Associate Manager, Financial Planning Analysis at BIC Nigeria

BIC® products are known and appreciated all over the world for their quality, their affordability and ease of use. The ballpoint pen, the pocket lighter, the one-piece shaver are all part of the daily lives of millions of consumers. These products make BIC® one of the best known international brands, present in 3.2 million retail outlets, in more than 160 countries. As we explore the tremendous opportunities ahead, we have a need for dedicated and dynamic employees to help build our team.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Associate Manager, Financial Planning Analysis

Location: Lagos, Nigeria
Type: Full-time

Job Summary

The expectation is that the candidate will be an accomplished team-player to help drive the business forward. Forecasting, planning and budget management abilities will be crucial.
Reporting to the Nigeria Finance Manager, the ideal Financial Analyst would have 5+ years’ experience of Financial planning & Analysis (including the production of monthly management accounts and reporting) with a proven track-record within FMCG environment.
Must have a good understanding of all functions of the typical accounting department, including accounts receivable, accounts payable.
Must keep up with a material volume of information, often tracked in complex spreadsheets, thus requiring discipline and methodology.
Effective communication skills are crucial as she/he must be able to relay difficult, dense information to upper management in a precise and easy-to-understand way.
Responsible for providing full financial & business analytics and accounting support to the country manager, finance manager and to HQ finance department, ensuring all business decisions are taken with a full understanding of their financial impact.

Main Responsibilities / Tasks

Plan, collect data and prepare annual budgets/Rolling Forecast, monthly and quarterly financial forecasts, operating plan and modeling tools in conjunction with the Finance Manager and Sales/Marketing teams.
Submit, follow-up and justify budget components to the local management and to finance team.
Analyze current and past trends in key performance indicators including all areas of revenue, cost of sales, expenses, and capital expenditures.
Monitor performance indicators, highlighting trends and analyzing causes of unexpected variance Supervision of Financial Analyst(s).
Develop analysis of variances against operational plan, rolling forecast and business plan, suggest adequate corrective actions where needed.
Prepare rebates set-up, ensure proper calculation and manage their payments
Preparation of working capital analysis, P&L and balance sheet
Implement and work with a Business Intelligence Tool and Dashboard reports
Improve performance by evaluating processes to drive efficiencies and understand ROI in marketing programs, menu pricing, new store rollouts as well as new projects
Develop financial models and analyses to support strategic initiatives
Providing all departments (sales, marketing, HR, CS & SC…) with the necessary financial analysis and information
Providing ad-hoc month-end business report analysis to management
Maintaining Pricing Index, Item Master and Standard Costing Computation.

Key Performance Indicators / Key Figures:

Timely and Accurate Reporting in the different environments
KPI = deadline compliance + Post deadline adjustments tracking
Precision: Highest standards of accuracy and precision; highly well-organized and efficient
Active involvement in the good communication between finance and other departments.
Monthly closing on time and with all BIC procedures completed (31 steps in the closing procedure to manage in 4 days)
Accurate and timely reports on P&L and balance sheets items;
Completion of tasks within company and legal deadlines/standards;

Qualifications
Candidate Profile: Qualifications / Technical Skills (R = Required D = Desired):

Simple Criteria:

R – Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting / Economics / Finance
R – 5+ years’ experience in Financial Planning and Analysis
R – Fluent in English, People Oriented, Proactive
R – Exposure and interest to ERP and comfortable with IT.
R – Exposure in Consumer Products & Retail industry
D – Professional Accounting certification such as ACA, ACCA, CFA
D – MBA in financial management and planning is an added advantage
D – JDE, ANAPLAN, S2M & HFM knowledge is a plus
D – Professional knowledge of French is a plus

Complex Criteria:

R – Accounting, Financial and Reporting system knowledge
R – Practical knowledge of Advanced Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint skills and MS- Access
R – Cognate skill in Sage Evolution usage
D – Experience with Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) in a reputable organization
D – Demonstrated ability to roll-up sleeves and work with team members in a hands-on management capacity
R – Integrity, Assertive, Approachable, Adaptability
R – Committed and involved to transformation/cultural change
R – Self-motivated, detail-minded, well organized, responsible and willingness to learn
R – Must be able to work accurately under pressure without supervision.
R – Must be able to liaise and communicate at all levels.
R – Deadline driven.
R – Strong at process improvement with an analytical mind
R – Effective in communication and team player
D – Project management experience is appreciated
R – At least one proven experience in statutory consolidation (Knowledge of local GAAP and IFRS).
The candidate will be joining a Fast-Growing area, with newly implemented Nigeria Finance Department.
With Finance Manager support, she / he will be working on the business’ specific needs assessment and strategic roadmap, integrating / mapping disparate legacy systems and reengineered business processes, (overall systems design, risk and security design, data and information cleansing, financial close, consolidation, reporting processes, Tax…)
The candidate is expected to have a good understanding of all aspects of the Finance function, accounting acumen – and IT sensitivity.