Executive Associate – Finance & Strategy

CORE; Sandton; On-site; ZAR 420,000 - 660,000; Full time

Job summary

Core Group in South Africa is seeking an Executive Associate - Finance & Strategy to work closely with a senior leader. You will analyse performance, build business cases and present actionable recommendations.

With 1–3 years in finance, audit, consulting or strategy, you will support budgets, forecasts, reporting and cross‑functional projects while developing leadership skills for future growth. This role offers exposure to senior leadership and opportunities to influence strategic decisions

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in finance/economics or related field required.
• Strong academic results with honours or postgraduate study advantageous.
• 1–3 years' experience in finance, audit, consulting or strategy.
• Strong financial and numerical ability.
• Advanced Excel and strong PowerPoint/presentation skills.
• Able to analyse large amounts of information and extract key points.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Attention to detail and ability to manage multiple priorities under pressure.
• Confidence engaging with senior stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Support the executive with strategic, commercial and operational priorities.
• Analyse financial and business information to inform decisions.
• Prepare financial summaries, management reports and executive updates.
• Assist with budgets, forecasts, business cases and financial modelling.
• Review performance, identify trends, risks and opportunities.
• Prepare presentations and briefing documents for executive meetings.
• Collaborate with multiple teams to drive projects and actions.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Commercial acumen

Stakeholder engagement

Financial modelling

Advanced Excel

Presentation skills

Attention to detail

Time management

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics or related field

Honours / postgraduate studies

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

About Core Group

Core Group represents some of the worlds most valued and loved technology brands across Sub-Saharan Africa. Our mission is to empower individuals and organisations through the worlds leading personal technology products and services.

Our expertise spans retail, distribution, supply chain, finance, marketing, sales, customer experience, human resources and business development, with operations across South Africa and key African markets.

About the Role

We are looking for an Executive Associate - Finance & Strategy to work closely with a member of Core Group's Executive Leadership Team.

You will help the executive assess business performance, evaluate opportunities and move key projects forward. Your work will include financial analysis, reporting, business cases, research and working with teams across the organisation. You will need to make sense of complex information and present clear, practical recommendations.

This role is well suited to someone with 1-3 years of experience in finance, audit, consulting or strategywho wants to build a career in commercial management or business leadership.

What You’ll Be Doing

Your responsibilities will include:

• Supporting the executive with key strategic, commercial and operational priorities.

• Analysing financial and business information to support decision-making.

• Preparing financial summaries, management reports and executive updates.

• Assisting with budgets, forecasts, business cases and financial modelling.

• Reviewing business performance and identifying trends, risks and opportunities.

• Conducting research into business opportunities, markets, competitors and new initiatives.

• Preparing presentations and briefing documents for executive meetings.

• Supporting projects that involve multiple teams and areas of the business.

• Attending selected leadership meetings and ensuring agreed actions are followed through.

• Working with Finance and other departments to gather and validate information.

• Tracking key projects, deliverables and business priorities.

• Highlighting issues, delays or risks that require executive attention.

• Supporting process improvement and business optimisation initiatives.

• Helping turn executive decisions into clear actions and ensuring momentum is maintained.

• Building strong working relationships with stakeholders across the organisation.

What We’re Looking For

We are looking for someone who is commercially minded, highly analytical and comfortable operating in a senior business environment.

You will ideally have:

• A completed Bachelor's Degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics or a related commercial field.

• Strong academic results.

• Honours, postgraduate studies or progress towards a relevant professional qualification would be advantageous.

• Approximately 1-3 years' experience in finance, audit, consulting, strategy, corporate finance or a similar environment.

• Strong financial and numerical ability.

• Advanced Excel skills.

• Strong PowerPoint and presentation skills.

• The ability to analyse large amounts of information and identify the key points.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

• Excellent attention to detail.

• The ability to manage multiple priorities and work under pressure.

• Confidence engaging with senior stakeholders.

• High levels of professionalism, maturity and discretion.

• A proactive and solutions-focused approach.

• A genuine interest in understanding how businesses operate and make money.

The Person We’re Looking For

You are naturally curious and enjoy understanding how a business works.

You are comfortable with numbers and enjoy digging into the detail, but you can also step back and understand the bigger picture.

You don’t wait to be given every instruction. You take ownership, ask the right questions and work out what needs to happen next.

You are organised, reliable and comfortable working at pace.

Most importantly, you want exposure. You want to learn from experienced business leaders, understand how commercial decisions are made and build the skills that will help you progress into broader leadership roles in the future.

What You’ll Gain

This role offers significant exposure to senior leadership and the opportunity to learn how decisions are made across a large and diverse business.

You will gain experience in:

• Financial and commercial decision-making.

• Business strategy and planning.

• Executive reporting and presentations.

• Financial analysis and business cases.

• Cross-functional projects.

• Operational and commercial performance.

• Working with senior stakeholders.

• Understanding how different parts of a business work together.

For the right person, this role can provide a strong foundation for future opportunities within finance, commercial management, strategy or general management across Core Group.

Please note that if your application is successful, background checks will be conducted, including criminal record, credit, identity, qualification and reference verification.