Finance Business Partner

About This Role

Role Purpose

The Finance Business Partner (FBP) will act as a commercial and financial advisor to the business, partnering closely with Operations, Business Development, and Senior Management to drive profitability, cost discipline, and informed decision-making.

This role combines hands-on financial control with forward-looking commercial insight, with clear accountability for gross margin tracking, budget adherence, forecasting accuracy, and bid profitability

Key Accountabilities

The Finance Business Partner will be explicitly accountable for:

• Gross margin (GM) tracking by project, from bid stage through execution and close-out
• Early identification of margin leakage, cost overruns, and revenue risks
• Financial discipline across project budgets, forecasts, and working capital
• Providing commercial challenge to operations and BD teams where financial assumptions are weak or misaligned

Key Responsibilities

1. Project Financial Management & Gross Margin Control

• Own project-level financial performance, including revenue recognition, costs, and gross margin.
• Track GM at bid vs budget vs actual and explain variances clearly.
• Conduct post-project margin analysis to identify lessons learned and improvement actions.
• Partner with project managers to implement corrective actions where margins are at risk.

2. Budgeting, Forecasting & Planning

• Lead project budgeting in coordination with Operations and BD teams.
• Enter and maintain budgets in the SAP system and ensure version control.
• Monitor actuals vs budget and proactively flag cost overruns and forecast deviations .
• Prepare and update annual forecasts , incorporating orderbook, pipeline, and execution risks.

Challenge assumptions to improve forecast accuracy and credibility

3. Revenue, Billing & Orderbook Management

• Review and validate sales invoices (pricing, quantities, contractual terms).
• Ensure invoices are issued on time to avoid revenue leakage and cash flow delays.
• Prepare weekly revenue reports with variance analysis.
• Maintain monthly orderbook and backlog trackers , linking revenue visibility to forecasts.

4. Business Development & Bid Commercial Support

• Support monthly BD review meetings with financial and commercial insights.
• Compare forecasts against targets and bid pipeline.
• Evaluate profitability, cash flow impact, and risk profile of new bids and tenders.
• Define and communicate minimum margin thresholds and pricing guardrails for new business.
• Support bid vs actual post-mortems to strengthen future pricing and assumptions.

5. Working Capital & Cash Flow Management

• Coordinate vendor payments and ensure adherence to approval controls.
• Work with Operations to convert accruals into invoices and accelerate collections.
• Monitor receivables and support resolution of billing or collection issues.
• Manage petty cash processes and controls.

6.Bonds, Guarantees & Treasury Coordination

• Prepare documentation for bond and bank guarantee applications .
• Coordinate with Treasury team for issuance, amendments, and renewals.
• Track bond exposure, utilization, and expiry to avoid operational or financial risk.

7. Financial Reporting & Month-End Close

• Manage month-end closing activities, including accruals, provisions, and reconciliations.
• Ensure financial records are accurate, complete, and management-ready.
• Produce management reports that clearly link financial outcomes to operational drivers .

8. Audit, Controls & Governance

• Support external audits by preparing schedules and responding to audit queries.
• Ensure compliance with accounting standards, internal controls, and company policies.
• Identify control gaps and recommend practical process improvements.

Key Skills & Competencies

• Strong commercial mindset with the ability to challenge assumptions constructively
• Deep understanding of project accounting, gross margin analysis, and cost control
• Hands-on experience with SAP systems and advanced Excel-based analysis
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, multi-project environment
• Strong ownership mentality and attention to detail

Qualifications & Experience

• Financial degree/ part Chartered Accountant / ACCA / CPA (preferred)
• 3-4 years of experience in project-based, contracting, infrastructure, or services businesses
• Prior experience in Finance Business Partner, Commercial Finance, or Project Finance roles is highly desirable
• Exposure to bids, tenders, and contract-driven revenue models is a strong advantage

Why This Role?

• High visibility role with direct influence on profitability and decision-making
• Close interaction with senior leadership and core business teams
• Opportunity to shape financial discipline and commercial outcomes in a growing business