Finance business partner | fmcg - ca(sa) or cima qualified

Drive Commercial Decisions. Influence Strategy. Partner with Leaders. A leading multinational services business is seeking an experienced Finance Business Partner to join its leadership team in Johannesburg. This is a true business partnering opportunity where finance serves as a strategic enabler, not just a reporting function. The successful candidate will work closely with senior operational leaders, providing commercial insight, influencing key decisions, and helping shape business strategy across a diverse portfolio of operations.

This newly created position forms part of an organisational restructure and offers significant exposure to executive leadership, complex commercial projects, and a high-profile client portfolio. Reporting to the Regional CFO, you will lead a finance team of six while partnering with operational, commercial, and people leaders to drive profitability, growth, and financial performance.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as a trusted adviser to senior business leaders, providing actionable financial and commercial insight.
• Partner with operational teams to influence business decisions, profitability, and strategic initiatives.
• Lead financial planning, forecasting, budgeting, cash flow management, and performance reporting across multiple business units.
• Develop and optimise financial processes, controls, and governance frameworks.
• Drive commercial solution development, pricing strategies, and business cases for client opportunities.
• Support tender submissions, proposals, and RFP processes from development through to submission.
• Monitor operational performance and deliver recommendations to improve revenue, margins, and efficiencies.
• Partner closely with workforce planning and people teams to manage headcount, labour costs, and organisational structures.
• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of finance professionals across transactional and management finance functions.
• Ensure accurate forecasting and financial control within a dynamic, people-intensive operating environment.

Requirements

• Relevant Finance Degree, CA(SA), CIMA, or equivalent professional qualification.
• Proven experience in a senior Finance Business Partner, Commercial Finance, Finance Director, or similar leadership role.
• Strong business partnering experience with a track record of influencing executive decision-making.
• Demonstrated experience supporting pricing models, commercial proposals, tenders, and RFP submissions.
• Advanced financial planning, forecasting, budgeting, and cash flow management skills.
• Experience managing large workforce cost bases and complex operational environments.
• Strong leadership capability with experience managing finance teams while maintaining strategic involvement.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and presentation skills.

Successful Candidates Will Demonstrate

• ✅ Strategic business partnering that has directly influenced leadership decisions.
• ✅ Commercial finance expertise, including pricing, costing, and bid support.
• ✅ Strong financial control, forecasting, and cash flow management within large-scale operations.
• ✅ The ability to lead finance teams while remaining commercially focused and operationally involved.

What’s on Offer?

• Newly created leadership role with significant visibility to executive stakeholders.
• Opportunity to influence strategic and commercial decision-making.
• Exposure to a diverse portfolio of blue-chip clients.
• Leadership of an established finance team.
• Growth potential within a dynamic and expanding organisation.

If you are a commercially minded finance leader who thrives on partnering with stakeholders, solving business challenges, and influencing strategic outcomes, we would like to hear from you.