Senior Manager - Financial Planning & Analysis at Husk Power Systems

Role Summary

Husk is looking for a Senior Manager, Financial Planning and Analysis to join its Finance Team, with responsibility for developing and maintaining a strategic financial plan and annual operating and capital budgets, financial analysis, acquisitions and business development, revenue management, and preparation of the financial statements, in accordance with financial techniques appropriate to the energy sector, decision support and cost accounting of the organization. This role involves direct interface with external consultants, external auditors, banks, and regulators such as NERC, FIRS, etc. This role reports to the Global Chief Financial Officer (CFO) with a matrix reporting to the Country Director

The individual should also be passionate about contributing to solving one of Nigeria’s most critical challenges – the energy access deficit.

Key responsibilities:

General

• Evaluating the company’s current assets and investments, working capital, calculating return on investment (ROI), and suggesting alternative ways the company might utilize its cash flows.
• Gauging the company’s overall financial health, primarily by using key financial ratios.
• Risk Management from a business, process & controls, credit, regulatory and forex perspective.
• Examining and evaluating the cost-efficiency of each department of the company, considering what percentage of the company’s financial resources each department consumes.
• Adept at Cost Management with an intent to improve margins and efficiency.
• Hands on with costing evaluation and techniques.
• Working with individual departments to prepare budgets and consolidate them into one overall corporate budget.
• Preparing internal reports and dashboards for executive leadership and supporting their decision-making.
• Creating, updating, and maintaining financial models and detailed forecasts of the company’s future operations.
• Preparing financial models to evaluate new projects and business opportunities.
• Comparing historical results against budgets and forecasts and performing variance analysis to explain differences in performance and make improvements going forward.
• Considering opportunities for the company to expand or grow. Mapping outgrowth plans, including capital budgeting.
• Generating three- to five-year financial forecasts including Balance sheet and cash flows.
• Other related tasks and projects as requested.

Accounting, Reporting & Auditing

• Coordinate all monthly and annual financial processes for the local entity.
• Liaise with external financial consultants, ensuring adherence to all agreed timelines on deliverables (monthly accounting calendar), checking reconciliations, accurate recording in ledger and comprehensive and clear filing of all records and supporting documents.
• Ensures that all balance sheet accounts are reconciled monthly, and a system of internal controls is in place and followed to facilitate a clean audit opinion with no audit adjustments or internal control deficiencies noted. i.e., of internal controls, verifying the month end cash counts, reviewing monthly account reconciliations for balance sheet accounts, verifying the reconciliation between physical Inventory and ERP inventory values and ensuring the Fixed asset register is accurate.
• Identify new metrics to drive business performance relative to strategic priorities while minimizing risk.
• Develop strategies to increase cash flow forecast with the Country Director to ensure availability of cash annually.
• Serve as lead liaison with banks, negotiating minimum costs on transactions and FX.
• Produce monthly financial reports and interpret financial information to managerial staff while recommending further courses of action.
• Ensure supporting documents to grantors/financiers and other strategic partners are maintained and available as requested.
• Responsible for overseeing the end of year annual external audit and ensuring findings from the audit management letter are addressed.
• Provide support to business heads in implementing financial plans and productivity benchmarks, and to monitor progress toward financial goals i.e., financing projects for and by third parties.
• Oversee operations of the local finance function 
• Plan, assign, and review work of staff to ensure that group objectives are met. Hire, train, develop and manage staff to ensure that a qualified staff exists to meet group objectives.

Tax & Regulatory Compliance

• Ensure proper corporate governance practices including compliance with applicable Corporate Governance Code(s), statutory and other regulatory requirements.
• Verify that tax filings - VAT, PAYE, Withholding Taxes, NASSIT calculations, corporate income taxes are accurate and are filed before the statutory due dates.
• Ensure regulatory and tax compliance with the relevant regulators to ensure optimal planning. Register and renew dues & payments to statutory agencies.
• Ensure adequate budgeting systems for both operating and capital budgets.
• Manage memberships and registration to industry-specific, statutory organizations & subscriptions.
• Serve as lead liaison with NERC, especially on tariff and regulatory matters in conjunction with the Country Director.
• Prepare, publish, and update a compliance tracker capturing compliance requirements for projects, contracts, industry, investor, regulatory, and specific.

Business Growth and Support

• Ensure support for Business Units to ensure alignment with contracting, procurement and operational outlook.
• Drive cost optimization strategies are for implementation across various cost lines.
• Design and influence adoption by the Finance (and other relevant) team of tools for local management information and reporting purposes.
• Identify and track financial KPIs across core business functions with the goal to build on performance delivery quarter-on-quarter.
• Support Procurement Team on identifying and securing vendors and suppliers with better payment terms for core business component delivery.
• Support business growth and continuous cost & quality improvements in the business

Qualifications

General Skills & Attributes

• Solid proficiency in Microsoft Office, especially Excel, PPT, SAP, and/or other financial and enterprise planning and management software.
• Excellent financial planning and modeling skills with strong knowledge of financial operations procedures.
• Analytical thinker with strong conceptual and problem-solving skills.
• Proven proactive approach to financial management and regulatory compliance.
• Ability to process large amounts of data and convert to useful business information and recommendations.
• The ability to evaluate and convey complex information to others in an effective manner through persuasive communication, negotiating skills, and clear presentation skills in both verbal and written contexts.