FP&A & Finance Business Partner Lead

Role purpose Lead the affiliate performance agenda by integrating commercial, demand and financial information into one forward-looking view of the business. The FP&A Lead is accountable for affiliate planning and consolidation, regional submissions and team leadership, while serving as a strategic Finance partner to commercial leaders across South Africa and Region Africa. The role ensures that recommendations presented to the Finance Director are commercially relevant, financially sound and supported by a reconciled affiliate view. The FP&A Lead owns the breadth and final integration of the affiliate Finance agenda, with commercial partnering embedded across the business. The role provides enterprise-level strategic support and constructive challenge while ensuring that Finance Managers remain close partners to their respective business areas. Key responsibilities • Lead affiliate planning and forecasting. Manage the monthly Latest Best Estimate (LBE), annual Plan and Long-Range Plan (LRP) processes, including calendars, assumptions, business input reviews and the delivery of one reconciled affiliate view. • Provide commercial-finance leadership. Partner with Business Unit Directors and commercial leaders to translate performance into actionable insight, challenge material assumptions and evaluate investments, pricing, portfolio choices and business cases. • Drive performance management. Integrate actual results, forecasts, risks and opportunities; explain key drivers; and recommend actions that improve business performance and predictability. • Own affiliate consolidation and regional submissions. Evaluate and reconcile business-unit, demand and cross-functional inputs, and ensure accurate, consistent and timely submissions and responses. • Support sound decision-making. Review and endorse Finance recommendations before escalation to the Finance Director for approval or decision, as applicable. • Lead and develop the team. Set priorities for the Finance Managers and Demand Manager, allocate capacity, delegate effectively, coach team members and maintain high standards of output quality. • Strengthen ways of working. Clarify ownership across Finance, provide direction and quality oversight, and avoid duplicating work assigned to Finance Managers or assuming ownership of supply-chain execution. • Champion continuous improvement. Simplify, standardize or eliminate reports, models and processes that do not support effective decision-making, while strengthening controls and data quality. Key stakeholders • Finance Director and Country leadership. • Business Unit Directors and their respective commercial leadership teams. • Regional Finance and Financial Support Services. • Financial Controller and Supply leadership. • Sales, Marketing, Market Access, Medical and Human Resources. • Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting or a related discipline; a CA(SA), CIMA, CPA, MBA or equivalent professional qualification is advantageous. • Progressive experience in financial planning and analysis and commercial finance within a complex, matrixed organization; pharmaceutical or healthcare experience is advantageous. • Demonstrated capability in forecasting, affiliate consolidation, financial modelling, performance analysis and executive-level communication. • Strong analytical, problem-solving and communication skills, with the ability to translate complex financial information into clear business recommendations. • Ability to lead a team, delegate effectively and challenge senior stakeholders constructively. • Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint; experience with SAP, planning systems and data-visualization tools such as Power BI is advantageous. • High standards of financial integrity, judgement and foll