers on basic financial concepts, margin drivers and KPIs.

Compliance, controls & standards

• Ensure FP&A processes comply with internal controls, company certifications (ISO 9001, Ecovadis) and accounting standards.
• Support external audits and assist Accounting with month-end close reconciliations related to forecast vs actuals and cost variances.
• Document FP&A procedures, model assumptions and version control.

Qualifications & experience

• Education: Bachelors degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics or related discipline. Masters/MBA or advanced finance qualifications preferred.
• Experience: years in FP&A, financial analysis or similar roles within FMCG, manufacturing, packaging, fragrance or chemicals preferred. Exposure to multinational operations and multi-currency environments required.
• Certifications: CFA, CPA, ACCA or similar are a plus.

Technical skills & tools

• Advanced Excel modelling (macros, pivot tables, Power Query); strong financial modelling discipline.
• Experience with ERP systems (SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics or equivalent) and familiarity with cost modules.
• Experience with planning & consolidation tools (Anaplan, OneStream, Oracle Hyperion, IBM Cognos or similar) is an advantage.
• Power BI / Tableau or equivalent for dashboards and visual analytics.
• Basic knowledge of derivative instruments and hedge accounting useful for FX management.

Key competencies & behaviors

• Strong commercial and strategic thinking: translate numbers into practical business recommendations.
• Analytical rigor and high attention to detail; consistent accuracy and documentation of assumptions.
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills for presenting finance insights to non-finance stakeholders and the Board.
• Proactive, solution-oriented, and able to work under tight deadlines.
• Collaborative: able to influence across functions and build trusting relationships.
• Integrity and commitment to compliance and high-quality financial governance.

Performance metrics (KPIs)

• Forecast accuracy: variance between forecast/budget and actuals (monthly/quarterly).
• Timeliness and quality of management reports and board packs.
• Contribution to margin improvement and cost-savings initiatives (tracked /USD benefit).
• Accuracy and usefulness of project investment appraisals (post-implementation variance).
• FX exposure reporting accuracy and effectiveness of hedging recommendations (P&L volatility reduced).
• Improvement in working capital metrics (DSO/DPO/Inventory turns).
• Adoption rate of dashboards and tools by business stakeholders.

What we offer

• Competitive compensation and comprehensive insurance to support your well-being and future.
• A collaborative, high-energy culture where teamwork and individual contribution are recognised.
• A visible role in a growing business where your impact on performance and strategy will be valued.

Required Skills:

Bids
Financial Performance
Pivot Tables
Capex
Dynamics
Adoption
Calendars
Routing
BASIC
Freight
Microsoft Dynamics
Operations
Capital
ERP
Cost Savings
Compliance
Variance Analysis
Performance Metrics
Funding
Analysis
Treasury
Strategic Thinking
Options
Consolidation
Savings
P&L
Financial Planning
Raw Materials
Waste
Cost Control
Loans
Investments
Internal Controls
Version Control
Cash Flow
Corrective Actions
Compensation
Tax
Attention To Detail
SAP
Timelines
Decision-Making
Supply
Reviews
Metrics
Financial Analysis
Excel
Optimization
Insurance
Analytics
Forecasting
Cash
Manufacturing
Automation
Tableau
Economics
Power BI
Budgeting
Procurement
Strategy
Oracle
Payments
Materials
Education
Accounting
Documentation
Finance
Planning
Teamwork
Design
Marketing
Business
Sales
Communication
Management