Finance Manager: Finance Operations at Unique Personnel

Role Purpose

• The Finance Manager: Finance Operations is responsible for leading the debtors and creditors functions, ensuring smooth day to day team performance, driving continuous improvement in financial processes, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements, and fostering strong collaboration across the business. The role also includes mastering and leveraging financial systems (e.g., Kerridge V21), implementing policies to manage risk, and developing the finance team’s skills and morale.
• The role is both operationally hands‑on and strategically forward‑looking, balancing compliance, efficiency, and people development

Key Responsibilities

Customer Engagement and Credit Risk Management

• Build strong relationships with internal customers, understanding their business needs (especially in trade debtors) and how internal policies are applied and enhanced to suite business requirements. Be the advisor to the Sales channel with regard to credit management.
• Manage interactions with external customers, as the need arises, enforcing internal policies or support customer account growth.
• Understand and identify arising risks in credit management, from policies to daily operations and pro-actively deal with them. Identify new KPIs for the debtors team and implement improvements in a well-oiled machine.

Debtors and Creditors Accounting & Administration

• Oversee daily operational workflows to improve efficiency in debtors and creditors teams.
• Manage the month‑end close process to ensure timely completion and adherence to deadlines.
• Ensure BEE certificates are obtained and compliance requirements are met.
• Use MANCO and EXCO platforms to strengthen finance’s role across the business.
• Implements significant improvements in subscription billing processes through collaboration with Sales, Product Management and IT teams.

Financial Systems (Kerridge V21)

• Master and fully leverage V21 capabilities to streamline procurement and payment processes.
• Conduct walkthroughs of workflows to identify automation opportunities.
• Build relationships with V21 personnel and develop internal “V21 champions.”
• Facilitate workshops and training sessions for staff to enhance system adoption.

Policy Development

• Formulate and implement tailored finance policies to improve decision‑making and workflow efficiency, as well as enhanced internal controls.
• Improves policies for credit risk management (limits, overrides, accounts on hold, exports).
• Quantify risks and distribute policies to the group to manage exposure effectively.

Team Development & Morale

• Facilitate continuous learning through targeted training (e.g., Excel skills workshops).
• Develop and revise KPIs aligned with business objectives (collections %, unallocated %, open queries >30 days, overrides <50%, age buckets).
• Encourage CPD participation and knowledge sharing via SharePoint.
• Organize team challenges and recognition initiatives to boost morale.
• Guide the team through change and improvement, ensuring customer queries are handled politely and promptly.

Success Measures

• Achieve at least two process improvements per department annually.
• Month‑end close completed smoothly and on time.
• Reduced client queries and frustration.
• BEE certificates consistently up to date for audits.
• Documented automation opportunities and workshops completed with V21 team.
• At least one new or enhanced policy implemented and distributed.
• Improved team KPIs and morale indicators (skills, recognition, query resolution).

Inherent Requirements    
Skills & Experience

• At least 10 years experience in a large organisation, running AP and AR teams with solid understand of what good looks like. Kerridge system experience would be an advantage.
• Bachelor of Commerce  with Honours, or CA(SA).
• Must have a performance and process improvement mindset.
• Strong leadership and people development skills.
• Expertise in debtors and creditors management
• Policy formulation and risk management.
• Excellent communication and relationship‑building skills.