Head of Budgeting and Forecasting

QAFCO (Qatar Fertiliser Company); Doha; On-site; QAR 360,000 - 600,000; Full time

Job summary

QAFCO (Qatar Fertiliser Company) seeks a senior professional to manage budgeting and forecasting for the group, including standardizing templates and automating the process across departments. You will consolidate inputs, ensure accuracy, and present to management with insights on variances and financial status.

The role requires a decade of budgeting/forecasting experience, strong leadership, and a track record in large manufacturing or petrochemical environments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance or Accounting or equivalent.
• Minimum 10 years direct & relevant experience in budgeting/forecasting.
• Experience in Oil & Gas, Petrochemical or large manufacturing preferred.
• Professional certification (CIMA/CGMA/ACCA) is advantageous.
• Strong leadership, communication and presentation skills.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the budgeting and forecasting process across the company and subsidiaries.
• Prepare and automate budgeting templates and ensure controlled processes.
• Consolidate data for budget presentation and provide an overview of financial status.

Skills

Leadership

Financial analysis

Budgeting

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Finance or Accounting

CIMA/CGMA/ACCA certification

Tools

ERP systems

Data analytics tools

Job description

The role holder is responsible for managing the whole process of budgeting and forecasting in the company which includes preparing the templates to prepare the budget and forecasting in a controlled and automated/digitalized way by all concerned sections / departments. Comply with the approved policy of budgeting regarding the deadlines and the management of the budgeting and forecasting process. Receiving the budget and forecast estimates from all the departments of the organization and critically examines them for correctness, accuracy and completeness and conformance with the established procedures, regulations, and organizational objectives.

The role holder responsible for suggesting suitable amendments in the budget to managerial staff of the concerned department and consolidating the data for budget presentation and providing an overview of the financial status of all the operations. The important part of this role is also to monitor the budget throughout the year versus forecast, preparing detailed variance reports pertaining to discrepancies and amendments that occurred in the budget, during the entire financial year.

The role holder support in providing information and presentation to the Board of Directors. Budgets should be prepared for each of the company’s subsidiaries and Group. The role holder should liaise and provide budget and long-range plans to shareholders.

Key Accountabilities:

• Responsible for the daily supervision, quality control and adherence to confidentiality policies of the section.
• Hold regular meetings with the team, keeping the team informed about management decisions.
• Manage and prepare annual financial plan and planning model.
• Develop guidelines for financial planning, forecasting and modelling.
• Develop seamless process from financial planning to annual budget and lead the preparation of Group consolidated Budget / Parent / Subsidiary Budget (Revenues, OPEX & CAPEX) including all financial statements for presenting to management team.
• Support the preparation of financial report to the Board
• Market price analysis
• Develop / Review / update financial budget and forecast guidelines to end-users.
• Develop and maintain a group balance score card, measure financial performance through group KPI’s.
• Manage financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, and variance (revenue and expenditure) reporting to the Management Team and other stakeholders.
• Provide ad hoc reports to management needed for decision making.
• Interacts with other departments / sections in obtaining the necessary inputs for the budget preparation.
• Collects statistical, project, and budget/forecast information for budget/forecast preparation and calculations.
• Suggests improvement to budgeting/forecast process and control – including IT tooling/digitalization.
• Develop a business analyst network.
• Communicates with representatives of shareholders to provide assumptions/details around budgeting and forecasting outcomes.
• Maintain professional relationships with various stakeholders (i.e., auditors, owners, local authorities, etc.).
• Responsible for the implementation of these processes into ERP (functional ownership).
• Lead section-related improvement projects to streamline workflow and simplify work processes, e.g., by using continuous improvement techniques.
• Responsible for the development, implementation and maintenance of relevant policies and procedures.
• Ensure compliance with internal controls, policies, and procedures as well as local laws and regulations. Respond to requests for information from regulatory bodies.
• Participate and follow up on projects as discussed with Line.
• Participate as needed in (internal) audits relevant for the section and close assigned (audit) action on time.
• Prepare the section’s annual budget, monitor progress, and implement action when required.
• Support and monitor progress of Finance Division KPIs.
• Lead and develop the staff of the Budgeting & Forecasting Section
• Ensure availability of qualified and competent staff by initiating recruitment, development, and training actions. Plan and follow-up development of nationals.
• Promote “soft skills” like problem solving skills, communication/presentation skills, time management, attention to detail, accountability/ownership, teamwork, influence without authority and pro-activeness.

Desired Candidate Profile:

• Bachelor’s Degree in relevant discipline, preferable Finance or Accounting.
• Minimum of 10 years’ direct & relevant experience in similar roles, preferably within the Oil & Gas, Petrochemical or Large Manufacturing Industry.
• Having professional certification in the relevant field (i.e., CIMA, CGMA, ACCA, etc.) is an advantage.