Senior Finance Manager - Dubai

Overview

Key Responsibilities

• Own and govern the accounting-to-reporting process, ensuring IFRS-compliant accounting outcomes and a robust, well-controlled period-end close cycle (monthly, quarterly, and annual).
• Drive consistent application of Group accounting policies and provide technical accounting advice on new products, asset transfers, and emerging requirements.
• Ensure operational and transactional accounting requirements are appropriately executed and evidenced with a clear audit trail.
• Oversee key accounting activities performed onshore and offshore, including accruals, prepayments, provisions, recharges, intercompany and inter-branch entries, suspense and clearing accounts, and manual journals.
• Ensure correct mapping to the chart of accounts and reporting lines.
• Ensure timely reconciliation of key accounts — nostro, suspense, intercompany, and control accounts — and that reconciling items are investigated, aged, resolved, and evidenced.
• Identify recurring breaks such as posting errors, late feeds, and mapping issues; drive root-cause fixes with upstream teams, Finance Operations, and IT; and track remediation to closure.
• Deliver hands-on work alongside coaching to build a resilient, high-performing team.
• Drive collaboration across Finance and wider functions to deliver shared outcomes, deploying resources effectively across onshore and offshore models.
• Foster an inclusive growth culture focused on continuous learning, future skills, and a clear succession pipeline, encouraging early escalation and constructive challenge.
• Maintain a strong control culture across accounting-to-reporting activities, ensuring compliance with applicable accounting policies, reporting standards, and control requirements.
• Shape and implement an efficient operating model across onshore and offshore support, balancing cost, capacity, and control, and embedding standardised ways of working.
• Drive continuous improvement through standardisation, automation, and process simplification, ensuring changes are controlled, documented, and sustainable.
• Work with country Finance teams, Global Finance Operations, and MENAT functions to improve upstream data quality, reduce manual interventions, and strengthen end-to-end process ownership.
• Identify, manage, and mitigate accounting and financial reporting risks within acceptable thresholds through strict adherence to Group policies and required standards.
• Ensure key risks are assessed, documented, and escalated appropriately, including emerging external risk trends impacting accounting and reporting.
• Maintain an effective control framework over accounting-to-reporting activities, including SoX control ownership for relevant UAE processes.

Skills & Experience

• Graduate degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related discipline is preferred. A graduation degree is essential for obtaining a UAE visa and work permit.
• If your university certificate was issued outside the UAE, up-to-date attestations and equivalency documentation are mandatory in line with UAE recognition requirements for higher education qualifications issued abroad.
• Membership of a professional accounting body such as ACA or CPA is required.
• Deep subject matter expertise in financial accounting and reporting, including IFRS, with a strong understanding of controls and governance frameworks.
• Proven leadership experience building, developing, and motivating teams, with the ability to operate effectively as a hands-on leader.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, including the ability to influence without authority at senior levels across country, regional, and Group structures.
• Experience working with regulators and maintaining effective relationships; confident communicator able to explain accounting and risk matters in clear business language.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and deliver change across process improvement, operating model evolution, and system or reporting enhancements.
• Strong analytical capability with a track record of improving data quality and reporting insight through review and challenge.

About Senna

About Senna