Finance Manager

Cambridge Assessment; South Africa; Hybrid; ZAR 60 000 - 100 000; Full time

Job summary

A global academic organisation is seeking a highly skilled Finance Manager to oversee the finance function in South Africa. This role requires strong leadership in financial planning, reporting, and compliance, with a focus on strategic decision-making. Candidates must be fully qualified accountants with at least 3 years of relevant experience. The position offers a hybrid working model in Cape Town, balancing both in-office and remote work.

Benefits

24 days annual leave plus South Africa public holidays

Medical allowance

Discretionary annual bonus

Group personal pension scheme (10.75% employer's contribution)

Qualifications

• Minimum 3+ years' post-qualification experience in financial management.
• Strong knowledge of IFRS for SMEs and tax legislation.
• Demonstrated leadership ability to manage and develop finance teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead financial planning, budgeting, and performance analysis.
• Manage month-end/year-end close and ensure compliance.
• Provide accurate reporting insights to senior leaders.

Skills

Financial management

Leadership

Budgeting

IFRS compliance

Financial reporting

Cash flow management

Education

Qualified accountant with bachelor's degree (CA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent)

Job description

Overview

Job Title: Finance Manager

Salary: Competitive

Location: Cape Town, South Africa with hybrid working (2 to 3 days per week in the office)

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full Time - 37.5 hours per week

We are seeking a highly skilled Finance Manager to lead our South Africa Finance function and support our strategic and operational objectives across the Southern Africa region.

We are Cambridge University Press & Assessment, a world-leading academic publisher and assessment organisation and a proud part of the University of Cambridge.

About the role

As Finance Manager, you will play a central role in ensuring CUPSA\'s financial stability, compliance, and operational excellence. You will oversee financial planning, reporting, accounting operations, cash flow and credit management, and contribute to strategic decision making alongside senior leadership.

This is a hands-on leadership role with responsibility for the day to day running of the finance function, people development, and efficient delivery of financial information to both local and global stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead financial planning, budgeting, reforecasting, and performance analysis.
• Oversee month-end/year-end close, ensure compliance (IFRS for SMEs, tax, policies), and manage audits.
• Manage cash flow forecasting, working capital, and end-to-end credit control.
• Provide accurate reporting and insights to senior leaders, SA Board, and UK Head Office.
• Build strong stakeholder relationships, ensure regulatory and global compliance, and support contract negotiations.
• Lead, mentor, and develop the finance team, fostering collaboration, cross-training, and a high-performance culture.

This position has been classified as a hybrid role, requiring the selected candidate to typically spend 40-60% of their time collaborating and connecting face-to-face at their dedicated location. Aside from our hybrid principles, other flexible working requests will be considered from the first day of employment, including other work arrangements should you require adjustments due to a disability or long-term health condition.

About You

• Fully qualified accountant with a bachelor\'s degree (e.g. CA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent).
• Minimum 3+ years\' post-qualification experience in a financial management role.
• Strong knowledge of IFRS for SMEs, tax legislation, and financial compliance requirements.
• Proven experience in budgeting, forecasting, financial reporting, audit, and cash flow management.
• Demonstrated leadership experience with the ability to manage, develop, and engage finance teams and senior stakeholders.

For a detailed job description, please refer to the link at the bottom of the advert on our careers site.

Rewards and benefits

We will support you to be at your best in work and to live well outside of it. In addition to competitive salaries, we offer a world-class, flexible rewards package, featuring family-friendly and planet-friendly benefits including:

• 24 days annual leave plus South Africa public holidays
• Medical allowance
• Discretionary annual bonus
• Group personal pension scheme (10.75% employer\'s contribution)

Ready to pursue your potential? Apply now.

We aim to support candidates by making our interview process clear and transparent. The closing date for all applications will be February 6. We will review applications on an ongoing basis, and shortlisted candidates can expect interviews to take place on the week commencing February 9.

If you are shortlisted and progressed through the stages, you can expect:

• A 15-minute screening call with the Hiring Manager;
• First stage virtual interview via MS Teams; and
• Second and final stage interview: in-person at our offices in Cape Town.

If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process due to a disability or a long-term health condition, there will be an opportunity for you to inform us via the online application form. We will do our best to accommodate your needs.

Please note that successful applicants will be subject to satisfactory background checks including DBS due to working in a regulated industry.

We are committed to an equitable recruitment process. As such, applications must be submitted via our official online application procedure. Please refrain from sending your CV directly to our recruiters. If you experience technical difficulties or require additional support with submitting your online application, contact the Recruiter.

Why join us

Joining us is your opportunity to pursue potential. You will belong to a collaborative team that is exploring new and better ways to serve students, teachers and researchers across the globe - for the benefit of individuals, society and the world. Sharing our mission will inspire your own growth, development and progress, in an environment which embraces difference, change and aspiration.

Preference will be given to suitable candidates who add to the cultural and demographic diversity of the organisation. People from all backgrounds and communities are encouraged to apply. Please note that successful applicants will be subject to satisfactory background checks including DBS due to working in a regulated industry.