Senior Finance Shared Services Manager (NMP) at TFG (The Foschini Group)

Job Description

• The Senior Finance Shared Services Manager is responsible for leading the AP Non-Merchandise, Rental & Utilities, Sundry Debtors, General Accounting for Payroll, and balance sheet reconciliation reporting and monitoring portfolios within Central Finance Shared Services.
• The role ensures accurate, complete and timely processing, reporting, reconciliations, query resolution and financial controls across these areas, while maintaining strong compliance with company policies, statutory requirements, audit expectations and internal control standards.
• The role also leads Finance Service Management, including the Finance Frontline team and the Synergy platform operating model. It is accountable for ensuring that finance queries are correctly routed, prioritised, tracked and resolved within agreed service levels, with clear ownership, escalation paths, SOP adherence and management reporting.
• A critical purpose of the role is to drive process standardisation across Finance Shared Services by embedding Synergy as the single platform for service execution, SLA monitoring, SOP governance, workload visibility, issue trend analysis and continuous improvement. The role partners with operational managers, Finance Process & Systems, IT, business stakeholders and external partners to simplify ways of working, strengthen governance, reduce manual effort and improve the reliability of finance service delivery.

Responsibilities

• Lead the AP Non-Merchandise, Rental & Utilities, Sundry Debtors and Payroll Accounting teams to deliver accurate, complete and timely transactional processing, reconciliations, reporting and query resolution.
• Maintain strong financial governance, internal controls and audit readiness across supplier payments, rental and utilities, sundry debtor collections, payroll accounting and balance sheet reconciliations.
• Own balance sheet reconciliation reporting and monitoring, ensuring aged items, reconciling differences and control gaps are visible, owned, escalated and resolved within agreed timelines.
• Lead Finance Service Management, providing a clear single-entry point for finance queries with effective intake validation, ticket routing, escalation, service tracking and customer communication.
• Embed Synergy as the core platform for Finance Shared Services delivery – ticket management, SLA monitoring, SOP adherence, workload visibility, root-cause analysis and operational reporting.
• Drive process standardisation, simplification and automation in partnership with Finance Process & Systems, IT and business stakeholders to improve accuracy, speed and control and reduce rework.
• Develop, monitor and present operational performance metrics across all service lines to support proactive decision-making and continuous improvement.
• Build strong relationships with business stakeholders, suppliers and auditors, and lead, coach and develop managers and teams to strengthen accountability, compliance and service excellence.

Qualifications

• CA(SA) qualification (essential)
• Minimum of 8 to 10 years' progressive finance, accounting or shared services experience
• Minimum of 3 to 5 years in a senior leadership or managerial role overseeing high-volume finance operations – accounts payable, rental and utilities, sundry debtors, payroll accounting and balance sheet reconciliations
• Proven experience in a Finance Shared Services environment, including service management platforms, SLA governance and SOP ownership
• Track record in process improvement, workflow optimisation, automation and finance transformation
• Strong controls, audit readiness and operational reporting capability
• Well-developed stakeholder management and team leadership skills

Skills:

• Advanced technical accounting and financial control expertise, with strong command of reconciliations, general ledger integrity and month-end close disciplines
• Strong operational and process management skills, including workflow design, capacity planning, SLA management and standard operating procedure ownership
• Analytical and problem-solving ability, with the capability to interrogate large transactional data sets, identify root causes and translate findings into corrective action
• Proficiency in ERP and finance systems (e.g. SAP or equivalent), service management platforms and advanced Microsoft Excel; comfortable with automation and reporting tools
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and communication skills, able to influence at senior level and explain financial matters clearly to non-finance audiences
• People leadership and coaching skills, with proven ability to build, develop and retain high-performing finance teams across multiple service lines
• Strong planning, prioritisation and time management skills to manage competing deadlines in a high-volume environment
• Change management and continuous improvement skills, with the ability to drive standardisation and adoption of new ways of working

Behaviours:

• Ensures Accountability - takes accountability and ensures others are held to account on agreed upon performance targets
• Decision Quality - consistently makes timely, well-rounded and informed decisions
• Strategic Mindset - thinks and plans strategically, focusing on the long-term goals and objectives of the organisation
• Being Resilient - rebounding from setbacks and adversity when facing difficult situations.
• Building Effective Teams - forms, develops and leads a group of individuals toward the achievement of a common team objective