Finance Project Officer at Shoprite Group of Companies

Purpose of the Job    

• The Project Finance Officer executes and ensures compliance with internal control frameworks related to project budgeting, procurement, and financial management.
• This involves conducting business case and budget approvals, maintaining accurate financial records, and overseeing financial reporting and audits.
• The Project Finance Officer provides essential financial support and guidance to Project Managers, ensuring that project financials are effectively monitored and managed.
• This role focuses on facilitating timely budget revisions to prevent projects from exceeding approved budget limits, addressing unbilled transactions through the revision request process, and collaborating with Project Managers to research backlog phasing for reasonableness.
• Ultimately, the Project Finance Officer aims to deliver high-quality support to clients, ensuring that their budgets are effectively managed throughout the project lifecycle.

Job Objectives    

• Gather the necessary data for Budgets, Forecasts, and Actual Project Spend to support the Project and Delivery Managers.
• Review budget details with the Project Manager, attending to actions that should be taken to avoid revenue and/or billing issues, while highlighting budget adjustments for incorporation into revision requests.
• Coordinate with Finance department members to execute specific actions required to address issues and challenges identified during the review of project finances.
• Consolidate individual project forecasts into an annual portfolio budget for all active projects, ensuring the requested amounts comply with the approved Business Case.
• Apply financial oversight and control mechanisms to ensure all project and program expenses adhere to financial policies, procedures, and regulations.
• Execute project accounting activities smoothly, including timely and accurate invoicing, monitoring expenditure levels against budgets and funding obligations, managing financial projections, and reporting weekly, monthly, and annually.
• Maintain and update tracking sheets for project Purchase Orders, Provisions, and Budget Transfers.
• Conduct analysis through monthly reviews of assigned projects, examining Budgets, Forecasts, and Actuals to determine if any budgetary issues need to be escalated.
• Develop and update Project Policies and Procedures guidelines concerning procurement, accounting, and budgeting.
• Provide appropriate training and support to Project Managers to ensure they understand the financial position of their projects and can effectively communicate the status to stakeholders.
• Provide support to internal or external auditors as necessary.

Qualifications    

• Diploma in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, Project Management or a related field (essential).

Experience    

• 3 years of experience in a Project Finance/Administration role (essential).
• Demonstrable experience in monitoring project budgets and supporting the review and revision of project budgets (essential).
• Experience in a retail environment (preferred).

Knowledge and Skills    

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office 365, especially Excel (essential).

Closing Date    

• 2026/02/27