Commercial Finance Director (DBN)

C40 Cities; Durban; On-site; ZAR 500,000 - 600,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading global organisation is seeking a Commercial Finance Director to drive growth and operational excellence in Southern Africa. This role involves shaping business performance, collaborating with senior leaders, and fostering an inclusive environment. The ideal candidate has extensive finance experience, a strong leadership background, and a commitment to diversity. You will have the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on sustainable business success while advancing your career.

Benefits

Flexible working opportunities

Professional development

Supportive and inclusive workplace

Qualifications

• Minimum of 12-15 years experience across finance disciplines.
• Proven track record in leading high-performing teams.
• Experience managing managers is highly desirable.

Responsibilities

• Shape business performance across a diverse portfolio.
• Drive growth, profitability, and operational excellence.
• Oversee performance management from forecasting to risk mitigation.

Skills

Financial planning cycles expertise

Interpersonal sensitivity

Analytical rigor

Inclusive leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in finance or accounting

CA/ACMA/CIMA qualification

Tools

Global financial systems

Job description

A leading global organisation is seeking a Commercial Finance Director to join their Southern Africa regional team, based at La Lucia Ridge. This pivotal role offers you the opportunity to shape business performance across a diverse portfolio, working closely with senior leaders to drive growth, profitability, and operational excellence. You will be empowered to influence strategic decisions, lead high-impact financial initiatives, and foster an inclusive environment where every team member can thrive. With a strong commitment to flexible working opportunities and professional development, this organisation provides the ideal platform for you to advance your career while making a meaningful difference in the lives of millions of consumers. If you are passionate about driving sustainable business success and championing diversity, this is your chance to make a lasting impact.* Play a key role in steering commercial finance strategy for a major regional business, collaborating directly with executive leadership teams to deliver on ambitious growth targets and optimise resource allocation.* Benefit from a supportive and inclusive workplace that values diversity, encourages personal wellbeing, and invests in your ongoing professional development through tailored training opportunities.* Enjoy the flexibility of working across multiple sites within Southern Africa, with the autonomy to shape your own future while contributing to a purpose-driven organisation committed to positive social impact.

What you'll do:

As Commercial Finance Director, you will play an instrumental role in shaping the financial direction of the Southern Africa region. Your day-to-day responsibilities will see you collaborating with senior stakeholders across sales, operations, and category teams to ensure delivery of annual operating plans. You will be entrusted with overseeing all aspects of performance management—from forecasting and budgeting through to risk identification and mitigation—while driving continuous improvement initiatives that enhance gross margin and return on investment. Your expertise will be critical in guiding resource allocation decisions that underpin both short-term results and long-term strategic objectives. In addition to your technical acumen, your ability to nurture talent and foster an inclusive environment will be essential as you develop future-fit capabilities within your team. By leveraging advanced information systems and championing best practice sharing across the finance function, you will help embed a culture of accountability, transparency, and high performance throughout the organisation.

• Partner with the Performance Director and Head of Sales to deliver annual plans by dynamically allocating resources and ensuring alignment with business objectives.
• Drive in-year performance by monitoring growth metrics, managing costs, and implementing corrective actions to achieve financial targets across the region.
• Lead negotiations on terms, oversee customer joint business planning, manage sales overheads and pricing strategies to maximise profitability.
• Steward balance sheet items related to trade terms spend, including accruals and claims management, ensuring robust controls and compliance.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to enhance sales forecasting accuracy through rigorous S&OP processes and data-driven insights.
• Set targets and budgets for customer teams, aligning investment strategies with broader organisational goals while tracking progress against key performance indicators.
• Implement tools and processes within commercial divisions to improve product/customer mix profitability and drive working capital improvements via payment term programmes.
• Conduct comprehensive performance analysis, identifying risks and opportunities while developing interventions for gap closure and improved results.
• Provide pivotal leadership in strategic planning, target setting, resource allocation decisions, and post-launch evaluations for innovation projects.
• Champion an inclusive culture by leading a diverse team of managers, mentoring talent, promoting succession planning, and embedding best practices in finance.

What you bring:

To excel as Commercial Finance Director, you will bring extensive experience from senior finance roles where you have successfully partnered with business leaders on strategic initiatives. Your background should reflect deep knowledge of financial planning cycles—including forecasting, budgeting, cash flow management—and hands-on involvement in driving operational improvements that support sustainable growth. You are known for your interpersonal sensitivity: building trust-based relationships across diverse teams comes naturally to you. Your approach combines analytical rigour with empathy; you understand how numbers translate into real-world outcomes for colleagues and customers alike. As someone who champions inclusivity at every turn, you actively seek out opportunities for others’ advancement while maintaining high standards for yourself. Your ability to communicate complex concepts clearly ensures alignment among stakeholders even during periods of transformation or ambiguity. Above all else, your passion for nurturing talent sets you apart—you inspire those around you not just through words but by modelling resilience, care, and shared accountability.

• Bachelor’s degree in finance or accounting; professional qualification such as CA/ACMA/CIMA (or equivalent) is required for this position.
• A minimum of 12-15 years’ experience across various finance disciplines with demonstrable business partnering credentials in complex environments.
• Proven track record in leading high-performing teams within large-scale organisations; experience managing managers is highly desirable.
• Comprehensive understanding of financial controllership principles alongside expertise in performance management reporting frameworks.
• Exceptional communication skills with the ability to influence senior stakeholders across multiple functions and geographies.
• Demonstrated project/process management capability with a focus on delivering results through collaboration rather than competition.
• Ability to thrive in environments requiring adaptability; proven resilience when navigating uncertainty or change management initiatives.
• Strong organisational skills with meticulous attention to detail; adept at prioritising competing demands without compromising quality or deadlines.
• Commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion within teams; experience developing succession plans or mentoring under-represented groups is advantageous.
• Advanced proficiency in utilising global financial systems for synthesising market intelligence into actionable insights.

Please send your CV to [e-mail]