Head: Finance Enablement and Strategic Projects: Group Finance at Sanlam Group

What will make you successful in this role?

• This role requires a mix of strategic thinking, strong financial acumen, and the ability to drive operational improvements and business performance. The Head of Finance Enablement must also be an advocate for technology adoption and data-driven decision-making, enabling the finance function to become a key business enabler:
• Drive the delivery of key strategic projects and initiatives. A key project currently underway is the Finance in Transformation project. The primary objective of Project FIT remains to enhance the efficiency, accuracy, and transparency of our financial processes by streamlining our processes, implementing advanced technologies as well as re-skilling our people.
• Responsible for liaison with business stakeholders to identify process improvement areas and provide inputs into the delivery of future state systems.

Qualification and Experience
Qualification

• Qualified CA (SA)

Skills and Experience

• Minimum of 10-15 years of progressive experience in accounting or financial reporting as well as project management.

Technical and Analytical Skills:

• Proficiency in financial reporting software and ERP systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle).
• Strong leadership and people management skills.
• Expertise in financial analysis, reporting, budgeting, and forecasting.
• Ability to communicate complex financial information in a clear and actionable way to non-financial stakeholders.
• Deep understanding of financial modeling, scenario analysis, and risk management techniques.
• Proficiency in data-driven decision-making and financial system optimization.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to lead cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities
Financial strategy and planning

• Develop and lead the financial enablement strategy to support the Group Financial Reporting business goals and objectives.
• Collaborate with senior leadership to align financial strategy with organizational priorities.
• Provide insight into financial trends, projections, and business performance to ensure data-driven decision-making.

Process Optimization & Automation:

• Lead initiatives to streamline finance-related processes, ensuring greater efficiency and accuracy.
• Oversee the implementation and optimization of financial systems and tools to automate reporting, forecasting, and analytics.
• Work closely with IT and other business functions to enhance finance systems and integrate finance into business operations.

Business Partnering:

• Serve as a trusted business partner to departments/ clusters across the organization, ensuring that financial insights and analytics are used effectively to inform strategy and operations.
• Provide strategic financial guidance to departments/ clusters, including marketing, sales, operations, and product development.
• Support the business in decision-making by providing timely and actionable financial data and recommendations.

Financial Analytics and Reporting:

• Lead the development of financial reporting frameworks, ensuring accuracy, transparency, and alignment with business objectives.

Leadership and Team Development:

• Lead, develop, and manage a small team of finance professionals focused on enablement, process improvement, and business analytics.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, continuous learning, and cross-functional communication within the finance team and the broader organization.

Change Management:

• Lead finance transformation initiatives, ensuring smooth transitions during changes to systems, processes, or reporting structures.
• Communicate effectively with all stakeholders to gain buy-in for change initiatives and ensure successful execution.

Knowledge and Skills

• Strategic management information planning
• Analyze Operating efficiencies
• Budget management and forecasting
• Capital expenditure management
• Cash flow monitoring and management
• Management of employees

Personal Attributes

• Builds effective teams - Contributing strategically
• Business insight - Contributing strategically
• Courage - Contributing strategically
• Manages complexity - Contributing strategically

Build a successful career with us

• We’re all about building strong, lasting relationships with our employees. We know that you have hopes for your future – your career, your personal development and of achieving great things. We pride ourselves in helping  our employees to realize their worth. Through its five business clusters – Sanlam Fintech, Sanlam Life and Savings, Sanlam Investment Group, Sanlam Allianz, Santam, as well as MiWay and the Group Office – the group provides many opportunities for growth and development.

Core Competencies

• Being resilient - Contributing strategically
• Collaborates - Contributing strategically
• Cultivates innovation - Contributing strategically
• Customer focus - Contributing strategically
• Drives results - Contributing strategically