Director, Finance Business Partner

Mastercard Inc.; Riyadh; On-site; SAR 600,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

Mastercard Inc. in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, seeks a Director – West Arabia Finance Business Partner to lead the finance partnership for the West Arabia division.

The role reports to the Vice President – DFO East and West Arabia and anchors FP&A, planning, performance management, and strategic execution with the local management team. The position requires broad finance expertise, strong communication and negotiation skills, and a track record in cross-functional collaboration.

Qualifications

• Relevant qualification in business, accounting and/or a related discipline.
• Broad understanding of all the different areas of finance.
• Results oriented and performance driven with a focus on excellence.
• Good understanding of reporting, forecasting and budgeting techniques.
• Strong strategic thinking and business understanding.
• Strong communication, negotiation and influencing skills.
• Strong relationship management and networking skills.
• Experience working in cross functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Act as the primary finance liaison for West Arabia division, collaborating closely with the management team, account managers, marketing, services, and the West Arabia Finance team.
• Lead profit and loss (P&L) management and results analysis to support business performance, identify risks and opportunities, and deliver actionable insights.
• Drive forecasting and budgeting processes across markets, customers, and product lines.
• Contributes to the development, assessment and implementation of the Sales Incentive Plans [SIP]; sets plan objectives and calculates individual results; Ensure local investment and fund allocation are aligned with fund objectives, customer requirements, and country strategy.
• Assess the financial impact of new Customer Business Agreements (CBAs) in partnership with account managers, maintain a robust pipeline of CBA opportunities, and monitor deal performance.
• Promote excellence in controllership by educating business teams on relevant accounting principles, policies, and procedures.
• Oversee ad-hoc strategic projects related to pricing and P&L by product and segment.
• Lead evaluations of special initiatives including partnerships, non-traditional deals, and mergers & acquisitions.
• Cultivate strong relationships with the DFO, West Arabia Finance team, and the broader EEMEA Finance organization.
• Contribute to core finance functions—such as FP&A, Controller’s Group, Pricing, Business Planning, and Deal Management—and advocate for continuous improvement.

Skills

Finance partnership

P&L management

Forecasting

Budgeting

Strategic thinking

Communication

Negotiation

Influencing

Cross-functional teamwork

Education

Relevant qualification in business/accounting

Job description

Title and Summary

Director, Finance Business Partner Role: Director – West Arabia Director Finance Business Partner

Geographical Coverage: West Arabia

Reporting line: Vice President – DFO East and West Arabia

Overview

Responsible for a broad range of finance related responsibilities and acts as a finance business partner for West Arabia Division

The Finance Business Partner team assumes full responsibility for planning, operating performance, and management reporting for the Division & Cluster. We also partner with the business for development of Strategy and play an integral role in execution and tracking of strategy execution plans.

Reporting to the Vice President, East and West Arabia DFO.

Position based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Key Relationships

Key stakeholders: Country/Cluster General Managers, Sales force/teams; Regional FP&A and CFO; Product management.

Global: Global Finance, GBSC, Billing Services.

External: Customers, Suppliers and Regulators.

Responsibilities

Act as the primary finance liaison for West Arabia division, collaborating closely with the management team, account managers, marketing, services, and the West Arabia Finance team.

Lead profit and loss (P&L) management and results analysis to support business performance, identify risks and opportunities, and deliver actionable insights.

Drive forecasting and budgeting processes across markets, customers, and product lines.

Contributes to the development, assessment and implementation of the Sales Incentive Plans [SIP]; sets plan objectives and calculates individual results; Ensure local investment and fund allocation are aligned with fund objectives, customer requirements, and country strategy.

Assess the financial impact of new Customer Business Agreements (CBAs) in partnership with account managers, maintain a robust pipeline of CBA opportunities, and monitor deal performance.

Promote excellence in controllership by educating business teams on relevant accounting principles, policies, and procedures.

Oversee ad-hoc strategic projects related to pricing and P&L by product and segment.

Lead evaluations of special initiatives including partnerships, non-traditional deals, and mergers & acquisitions.

Cultivate strong relationships with the DFO, West Arabia Finance team, and the broader EEMEA Finance organization.

Contribute to core finance functions—such as FP&A, Controller’s Group, Pricing, Business Planning, and Deal Management—and advocate for continuous improvement.

Experience/Education

Relevant qualification in business, accounting and/or a related discipline;

Broad understanding of all the different areas of finance;

Results oriented and performance driven with a focus on excellence;

Good understanding of reporting, forecasting and budgeting techniques;

Strong strategic thinking and business understanding;

Strong communication, negotiation and influencing skills;

Strong relationship management and networking skills;

Experience working in cross functional teams;

Communication, Impact, and Influence

Influences and negotiates with the respective market business unit heads who may have divergent objectives in relation to their respective business P&L. This involves challenging their assumptions to direct and shape their account management strategies or business plans to deliver on revenue targets, to implement disciplined approaches etc on forecasting of revenue targets;

Supports the resolution of customer service issues where required and address directly the concerns raised by customers – e.g. billing, waiver requests and business case targets;

Ensures that Finance is closely integrated with, and positively supports the business providing managers at all levels with the necessary information to maximize revenue, profitability and efficiency; works with the mgmt. team in the development and implementation of short and medium term strategic and tactical plans and provide the financial inputs required.

Characteristics

High intellect with good commercial aptitude and a creative approach to problem solving;

Good influencing skills, she/he must be able to communicate and present to the management team, she/he must also be persuasive with a considerate but firm touch;

Assertive, adaptable and resilient team leader able to work with different personalities;

Good work ethic, hands‑on, meticulous, but also be able to step back and see the bigger strategic picture;

Ambitious, highly driven and motivated. An agent of change;

The maturity to challenge ideas and balance opportunities and threats.

Corporate Security Responsibility

All activities involving access to Mastercard assets, information, and networks comes with an inherent risk to the organization and, therefore, it is expected that every person working for, or on behalf of, Mastercard is responsible for information security and must: Abide by Mastercard’s security policies and practices; Ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the information being accessed; Report any suspected information security violation or breach, and Complete all periodic mandatory security trainings in accordance with Mastercard’s guidelines.

Everyone wants easier ways to pay; we invent them. Checkout lines are slow; we speed them along. Merchants want more sales; we give them data and insights. People need financial access; we connect them. Corporate purchasing is complicated; we make it simple. Commuters are busy; we speed them on their way. Governments need greater efficiencies; we help create them. Small businesses are virtual; we give them access to a world of buyers. Retailers want to fight fraud; we provide the tools.