Emeritus - Director - Finance

Director - Finance (University of Bristol, Mumbai)

Description:

Role Overview:

We are hiring a Head of Finance for a Joint Venture University under the India Campus business.

This role will be the finance leader for the JV, responsible for driving financial discipline, operational excellence, and informed decision-making at the campus level.

Beyond day-to-day financial management, the role acts as a strategic partner to the JV COO and campus leadership, supporting decisions on program mix, intake planning, pricing, cost structures, and scale-up initiatives.

The role reports hard-line to the JV Board and works closely with the VP Finance, India Campus Business, ensuring alignment with portfolio-level strategy and governance.

This role is suited for a finance leader who combines strong execution skills with commercial thinking and is comfortable operating in a JV and matrix environment.

Key Responsibilities:

- Campus Financial Strategy & Planning Translate campus academic and growth plans into annual budgets and medium-term financial plans.

- Budgeting, Forecasting & Performance Management Own annual budgeting and rolling forecasts for the JV.

- Business Partnering & Decision Support Act as the primary finance partner to the JV COO and leadership team.

- Accounting, Controls & Compliance Oversee outsourced accounting firm managing day-to-day bookkeeping and statutory compliance.

- Maintain strong internal controls, approval workflows, and audit readiness.

- Coordinate statutory, tax, and partner-university audits.

- Ensure timely and accurate management of tax, regulatory, and secretarial compliances for the JV, coordinating with advisors and central teams as required.

- Reporting, Governance & Stakeholder Management Prepare financial reports and dashboards for JV management, partner universities, and India Campus Finance.

- Cash Flow & Scale Readiness Manage cash flow planning, working capital, and funding requirements.

Desired Profile:

Experience & Qualifications:

- Chartered Accountant with 8 to 12 years of post-qualification experience.

- Experience in a business-unit, campus, or single-entity finance leadership role.

- Exposure to education, services, infrastructure, or operations-heavy businesses preferred.

- Comfort working with outsourced accounting models and matrix reporting.

Core Capabilities:

- Strong operational finance foundation with growing strategic acumen.

- Ability to influence business decisions through data and commercial insight.

- Hands-on mindset with the ability to zoom out to campus-level economics.

- High ownership, structure, and stakeholder-management skills.

Why This Role:

- End-to-end ownership of finance for university JV.

- Direct partnership with JV COO and campus leadership.

- Exposure to global university partners and structured JV governance.

- Clear progression path as campuses and responsibilities scale.