ENGIE Energy Access is one of the world's largest energy companies, and a leader in the move to renewable, decentralised and digital energt. A global reference in low-carbon energy services, ENGIE joined forces with Fenix International, a venture-backed technology company transforming the lives of its customers through disruptive innovation in energy and financial services. The team's flagship product, ReadyPay Power, is an expandable, lease-to-own solar home system financed through affordable instalments from just $0.19 per day. Using real-time transaction data, a next-generation credit score is created to finance power upgrades or other life-changing loans.

ENGIE is looking for an experienced, highly motivated and entrepreneurial Head of Finance, as they maintain their unrelenting focus on innovation, smart iterative design, strong team culture and exceptional customer experience; while providing life-changing energy and financial services to millions of off-grid customers - making universal access to modern energy a reality across Africa.

Key responsibilities

• Provide reliable and accurate financial and management advice
• Build, mentor, coach, and refine the finance team
• Lead and direct budgeting, forecasting and reporting
• Develop internal control procedures to increase efficiency of operations and minimize business exposure
• Own the country financial model, using it to forecast EBITDA targets and the impact of strategy decisions on business performance

Financial & Operational Strategy:

• Create and continuously refine country market finance strategy 
• Negotiate a pipeline of local currency debt to safeguard receivables against forex depreciation
• Own the country financial model, using it to forecast EBITDA targets and the impact of strategy decisions on business performance
• Ensure a line by line budget & forecast by all departments and support preparation where required;
• Support and drive maintenance/achievement of financial sustainability by guaranteeing: <= 100% Punctual Funding vs Budget to support business operations; Positive ROI;
• Manage and analyse Cash-Flow and working capital requirements by:
• Understanding the source and uses of cash and maintain integrity of funds received/generated;
• Cash-flow forecasting to determine acceptable levels of trending balances;
• Actively liaise with other teams for critical funding needs and shortage risks;
• Monitor and control accurate records of receivables, safe inventory levels and negotiate favorable credit terms with local suppliers; 
• Continually monitor and refine the effectiveness of country financial strategies, gathering evidence in the process to inform the commercial strategy. 

Business Performance, Financial and Management Reporting

• Understand the business model for generating customer value and translates the operational metrics into measures for performance using dashboards and financial statement ratio analysis;
• Prepare management accounts and provide insights on deviations to budget, commentary on periodic performance and support Country Director with tactical moves accordingly;
• Generate both regular and ad hoc insights for action so that the business can maintain excellent financial health:
• Work closely with department heads to understand monthly expenses (BvA), monitor spending and drive efficiencies in cost centers;
• Create and/or coordinate with Financial Analyst on ad hoc reporting as necessary to analyse revenue and cost trends.

Tax and Regulatory Compliance

• Ensure compliance with local tax requirements and timely submission of all tax returns;
• Ensure efficient tax structures are in place and are properly administered;
• Keep abreast of changes in relevant local regulatory environment and communicates major changes to the group;
• Ensure company compliance for all financial record control including real estate contracts and leases;
• Keep tax non-compliance risk as low as possible by proactive education and documentation review, approval and accounting;

Stakeholder Engagement

• Develop relationships with relevant actors and maintain networks throughout the business environment
• Work closely with the following stakeholders to provide strategic finance and administrative support as needed;
• Managing Director and the group leaders;
• Business development team - to assist with financial considerations of expanding into new regions and grant applications
• Operations Lead - to conduct inventory audits, coordinating with external auditors for annual audits and maintain and tie out inventory accounting systems 
• Credit team - as needed to assess and continuously improve portfolio health strategy to ensure repayment is healthy
• HR team - to adapt compensation strategies that position the company as a competitive employer while meeting financial goals
• Develop and maintain mutual beneficial business relationships to assist, protect and enhance the company’s image in the community which includes Tax Authorities, External Auditors, Banks, Regulatory Bodies, Shareholders, Lawyers, Insurance and Brokers Entities, and any other relevant to the business

Governance & Risk

• Internal control maintenance, identification, profiling and reporting potential risks as well as propose and implement mitigation plans
• Ensures financial audits are completed in time and statutory books closing occurs as appropriate
• Responds to Auditor queries effectively and communicated any significant matters to the Country Director
• Ensure adherence to financial spending policies and procedures
• Procurement principles in place to ensure value for money
   

People Management & Leadership

• Ensure the department is adequately staffed for execution of financial functions
• Build and provide inspiring leadership to a high performing finance team, including, recruiting and training mission-driven and highly qualified team members
• Setting inspiring and ambitious targets and motivating the team to achieve them, including testing and setting compensation and incentive structures across the teams
• Supervises the activities of the direct reports and ensure quality, service and compliance standards are met and that finance operations run efficiently and effectively to support the business operations
• Facilitates training where required in order to build and develop team’s capacity

Required Skills & Experience
Education / Qualifications

• B.A or B.S in Accounting / Finance and Fellow of CIMA / ACCA. Masters or MBA preferred

Experience

• 10+ years of progressive functional experience.
• Experience in partnering with a company management team

Knowledge & Skills

• Strong communication and negotiation skills
• Planning and organizing
• High level of business orientation    
• Strong analytical skills with numbers
• Ability to provide accurate reporting
• Strong leadership skill
• Risk Management
• Entrepreneurial spirit and collaborative nature
• Attention to detail, strategic thinker

Highly Desired Skills

• Work experience in a multinational company or financial institution, preferably with operations in Africa
• Experience with risk assessment 
• Understanding of rural BOP markets, microfinance and/or mobile telecom industries in Africa

Globally competitive salary

A long-term partner for Africa’s growing energy needs, ENGIE is the largest independent electricity producer in the world, and one of the major players in natural gas and energy services. The Group has more than 50 years of experience on the African continent and has the unique ability to implement integrated solutions all along the energy value chain, from centralized electricity production to off-grid solutions (Solar Home Systems, mini-grids) and energy services. ENGIE has strong ambitions in Africa, a continent with a thriving need for energy to sustain its foreseen growth in the coming years.

Our portfolio of activities now comprises 3,000 MW of electricity generation facilities, both in operation and in construction, located in Morocco, Egypt, Senegal and South Africa; service activities in Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, South Africa, Mozambique, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, Ghana and Niger; decentralized power generation, mini-grids development and Solar-Home-Systems (SHS) in 9 countries serving over more than 4 million people. We now have over 3000 employees, of which 98% are located in Africa.

ENGIE Africa counts nearly 4,000 employees, has 3.15 GW of power generation capacity, and is a leader in the decentralized energy market, providing clean energy to more than 4 million people, in 9 countries through domestic solar installations and local mini-grids.