Senior Financial Analyst

Role Overview

This position sits at the core of the company's financial planning and control function, delivering data-driven insights that shape both immediate operational decisions and long-term strategic direction. Day to day, the Senior Financial Analyst works closely with department heads and the sales team to convert raw numbers into actionable recommendations, ensuring budgets are realistic, costs are managed, and performance is measured against clear targets. The role matters because it provides the quantitative foundation for everything from pricing adjustments to capital project approvals, directly influencing the organisation's profitability and competitive edge.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the annual operating budget process across all departments, consolidating inputs from multiple stakeholders and tracking actual expenditure against approved plans to flag deviations early.
• Generate daily and weekly production statistics, measuring efficiency, usage rates, output volumes, and cost per unit, then compare results against plan targets to identify areas for operational improvement.
• Conduct profitability and viability studies on individual products, market segments, and new initiatives, presenting clear financial models that support go/no-go decisions.
• Maintain the accuracy of pricing structures by reviewing price lists and ensuring system updates are applied correctly and in a timely manner.
• Track sales volumes and revenue on a periodic basis, performing variance analysis to explain trends and forecast future performance.
• Provide analytical support to the sales and marketing function, including weekly sales tracking, calculation of distributor discounts, and analysis of sales commission payouts tied to incentive plans.
• Prepare monthly management reports with detailed variance commentary, reconcile ledger data with operational reports, and compile load files and cost files required for month-end close.
• Assist in the preparation of approval documents (such as Capital Appropriation Requests) for new projects, set up project codes in the ERP system, and monitor spend throughout the project lifecycle to prevent budget overruns.
• Contribute to annual financial planning cycles and periodic forecasting updates, ensuring projections reflect both historical trends and current business drivers.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Minimum five years of relevant costing experience within a manufacturing environment, demonstrating a strong grasp of standard costing, variance analysis, and production economics.
• Bachelor's degree in Commerce, Accounting, Finance, or Statistics (BCom, BSc, or equivalent).
• Professional accounting or finance qualification such as CPA or equivalent certification is required.
• At least five years of hands-on experience with Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS), including its financial and project modules.
• Expert-level proficiency in Microsoft Excel, with the ability to build complex models, pivot tables, and data visualisations without external assistance.