Director of Finance, Performance & Transformation

Location: Dubai, UAE
Function: Finance & Accounting
Reports To: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) & Chief Operations Officer (COO)
Industry: Manufacturing, Distribution & International Trading

Role Overview

Our client is seeking a commercially minded Director of Finance, Performance & Transformation to lead the Finance & Accounting function and build the governance, financial insight, systems and infrastructure required to support the organisation's next phase of international growth.

This is a broad leadership role covering financial strategy, FP&A, accounting, controls, compliance, treasury, working capital, manufacturing economics, procurement, commercial decision-making and finance transformation.

The successful candidate will combine strong technical finance expertise with commercial judgement, leadership capability, change management skills and practical technology/AI fluency.

The role will lead an existing Finance & Accounting team, with responsibility for assessing the current organisation, strengthening capabilities, redesigning processes and structures where required, and recruiting additional talent to support future growth.

Key Responsibilities

1. Finance Leadership, Strategy & FP&A

• Lead financial accounting, management accounting, FP&A, treasury, AP, AR, cost accounting, tax and compliance.
• Translate business strategy into annual budgets, rolling forecasts, financial plans, scenarios, KPIs and performance reviews.
• Provide forward-looking analysis on growth, investment, risk, capacity and resource allocation.
• Deliver timely reporting on revenue, gross margin, operating costs, cash flow, working capital, inventory and profitability by product, customer, distributor and market.

2. Accounting, Tax & Financial Governance

• Ensure accurate and timely monthly, quarterly and annual closing, reporting, reconciliations and audit readiness.
• Establish robust accounting policies, chart of accounts and financial reporting standards.
• Oversee UAE VAT, Corporate Tax and other applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.
• Develop financial policies, Delegation of Authority and approval matrices covering expenditure, procurement, contracts, credit, discounts, inventory, CAPEX, payments and treasury.
• Strengthen segregation of duties and internal controls to minimise financial leakage, fraud, errors and operational risk.

3. Treasury, Working Capital & Risk

• Own cash-flow forecasting, liquidity planning, banking relationships, payment controls and financing requirements.
• Optimise working capital across receivables, payables and inventory.
• Strengthen customer credit assessment, collections and ageing escalation.
• Improve supplier and customer/distributor payment and credit terms while balancing growth and risk.

4. Manufacturing, Inventory & Cost Accounting

• Establish reliable product and landed-cost methodologies covering raw materials, packaging, manufacturing, freight, duties and other relevant costs.
• Ensure accurate inventory valuation and reconciliation across warehouses, physical stock and financial systems.
• Implement controls over inventory movements, samples, damages, adjustments and write-offs.
• Partner with Operations, Supply Chain and Product teams to improve manufacturing economics, cost visibility, margins and new-product decisions.

5. Procurement & Commercial Oversight

• Provide financial and commercial oversight of strategic procurement.
• Establish sourcing policies, approval thresholds, competitive quotation processes and supplier benchmarking.
• Evaluate supplier quotations, cost structures, MOQs, volume commitments, payment terms and total cost of ownership.
• Support negotiations with manufacturers, packaging suppliers, logistics providers, technology vendors and professional-service providers.
• Review major supplier, distributor, warehousing and technology contracts, including pricing, discounts, rebates, credit exposure, exclusivity and minimum commitments.
• Use spend analytics, automation and AI-enabled tools to improve procurement insight, supplier comparison and purchasing controls.

6. Revenue Streams, Channels & Marketing Effectiveness

• Establish a consistent view of revenue and commercial performance across online, offline, retail, export, distributor, marketplace and other revenue channels.
• Evaluate channel growth, gross margin, contribution, cost-to-serve and working-capital requirements.
• Partner with Sales, E-commerce, Retail, Export and Operations teams on targets, forecasts and performance reviews.
• Assess marketing effectiveness by campaign, platform, product and market.
• Measure ROAS, return on marketing investment, customer acquisition economics and incremental contribution.
• Develop dashboards linking marketing expenditure to revenue quality, margin and cash generation.

7. Product Economics, Cost Optimisation & Pricing

• Own product-level unit economics and P&Ls covering revenue, standard/actual cost, landed cost, gross margin, contribution margin and cost-to-serve.
• Develop profitability analysis by product, customer, distributor, channel and market.
• Establish margin thresholds, performance diagnostics and exception approval processes.
• Lead cost optimisation across formulations, raw materials, packaging, manufacturing, freight, warehousing and other controllable costs.
• Develop pricing strategies based on product positioning, target margins, competition, channel economics, taxes, duties and currency exposure.
• Govern pricing and price changes through structured financial models and approval processes.
• Evaluate discounts, promotions, commercial incentives, new-market entry and distributor appointments.
• Build detailed business cases for product launches covering demand scenarios, pricing, marketing investment, unit economics, break-even, working capital, cannibalisation, sensitivities and expected returns.
• Develop complex commercial and financial models to clearly communicate value drivers, risks, sensitivities and returns.

8. ERP, Automation, Analytics & AI

• Own the finance technology strategy and ERP roadmap.
• Ensure integration between Finance, Procurement, Inventory, Sales, Manufacturing and other core functions.
• Replace fragmented spreadsheets and manual processes with controlled workflows and scalable system-based reporting.
• Automate processes including invoice capture, AP, bank reconciliation, collections, expenses, month-end close, reporting, budgeting and procurement analytics.
• Implement practical and responsible AI applications across document processing, transaction classification, anomaly detection, reconciliations, forecasting and management reporting.
• Use AI to accelerate financial modelling, scenario planning and business-case development while maintaining appropriate governance and human oversight.
• Develop dashboards providing leadership with timely visibility into financial and operational performance.

9. People Leadership & Organisational Development

• Lead and develop the existing Finance & Accounting team.
• Set clear priorities, performance expectations, KPIs and professional standards.
• Assess the current organisation, capabilities and capacity and redesign structures, responsibilities and reporting lines where required.
• Retain and develop high-performing talent while recruiting additional capabilities where gaps exist.
• Build a high-performing finance organisation with clear accountability, development plans and succession depth.
• Coach finance leaders and team members while promoting ownership, professional standards and constructive challenge.
• Lead organisational change pragmatically while maintaining appropriate financial discipline and supporting an entrepreneurial growth environment.

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate will be an accomplished finance leader capable of operating across strategic leadership, commercial decision-making and detailed financial operations.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Commerce or a related discipline.
• CA, CPA, ACCA or CMA strongly preferred.
• MBA or relevant postgraduate qualification is advantageous.
• Typically 12+ years of progressive Finance & Accounting experience, including significant leadership responsibility across a broad finance function.
• Proven experience assessing, restructuring and scaling Finance & Accounting teams.
• Strong track record in developing internal controls, financial policies, approval frameworks and management reporting.
• Experience in manufacturing, FMCG, consumer products, perfumes/cosmetics, distribution or international trading is strongly preferred.
• Strong knowledge of inventory, manufacturing and product cost accounting, unit economics, product P&Ls, treasury, working capital and multi-market profitability.
• Demonstrated experience in cost optimisation, cost control and product pricing within a multi-product environment.
• Experience supporting procurement and negotiating supplier, distributor and other commercial contracts.
• Working knowledge of UAE VAT, Corporate Tax and local compliance requirements; UAE operating experience preferred.
• Hands-on experience with ERP optimisation, finance transformation, automation, analytics and/or AI-enabled finance solutions.
• Expert-level Excel skills, including complex integrated financial models, scenario and sensitivity analysis, advanced formulas and data modelling.
• Practical experience using AI to improve commercial modelling and accounting, finance and procurement processes.
• Experience analysing omnichannel revenue performance, marketplace economics, export economics and marketing returns including ROAS.
• Proven ability to build investment-grade business cases for product launches and growth initiatives.
• International experience involving suppliers, distributors, currencies and multiple markets is advantageous.

Core Competencies

• Strategic Finance & FP&A
• Financial Control & Governance
• Commercial Finance & Business Partnering
• Channel & Revenue Analytics
• Marketing ROI & ROAS
• Commercial Judgement & Negotiation
• Treasury & Working Capital
• Manufacturing, Inventory & Cost Accounting
• Product P&L & Unit Economics
• Cost Optimisation & Cost Control
• Product Pricing Strategy
• Advanced Excel Modelling & Business Cases
• UAE Tax & Compliance
• ERP & Finance Systems
• Automation, Analytics & AI
• Procurement & Commercial Oversight
• Team Leadership & Capability Building
• Executive Stakeholder Management
• Change Leadership & Transformation

Success Measures

CONTROL: Robust policies, ownership structures, approval routes and segregation of duties are embedded across financial and commercial processes.

VISIBILITY: Leadership has accurate and timely insight into cash, margins, inventory, performance and emerging risks.

CHANNEL PERFORMANCE: Online, offline, retail, export and marketplace economics are clearly measured and actively improved.

FINANCIAL DISCIPLINE: Budgeting, working capital, procurement, pricing and contract decisions are supported by consistent financial rigour.

PRODUCT ECONOMICS: Product P&Ls and unit economics are reliable, pricing is disciplined and cost optimisation delivers sustainable margin improvement.

MARKETING ACCOUNTABILITY: Marketing investment is linked to measurable commercial outcomes through credible ROAS, return and contribution analysis.

EFFICIENCY: Core finance processes become increasingly standardised and automated, reducing manual work and improving data integrity.

COMMERCIAL PARTNERSHIP: Finance actively influences procurement, pricing, distributor economics, negotiations and investment decisions.

TECHNOLOGY & AI ENABLEMENT: ERP, automation, analytics and responsible AI measurably improve financial controls, productivity and decision-making.

TEAM CAPABILITY: The Finance & Accounting function has the appropriate structure, talent, leadership depth and performance culture to support the organisation's ambitions.

SCALABILITY: Finance people, systems and processes are capable of supporting continued international growth without compromising speed, control or visibility.

Apply now!