Chief Financial Officer - (SFO) - Bahrain – Job Ref: 26065

Howard Lock Consulting Ltd; Manama; On-site; BHD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Howard Lock Consulting Ltd in Bahrain is seeking a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to lead the finance function as the client builds an in-house operation in Seef/Manama. You will own all financial management and reporting, including investment oversight, with a lean initial team and ample growth potential.

The ideal candidate has 10+ years post-qualification finance experience, a fully qualified accounting credential, and deep experience in investments, treasury, budgeting and controls.

Qualifications

• 10+ years post-qualification finance experience in family offices or investment environments.
• Fully qualified accountant.
• Strong understanding of investments across public, private and alternatives.
• Experience with consolidated financial statements, treasury and liquidity management, budgeting, controls and audit.
• Hands-on, self-sufficient style; comfortable building processes from scratch in a lean team.
• Absolute discretion and integrity in handling private family affairs.

Responsibilities

• Lead the handover of finance and reporting from external providers to in-house teams.
• Design and implement the office finance operating model, including policies, processes, and chart of accounts.
• Recruit, lead and develop the finance team as the office grows.
• Own financial reporting for the family office and holding entities, including consolidated statements.
• Oversee investment reporting, performance monitoring, and due-diligence input.
• Manage treasury, liquidity, cash across accounts and jurisdictions.
• Coordinate audit, tax, and regulatory matters with advisers.
• Maintain relationships with banks, fund administrators and external managers.
• Hands-on leadership of the finance and investment agenda.

Skills

Financial reporting

Portfolio management

Investments knowledge

Treasury management

Budgeting & controls

Audit experience

Leadership

Discretion & integrity

Education

Fully qualified accountant

Job description

Role: Chief Financial Officer (SFO)

Role type: Permanent

Salary: Competitive

Location: Seef / Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain (on-site)

Experience: 10–15 years, including at least 10 in a family office or comparable investment environment.

Job Ref: 26065

The Job Opportunity:

Our client is a prominent, multi-generational business family operating through their single-family office. Having built a substantial, diversified investment portfolio that was previously administered by an external third-party provider, the client is now bringing its finance and investment operations in-house.

As part of this transition, the client is opening an operational office in Bahrain.

The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) represents the most senior hire in this strategic build-out. Working closely with the Principal, the CFO will take over portfolio management from the external provider, establish the office’s finance function from scratch, and own every aspect of financial management and reporting. The initial team will be lean, with significant scope for growth over time.

Key responsibilities:

• Lead the handover of finance, reporting and records from the external provider to the in-house team, with no loss of continuity or control.
• Design and implement the office’s finance operating model, including policies, processes, systems and chart of accounts.
• Recruit, lead and develop the team and shape the function as the office grows.

Financial reporting:

• Own financial reporting for the family office and its holding entities, including consolidated financial statements.
• Deliver clear, timely management reporting to the principal and the family.
• Ensure compliance with applicable accounting standards and regional/local regulatory requirements.

Investment reporting & performance monitoring:

• Produce consolidated portfolio reporting across all asset classes, regional and international.
• Monitor investment performance, exposures and risk, and present findings and recommendations to the principal.
• Support investment decisions with analysis, valuations and due-diligence input.

Treasury & liquidity:

• Manage cash, liquidity and FX across accounts and jurisdictions.
• Plan capital calls, distributions and the family’s liquidity needs.
• Optimise banking arrangements and cash deployment.

Controls, budgeting & audit:

• Establish a robust internal control framework with appropriate segregation of duties.
• Prepare and manage the office’s annual budget and forecasts.
• Lead the external audit and coordinate tax and legal matters with advisers.

External relationships:

• Act as main point of contact for banks, codians, fund administrators and external investment managers.
• Oversee onboarding, documentation, fees and reporting from all external providers.
• The role is hands-on. The CFO will run the full finance and investment operations agenda personally, with the principal’s support.

The ideal candidate’s profile:

Essential:

• 10+ years of post-qualification finance experience, ideally in a single- or multi-family office, investment holding company, private investment firm or asset manager.
• Fully qualified accountant.
• Strong understanding of investments across public and private markets and alternatives.
• Proven experience of consolidated financial statements, treasury and liquidity management, budgeting, controls and audit.
• Hands-on, self-sufficient style, comfortable building processes from scratch in a lean team.
• Absolute discretion and integrity in handling a family’s private affairs.

Personal qualities:

• A trusted adviser who can build a close working relationship with the principal and the family.
• Commercially minded, structured and detail-focused, with sound judgement.
• Clear communicator who turns complex financial and investment data into simple insight.
• Based in Bahrain.