Head of Strategy and Financial Planning - Lagos, Nigeria - Mutual Benefit Assurance

Description

Job Description

• The Head of Strategy and Financial Planning / Analysis provides decision support and management accountability through the analysis of financial reports, studies, plans / budgets, forecasts, and strategy development that inform leadership of the overall health of the business portfolio and strategy implementation.
• Manages the planning, developing, and implementing operational and strategic analyses to aid division operations in long-range planning, focusing on optimizing performance. Leads the line's forecasting, modelling, reporting, and predictive analytic efforts. Focuses on profit, growth, and loss analysis in collaboration with other Finance units and critical business partners.

Job Responsibilities

Strategy & Decision Support:

• Partner with and participate in divisional senior leadership team / meetings contributing to creating goals, strategies, and priorities; prioritize, align, and communicate strategy impacts to the Finance team.
• Setting up and implementing a three to five years strategic plan for the Company and Group.
• Lead the collaboration with peer divisions and business partners to obtain, develop, and build complex and predictive datasets top and bottom line, enabling the development of short- and long-term strategies to drive business results.
• Manage high-level business analysis using analytical methods such as segmentation, trend analysis, statistical modelling, and data mining.
• Lead the development of models to evaluate performance and financial impacts under various scenarios; work closely with Claims, Underwriting, and Product stakeholders to estimate economic impact of projects and initiatives, ensuring that analysis results are interpreted correctly during decision-making.
• Assess the impact of strategic financial decisions and present recommendations to leadership.
• Lead the design, development, implementation, and maintenance of recurring financial reports and models e.g. revenue, branches, retention, loss costs, expenses, products, distribution channel, etc..
• Maintain an active awareness of the Company's business environments, corporate culture, and structure to support critical decision-making.
• Assist with special projects as requested.

Reporting and Analysis:

• Support monthly close process and consolidation of quarterly/annual results. Prepare reports and summaries as required for inclusion in other financial reporting.
• Interpret and evaluate monthly/quarterly / annual analyses of business, current and past trends profit, growth, expense, and loss performance results, including budget and prior year variances of financial results and Key Performance Indicators to identify areas of risk and opportunities and provide recommendations.
• Work closely with the Finance team to prepare management & subsidiary reports for internal and Board of Directors use.
• Assess product/branch/customer profitability and drive profit optimization.
• Track industry and peer metrics to develop insight into competitor trends.
• Manage the development of business performance metrics and reporting packages or dashboards for Product Management, Underwriting, and Claims; establish appropriate metrics for each area and help govern metric use.
• Participate in divisional or corporate initiatives to improve analytic systems; collaborate with ICT and CFO on system enhancements to meet data and analytical needs.
• Act as subject matter expert representing the line in projects or initiatives sponsored by other divisions e.g. changes to performance measures, assessing impact from data or organizational changes, etc..
• Secure the required training, tools, and technologies required to meet business needs and expectations.
• Identify and lead the effort to implement routine means of measuring progress against Profit and Growth initiatives.
• Develop follow-up reporting for projects to determine whether implementations met expectations and operational goals.

Budgeting, Planning and Forecasting:

• Work closely with the business heads to develop financial models and analyses to support and update the Strategic Plan.
• Lead the annual financial budgeting and quarterly forecasting processes. Enhance the planning model to reflect the key variables in the business appropriately. Coordinate with departments to determine assumptions and establish key benchmarks.
• Consolidate and analyze the annual budget and long-range financial plans.
• Review short-term cash flow analysis and forecasting.
• Assess and enhance expense allocation methodologies.
• Assess capital requirements, develop capital plans and provide recommendations on capital allocation.
• Deliver accurate output in a timely manner. Demonstrate a deep understanding of the Company's business, including its risks and opportunities in its competitive environment.
• Serve as the finance business partner to support the financial operations of various departments in the organization.
• Drive continuous process improvement in operational planning, forecasting and financial analysis across the company, including the annual budgeting process.

Key Traits of a Successful Strategy / FPA:

• High competency in computer-based programs and applications.
• Analytical.
• Self-motivated and proactive with the ability to work unsupervised.
• Detail-oriented with strong organizational skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills to interact effectively with staff, clients, and subsidiaries.
• Proven written and oral communication skills and client service orientation.
• Efficient time management and demonstrated ability to multi-task.
• Adherence to compliance regulations.
• Positive attitude and desire to constantly learn and grow.

Education

• A Bachelor's Degree in Accounting / Finance / Economics / Business Administration is required. An MBA is a plus.

Experience:

• Experienced professional with at least ten 10 years of relevant accounting, strategy and FPA experience.
• Previous Insurance or related experience is highly preferred.

Skills / Knowledge / Abilities:

• Strong financial planning & analysis skills and general accounting/finance background required for this position.
• Experience with budgets, planning and forecasting of P&Ls.
• Strong quantitative, analytical, critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Strong computer skills, proficient with word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software, e-mail and meeting management software. Expert-level Microsoft Excel skills are required. Experience with BI and other database management tools is a big plus.
• Ability to analyze and synthesize visually appealing data that effectively tells a clear story.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills and strong interpersonal and conflict resolution skills are required.
• Ability to interact with individuals at all levels within the organization and be able to work independently as well as within a variety of teams.
• Must have solid business insight and understanding of various functional areas within the business.
• Prior experience with ERP is a strong plus.
• Ability to manage multiple competing priorities.