Job details

Zutari: Co-creating an engineered impact.
Zutari is a well-established, management-owned engineering firm with almost 90 years' experience. As human-centred engineering consultants and advisors, we are trusted by our clients, business partners, communities and other stakeholders across Africa.

We co-create engineering solutions that have a positive impact and improve people's lives. Zutari values inclusion and recognises the importance of a diverse, talented workforce, believing that people need other people to succeed.

What kind of talent do we pursue?

We employ people with the right attitude and a positive mindset, who are motivated by doing the right thing, getting things done and share a sense of urgency. People who have an impact in our teams and broader community. People who think differently and connect with those around them to co-create new opportunities and leave a meaningful legacy.

About the role:

The Finance Director: Group

 Reporting and Control is a senior finance leadership role responsible for strengthening financial control, reporting integrity, governance, and performance insight across Zutari. Reporting to the Group Chief Financial Officer, the role provides leadership across group financial reporting, statutory compliance, budgeting and forecasting, finance operations, working capital performance, and financial governance across the organisation.

The role also contributes to broader enterprise finance priorities by supporting strategic decision making on matters such as business performance, capital allocation, funding considerations, legal entity and jurisdictional complexity, and selected corporate transactions and change initiatives. While the treasury function may not report directly into this role, the incumbent will be expected to provide informed guidance, challenge, and strategic finance input on treasury, liquidity, banking, and capital-related matters.

The role requires a mature finance leader who can operate effectively across multiple entities, jurisdictions, and business contexts; engage credibly with executive leadership, boards, and governance forums; and bring a broad base of experience from complex, multi-jurisdictional, and ideally large corporate environments

Strategic Finance Partnership and Stakeholder Leadership

• Partner closely with the Group Chief Financial Officer and finance leadership team to support the execution of the Group finance agenda and broader business priorities.
• Provide clear financial insight and advice to support executive decision-making, including the financial implications of strategic initiatives, growth options, restructurings, and business performance improvement actions.
• Act as a trusted senior finance advisor to leadership on finance related matters, balancing strategic perspective with operational and governance discipline.
• Build effective working relationships across business units, functions, and leadership teams to ensure alignment between financial priorities and organisational objectives.
• Contribute to executive, board, and committee reporting through clear analysis of financial performance, risks, opportunities, and key business drivers.
• Partner with the broader finance team to ensure that planning, forecasting, and management insight are appropriately reflected in executive, board, and finance decision-making

Group Financial Control, Reporting and Compliance

• Lead and oversee the integrity of financial reporting across the Group, ensuring accurate, timely, and decision-useful reporting.
• Oversee month-end, quarter-end, and year-end close processes to ensure strong balance sheet discipline, accurate profit and loss reporting, and robust cash flow reporting.
• Ensure high-quality group consolidations across multiple entities, including the treatment of intercompany balances, eliminations, and multi-jurisdictional reporting requirements.
• Ensure compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), applicable local statutory requirements, and internal financial policies and standards.
• Oversee the preparation and review of annual financial statements and other statutory reporting deliverables.
• Drive consistency in financial accounting treatment, reporting policies, and control practices across the Group.
• Coordinate effectively with joint venture partners and other relevant external stakeholders to ensure accurate and timely financial reporting where applicable.
• Ensure alignment between financial reporting outputs and the assumptions, risks, and implications arising from planning and forecasting processes

Governance, Board Management, Controls and Audit

• Strengthen and maintain an effective financial control environment across the Group, with clear accountability, sound governance, and appropriate segregation of duties.
• Provide significant support to boards, audit committees, and governance forums through high-quality reporting, insight, and management of finance-related matters.
• Prepare, review, and present finance content for board and committee packs, ensuring clarity, accuracy, relevance, and strong linkage to strategic and governance priorities.
• Manage board and committee finance matters effectively, including follow-through on actions, escalation of key issues, and timely resolution of finance-related risks and decisions.
• Oversee the effectiveness of key financial controls, reconciliations, review processes, and financial risk mitigation practices.
• Support internal and external audit processes and ensure that findings are addressed appropriately and timeously.
• Monitor compliance with delegated authorities, financial policies, reporting timetables, and governance requirements across entities and jurisdictions.
• Support the Group Chief Financial Officer in Audit and Risk Committee and other governance engagements, as required.
• Drive continuous improvement in finance processes, control maturity, and reporting quality.
• Support clear articulation of financial outlook, risk, and key assumptions in board and committee reporting, in partnership with the wider team where appropriate.

Treasury, Liquidity and Capital Guidance

• Provide strategic finance guidance and challenge to the treasury function on liquidity planning, cash forecasting, banking structures, guarantees, facilities, and related risk matters.
• Partner with the Group Chief Financial Officer and relevant treasury stakeholders on matters relating to funding requirements, capital structuring considerations, covenant implications, and banking relationships.
• Review and challenge cash flow forecasts, working capital assumptions, and liquidity planning to ensure alignment with Group priorities.
• Provide informed finance input on foreign exchange, interest rate, counterparty, and cross-border cash management risks.
• Ensure that appropriate governance and oversight are in place over banking and treasury-related processes, even where direct line management does not reside in the role.

Working Capital, Cost Discipline and Finance Operations

• Monitor and improve key working capital drivers, including receivables, payables, contract-related balances, and other relevant cash conversion metrics.
• Provide leadership oversight over accounts payable and related finance operations to ensure strong controls, policy compliance, timely execution, and efficient service delivery.
• Support business leaders in identifying opportunities to improve cost discipline, margin performance, and financial efficiency.
• Ensure accurate recording of revenues, expenses, provisions, accruals, and other key accounting balances across the Group.
• Promote a culture of accountability, accuracy, discipline, and continuous improvement across the finance function.

Corporate Finance and Transactions

• Support the Group Chief Financial Officer on strategic finance matters such as legal entity structuring, capital allocation, business restructuring, and selected investment or transaction related initiatives.
• Contribute financial analysis, business case evaluation, and scenario modelling for major strategic decisions and special projects.
• Support financial workstreams linked to acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures, integrations, or other corporate activity where relevant.
• Contribute to finance transformation, systems improvement, and process enhancement initiatives across the Group.
• Apply broad finance judgement across a range of complex and evolving business issues beyond routine controllership responsibilities.

Leadership and Team Development

• Lead, coach, and develop the relevant finance team members to build capability, accountability, succession depth, and high performance.
• Foster collaboration across finance and non-finance stakeholders in a matrixed and professional environment.
• Create a strong team culture grounded in integrity, responsiveness, technical excellence, and sound judgement.
• Support the ongoing development of finance talent within Zutari while bringing an external lens on leading practice and continuous improvement.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, or equivalent, CA, CPA, CGMA, FCCA
• Chartered Accountant
• Relevant postgraduate qualification in finance, business, strategy, or leadership.
• 15 years’ progressive finance and accounting experience, with substantial senior leadership exposure.
• Proven experience in complex group environments involving multiple entities, jurisdictions, currencies, and stakeholder groups.
• Strong experience across group financial reporting, consolidations, statutory compliance, budgeting, forecasting, financial controls, and performance analysis.
• Significant experience in supporting and managing board, audit committee, and governance-related finance matters.
• Demonstrated ability to operate credibly at senior leadership level and engage effectively with executives, boards, and other senior stakeholders.
• Strong working knowledge of IFRS and applicable statutory reporting requirements.
• Experience in large corporate, multinational, or similarly complex organisational environments

Advantageous:

• Experience across more than one industry or business context.
• Experience in professional services, engineering, infrastructure, construction, or other complex project-based environments.
• Exposure to treasury, funding, capital structuring, banking relationships, or liquidity management at a strategic level.
• Experience supporting mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, legal entity rationalisation, post-merger integration, or other strategic corporate finance initiatives.
• Experience leading or contributing to ERP, finance transformation, or process improvement programmes.
• Experience engaging with joint venture structures, financial institutions, and external advisors.
• Advanced financial reporting, consolidation, and control capability.
• Ability to interpret financial information strategically and translate it into actionable insight.
• Strong commercial judgement and business partnering capability.
• Ability to guide and influence across a broad finance agenda, including areas not directly reporting into the role.
• Strong understanding of governance, board reporting, risk, internal control, and audit requirements.
• Executive-level communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Advanced ERP, finance systems, and reporting tools proficiency.
• High attention to detail, balanced with the ability to maintain a strategic and enterprise-wide perspective.
• Strong leadership, coaching, and team development capability.

Competencies

• Strategic Financial Leadership
• Executive Stakeholder Influence
• Board and Governance Management
• Financial Control, Governance and Reporting Excellence
• Planning, Forecasting and Performance Leadership
• Treasury, Liquidity and Capital Insight
• Commercial Acumen and Value Optimisation
• Cross-Functional Leadership and Collaboration
• Change Leadership and Continuous Improvement
• Sound Judgement in Complex and Ambiguous Environments

We believe that a diverse workforce is key to our business success. We seek the best people for our jobs based on their skills, qualifications, and experience. We embrace the principle of equal opportunity in employment, and we work towards eliminating all forms of unlawful discrimination in our employment practices.