Head of Finance - Foreign Operations

Head of Finance - Foreign Operations

(Permanent: Menlyn Maine, Pretoria)

About Our Client 

They're on a mission to improve the global financial ecosystem by enabling banks and corporates to offer innovative financial solutions that benefit society. Integrity, tenacity, learning, enabling and agility are our core values, and we've served our customers and partners for more than 23 years.

Purpose of the role

To deliver hands-on financial leadership and strategic oversight across the group's multi-entity structure. This founder-like finance role combines treasury management, group consolidation, tax optimisation, legal and commercial contract governance, profitability control, and governance participation to support sustainable growth, regulatory compliance, and value creation while maintaining tight cost discipline and robust risk management.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide treasury oversight, including cash management, inter-group funding, investment activities, and daily monitoring of group investments and liquidity.
• Oversee the preparation, review, and compilation of annual financial statements, group consolidations, quarterly results, projections, budgets, and financial presentation materials.
• Review and approve legal and commercial agreements, including Master Services Agreements,tri-party agreements, shareholder agreements, and inter-company arrangements.
• Manage inter-company charges, shared-service billing, transfer pricing policies, and related compliance.
• Lead cost control initiatives, profitability analysis, and operational efficiency reviews across all entities.
• Provide tax oversight at both group and individual level, including VAT, corporate tax, personal tax planning, compliance, provisional returns, and structuring of capital receipts.
• Monitor debt collection processes, billing operations, and cash-flow optimisation.
• Attend and actively contribute to Board meetings, Audit & Risk Committee meetings, Corporate Governance Committee meetings, and Investment Committee meetings as a permanent invitee
• Support new business development by reviewing proposals, pricing models, financial modelling, and investment/acquisition opportunities.
• Oversee group structure optimisation, including subsidiary funding, loan arrangements, goodwill monitoring, insurance programmes, and risk-management-driven restructures.
• Manage relationships with external stakeholders, including management companies, custodians, sponsors, auditors, and regulators.
• Coordinate personal finance and trust administration support for key executives, including tax returns, trust information, and coordination with wealth managers.
• Drive cell-captive and alternative investment structures to optimise returns and capacity.
• Ensure overall financial governance, valuation reviews, and compliance with all statutory and internal requirements.
  

Qualifications & Experience

• Qualified Chartered Accountant (CA(SA) or equivalent international CA qualification).
• Minimum 8 years post-qualification experience in a multi-entity, group finance environment (fintech, payments, or financial services preferred).
• Proven track record in treasury, group consolidations, tax structuring, transfer pricing, and contract governance.
• Experience participating in board-level and committee meetings at a senior level is highly advantageous.
  

Key Competencies & Mindset

• Strong commercial acumen with the ability to translate financial data into strategic insight and actionable recommendations. 
• Excellent attention to detail combined with the ability to see the big-picture group strategy.
• High personal integrity and a proactive, solutions-oriented approach.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills (able to brief executives and boards clearly and confidently).
• Proficiency in financial systems, Excel modelling, and financial statement preparation.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, growth-oriented environment while maintaining rigorous governance and control.

This is a high-impact role that sits at the centre of the group's financial engine, offering significant autonomy and direct influence on profitability, risk mitigation, and long-term sustainability. The successful candidate will be a key member of the Finance, Risk & Compliance leadership team, reporting directly to the Chief Money and Risk Officer.