Financial Controller

Purpose of the Role The Financial Controller owns the financial engine of the business: closing the books on time, protecting margin, keeping the banking relationships healthy, and giving management numbers they can act on. This is not a back office role. The person will sit close to Sales, Supply Chain and Procurement, challenge assumptions, and support the ownership on major commercial and investment decisions. --- Key Responsibilities #Financial Control and Reporting - Own the monthly, quarterly and annual close, and deliver the full reporting pack within agreed deadlines. - Prepare financial statements in line with IFRS, including multi currency accounting and the treatment of USD and LBP exposure. - Build and maintain the management reporting suite: P&L by brand, by SKU, by channel and by customer. - Lead the annual budget and rolling forecasts, and explain variances with commentary that is useful, not decorative. - Handle hyperinflation and currency devaluation accounting matters, including revaluation and translation impacts. #Banking and Treasury - Act as the main point of contact with local and correspondent banks. - Manage credit facilities, overdrafts, term loans, guarantees and letters of credit for imports of raw material, packaging and equipment. - Prepare bank submissions: financials, business plans, cash flow projections, covenant tracking. - Run cash flow forecasting on a weekly and monthly basis, and manage FX exposure and hedging where instruments are available. - Optimise working capital across receivables, payables and inventory. #Contracts and Commercial Agreements - Review, negotiate and control the financial terms of supplier, distributor, agency, lease, insurance and service contracts. - Set up and monitor customer trading terms: credit limits, payment terms, rebates, listing fees and promotional support. - Track contract obligations, renewal dates, penalty clauses and price adjustment mechanisms. - Coordinate with legal counsel on the financial exposure inside any agreement before signature. #FMCG Commercial Finance - Control trade spend and promotional investment, and measure return on each activity. - Own product costing and standard cost, including landed cost of imported material, customs duties, freight and clearance. - Monitor gross margin by product line, and flag erosion early with the reason behind it. - Support pricing decisions in a volatile cost and currency environment. - Control inventory: valuation, provisioning, shrinkage, expiry, cycle counts and full physical stock takes across warehouses and vans. - Review route to market economics, distributor profitability and secondary sales performance. #ERP and Systems - Lead or co lead the ERP implementation or upgrade, from selection through design, data migration, testing, go live and post go live stabilisation. - Design the chart of accounts, cost centre structure and reporting hierarchy. - Drive automation of manual processes and improve the quality and speed of data coming out of the system. - Work with IT and department heads to make sure the system matches how the business actually operates. #Governance, Tax and Audit - Design and enforce internal controls across procurement, sales, cash, inventory and payroll. - Manage VAT, income tax, payroll tax, NSSF and all filings with Lebanese authorities. - Handle external audit, statutory audit and any tax inspection, and close findings. - Protect company assets and reduce the risk of fraud, leakage and unrecorded loss. #Leadership and Business Partnering - Lead, coach and develop the finance team, and build a succession plan for key positions. - Sit at the management table as a business partner, not as a scorekeeper. - Contribute to strategy: expansion plans, new product launches, capex, make or buy decisions, feasibility studies and market entry. - Present clearly to owners, board members and external stakeholders. --- Requirements #Must Have - 15+ years of progressive finance experience, with at least 5 years in a Financial Controller, Finance Manager or equivalent senior position. - Solid FMCG background. Manufacturing plus distribution is strongly preferred over pure trading. - Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance or Business. Professional qualification such as CPA, ACCA, CMA or an MBA is a strong plus. - Strong IFRS knowled