Job Description:

Role Purpose:

The Chief Financial Officer will provide strategic and operational leadership for the entire Finance and Accounting function of organization. The CFO will be responsible for financial stewardship, business planning, governance, risk management, statutory compliance, treasury, taxation, management reporting and the establishment of robust financial and operational controls.

In addition to conventional finance leadership, the CFO will play a central role in organization digital and organisational transformation. The incumbent must have successfully led or played a principal leadership role in at least one major, full-cycle ERP implementation - from business requirements and solution design through implementation, data migration, user adoption, go-live and post-implementation stabilisation.

The CFO will work closely and collaboratively with the CEO and other CXOs to define business strategy, improve organisational performance, institutionalise scalable processes and lead change across the company.

Key Responsibilities:

A. Financial Strategy and Business Leadership:

- Partner with the CEO, Board and other CXOs in developing and executing Organizations short-, medium- and long-term business strategy.

- Translate business strategy into financial plans, budgets, investment priorities and measurable performance targets.

- Provide commercially relevant financial insights to support growth, profitability, working-capital efficiency and sustainable value creation.

- Evaluate new business opportunities, distributorships, capital investments, expansion projects, service centres and strategic partnerships.

- Develop financial models and business cases for major investments and new business initiatives.

- Provide constructive financial challenge and support to business heads without becoming an obstacle to timely commercial decisions.

- Participate actively as a collaborative member of the executive leadership team.

B. Accounting and Financial Management:

- Ensure the accuracy, completeness and timeliness of books of accounts and financial statements.

- Oversee general accounting, accounts payable, accounts receivable, fixed assets, inventory accounting, payroll accounting and intercompany transactions.

- Ensure timely monthly, quarterly and annual financial closing.

- Prepare reliable management accounts and financial reports for the CEO, Board and shareholders.

- Ensure compliance with applicable accounting standards, company policies and statutory requirements.

- Establish appropriate accounting policies, procedures, charts of accounts and financial reporting structures.

- Manage external and internal audits and ensure timely closure of audit observations.

- Ensure effective financial consolidation and reporting across business units, branches and related entities, where applicable.

C. Financial Planning and Performance Management:

- Lead the annual budgeting, periodic forecasting and long-range financial planning processes.

- Establish a disciplined process for revenue, gross-margin, operating-cost, cash-flow and capital-expenditure planning.

- Develop business-unit, product-line, customer and branch-level profitability reporting.

- Monitor actual performance against budgets and forecasts and ensure timely corrective action.

- Introduce meaningful dashboards and performance indicators for management decision-making.

- Improve the quality, consistency and speed of financial and operational reporting.

- Support business leaders in understanding the financial consequences of operational and commercial decisions.

D. Treasury, Working Capital and Banking:

- Manage cash flow, liquidity, banking relationships, borrowings, foreign exchange exposure and financial risk.

- Develop and monitor working-capital targets covering receivables, inventory, payables and the cash-conversion cycle.

- Strengthen credit evaluation, customer credit limits, collections and overdue-debt management.

- Optimise banking facilities, trade-finance arrangements, letters of credit, guarantees and supplier-credit structures.

- Ensure efficient deployment of funds while maintaining adequate liquidity and financial resilience.

- Establish appropriate controls over payments, bank accounts, financing arrangements and foreign-currency transactions.

E. Taxation, Compliance and Governance:

- Ensure full and timely compliance with Tanzanian tax, regulatory, statutory and corporate-governance requirements.

- Oversee corporate income tax, VAT, withholding tax, payroll-related taxes, customs-related financial matters and other applicable obligations.

- Maintain effective working relationships with auditors, banks, tax advisers, regulators and relevant government authorities.

- Ensure accurate and timely submission of statutory returns and regulatory reports.

- Establish an effective financial-risk and compliance framework across the organisation.

- Maintain high standards of integrity, transparency, accountability and ethical conduct.

F. Internal Controls and Process Excellence:

- Design and implement practical internal controls across finance and key business processes.

- Establish clear policies, authority matrices, approval workflows and segregation of duties.

- Strengthen controls over procurement, inventory, sales, pricing, credit, collections, expenses, capital expenditure and asset management.

- Ensure that controls protect the business while remaining practical, efficient and supportive of operations.

- Implement processes and controls in a consultative and harmonious manner, securing ownership from the affected teams.

- Promote standardisation, simplicity, accountability and continuous process improvement.

- Ensure that control improvements are institutionalised through systems and workflows rather than excessive manual intervention.

G. ERP Implementation and Digital Transformation:

- Provide executive ownership and finance leadership for major ERP and business-system initiatives.

- Lead or actively participate in the entire ERP lifecycle, including:

1. Business-process assessment and requirement definition

2. Preparation and validation of user requirements

3. Process redesign and control integration

4. Solution and module evaluation

5. Vendor and implementation-partner selection

6. Project governance and milestone monitoring

7. Chart of accounts and financial-structure design

8. Master-data governance and data cleansing

9. System configuration and testing

10. Data migration and reconciliation

11. User acceptance testing

12. Training and change management

13. Cutover and go-live management

14. Post-go-live stabilisation and benefits realisation

- Ensure effective integration between Finance and other functions, including sales, procurement, inventory, manufacturing, service, transport, fleet management, human resources and fixed assets.

- Use technology to automate accounting entries, approvals, reconciliations, reporting, credit controls, collections, budgeting and management information.

- Reduce manual transactions, spreadsheet dependency, duplication of work and opportunities for error or control failure.

- Establish reliable management dashboards and data-driven decision-making across the organisation.

- Ensure that ERP implementation delivers measurable business benefits rather than becoming only a technology installation.

- Promote disciplined user adoption, process compliance and system ownership across departments.

H. Commercial and Operational Finance:

- Partner with Sales, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Service and other business functions to improve commercial performance.

- Support pricing, margin management, tender evaluation, contract review and customer profitability analysis.

- Ensure appropriate financial review of major quotations, tenders, contracts and credit proposals.

- Improve visibility of landed costs, inventory costs, product margins, service profitability and operating expenses.

- Develop frameworks for evaluating total cost of ownership, return on investment and lifecycle value for customers and internal investments.

- Support inventory optimisation, demand planning and reduction of obsolete and slow-moving stocks.

- Strengthen financial discipline without affecting the organisation's responsiveness to customers and market opportunities.

I. Change Management and Organisational Development:

- Act as a key sponsor and leader of business transformation initiatives.

- Communicate the purpose, benefits and practical implications of process and system changes.

- Build alignment among CXOs, functional heads and operating teams.

- Anticipate resistance to change and address it through engagement, training, communication and leadership.

- Balance the need for control and standardisation with sensitivity to people, operational realities and local practices.

- Build a performance-oriented culture based on collaboration, accountability and continuous improvement.

- Demonstrate patience, cultural awareness and adaptability while introducing new systems and disciplines.

J. People Management:

- Build, lead and develop a competent, service-oriented and commercially aware finance team.

- Define clear roles, responsibilities, performance standards and succession plans.

- Coach finance personnel in accounting, controls, systems, analytics and business partnering.

- Create a culture of accuracy, timeliness, ownership, professionalism and continuous learning.

- Ensure that the Finance function is regarded as a trusted business partner across organization.

- Identify capability gaps and implement appropriate recruitment, training and development plans.

Required Qualifications and Experience:

- Professional qualification in Accounting or Finance such as CPA, ACCA, CA, CIMA or an equivalent recognised qualification.

- Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Commerce, Economics or a related discipline.

- MBA or other relevant postgraduate qualification would be an advantage.

- 15 - 20 years of progressive experience in Finance and Accounting, including significant experience in a senior finance leadership role.

- Experience in a diversified business involving trading, distribution, manufacturing, services, automotive, industrial products, logistics or related sectors would be highly desirable.

- Strong working knowledge of financial reporting, budgeting, taxation, treasury, audit, internal controls and working-capital management.

- Practical understanding of Tanzanian commercial, taxation, regulatory and business conditions would be a significant advantage.

4. Mandatory ERP and Technology Experience:

Candidates must demonstrate that they have:

- Successfully led or played a principal leadership role in at least one major, full-cycle ERP implementation from concept to go-live.

- Participated throughout the ERP journey rather than being involved only as an end user or during the final implementation stage.

- Managed key areas such as business requirements, process design, financial configuration, controls, data migration, testing, training, cutover and post-go-live stabilisation.

- Demonstrated measurable success in using IT to automate Accounting, Finance and wider business processes.

- Implemented technology-enabled improvements in areas such as financial closing, management reporting, procure-to-pay, order-to-cash, inventory control, fixed assets, credit management, collections, reconciliations or budgeting.

- Worked with a recognised enterprise ERP platform such as Oracle Fusion Cloud, SAP, Microsoft Dynamics or an equivalent system.

- Experience with Oracle Fusion Cloud would be particularly relevant.

Leadership and Behavioural Competencies:

The successful candidate should demonstrate:

- Strong and mature leadership with the ability to influence at Board, CXO and operating levels.

- A collaborative approach and willingness to work as an equal team member with other CXOs.

- Strategic thinking combined with a practical, hands-on orientation.

- High personal integrity, professional independence and sound judgement.

- Ability to implement processes and controls firmly but harmoniously.

- Strong change-management and stakeholder-engagement capabilities.

- Ability to explain financial and technical matters in clear business language.

- Respect for local culture and the ability to adapt leadership and communication styles accordingly.

- Ability to develop trust across different functions, nationalities, professional backgrounds and organisational levels.

- Commercial awareness and an understanding of the need to balance governance, customer responsiveness and business growth.

- Resilience, patience and the ability to operate effectively in a developing and transforming organisation.

- Strong analytical, negotiation, communication and problem-solving abilities.

Key Performance Indicators:

The CFO's performance may be assessed against the following measures:

- Accuracy and timeliness of monthly and annual financial reporting.

- Achievement of budgeted revenue, profitability, cash flow and return targets.

- Improvement in working capital, receivable days and inventory efficiency.

- Timely completion of statutory audits, tax filings and compliance requirements.

- Reduction in audit qualifications, control weaknesses and unreconciled balances.

- Successful delivery and stabilisation of ERP implementation milestones.

- Level of process automation and reduction in manual work and spreadsheet dependency.

- Quality and availability of management dashboards and decision-support information.

- Improvement in business-unit, customer and product profitability visibility.

- Effective implementation and adoption of policies, processes and internal controls.

- Development, retention and performance of the Finance team.

- Quality of collaboration with the CEO, Board, CXOs and business-unit leaders.

- Realisation of measurable financial and operational benefits from transformation initiatives.

7. Position Success Profile:

The ideal CFO will be more than a custodian of accounts. The incumbent will be a strategic business partner, technology-enabled transformation leader and organisational change agent who can establish strong financial discipline while maintaining trust and cooperation across the company.

Success in this position will require the ability to combine financial rigour, commercial judgement, ERP implementation experience, process orientation and people leadership. The individual must be capable of introducing stronger systems and controls without creating unnecessary bureaucracy and must be comfortable working within and adapting to the local Tanzanian cultural and business environment.