Head of Finance and Operations (CA/SA)

ZealHR; Limpopo; On-site; ZAR 1,800,000 - 3,200,000; Full time

Job summary

OCFO in South Africa seeks a Head of Finance & Operations (CA/SA) to own the financial engine, ensure multi-jurisdiction compliance, and oversee HR and legal frameworks. You will partner with the CEO to drive strategic growth across SA and expanding markets, including Africa and Europe via holding structures.

You will lead SaaS financial strategy, forecasting, governance, and data privacy, embedding AI tools for modelling, board packs, and regulatory research.

Qualifications

• Minimum 8 years post-articles experience in growth tech or SaaS.
• Experience leading finance across multiple African markets.
• Fluent English; Afrikaans a practical advantage.
• Based in SA, willing to travel to Stellenbosch; highly productive with tech.
• Hands-on with AI for modeling, board packs, and compliance research.

Responsibilities

• Own full financial strategy and multi-jurisdictional compliance.
• Lead SaaS financial metrics: ARR, MRR, NRR, CAC, LTV.
• Drive forecasting, reporting and board-ready packs.
• Oversee legal contracts, governance, and shareholder actions.
• Manage payroll, BCEA/LRA compliance, and HR processes.
• Govern data privacy per POPIA and GDPR under holding group.
• Oversee cross-border privacy controls and forex risk.
• Lead equity administration and long-term incentive schemes.
• Partner with CEO on culture and organizational health.

Skills

Post-Articles Experience

Multi-market Finance Leadership

Strategic Partnership with CEO

AI in Financial Modelling

People & Culture Alignment

Education

CASA qualification

MBA or International Finance Master

Tools

Zoho Books

Zoho CRM

Zoho Subscriptions

Zoho Analytics

Google Looker Studio

Job description

Head of Finance & Operations (CA/SA)

This organization is a high-growth EdTech SaaS business currently serving over 2,500 schools across South Africa. With active expansions underway into Ghana, Zambia, and Botswana, alongside an international holding structure through a Netherlands BV, they are scaling rapidly. Operating a multi-product subscription revenue model and backed by prominent institutional investors, this organization runs a lean, high-output team of approximately 100 employees where technology, not headcount, provides the ultimate leverage.

We are recruiting for a Head of Finance & Operations. This is far from a traditional, pure-finance controller position. As the Head of Finance & Operations, you will hold the keys to the company's engine room, enabling the CEO to drive strategic growth forward. You will own the full financial strategy, multi-jurisdictional compliance, legal frameworks, and human resources from both a transactional and cultural perspective. This role is designed for a strategic business partner who ensures operational and financial integrity across all active markets.

Key Responsibilities

• SaaS Financial Leadership: Drive SaaS-native financial strategy using operational levers like ARR, MRR, NRR, CAC, and LTV.
• Multi-Jurisdictional Reporting: Lead financial reporting, forecasting, and the creation of board-ready financial packs that translate numbers into strategic insights.
• Forex Risk Management: Strategically manage cash flow and forex risk across ZAR, EUR, GHS, and other relevant African currencies.
• Legal Contract Management: Handle contract drafting, review, and negotiation across commercial, supplier, and employment relationships.
• IP Corporate Governance: Protect company IP across active markets and oversee corporate governance, including shareholder agreements, board resolutions, and statutory filings across jurisdictions.
• Data Privacy Ownership: Own compliance frameworks for POPIA in South Africa and GDPR through the European holding structure.
• Cross-Border Privacy Controls: Oversee data transfer protocols, processor agreements, and breach response readiness.
• HR Transactional Oversight: Manage payroll, employment contracts, and compliance with BCEA, LRA, or local equivalents as the business scales.
• Equity Administration: Accurately and fairly administer a live long-term incentive LTI share option scheme.
• People & Culture Partnership: Partner closely with the CEO on workplace culture, employee engagement, and organizational health.

Requirements;

• Essential Education: A CASA qualification is strongly preferred
• Desirable Education: An MBA or Masterʼs in Financial Management or International Business is highly advantageous.

Vunani Chambers, 5th Floor 33 Church Street, Cape Town City Centre, 8000.

Registration No. 2014/002888/07

27 0 212012260 [e-mail] www.ocfo.com

Requirements;

• Post-Articles Experience: A minimum of 8 years of post-articles experience is required.
• Industry Background: Meaningful leadership experience must be spent in a growth-stage technology or SaaS business.
• Geographic Scope: Hands-on operational finance experience across multiple African markets is essential.
• Language Advantage: Fluency in both English and Afrikaans is a practical advantage for this operating environment.
• Location & Travel: Open to candidates based in Pretoria who are fully capable and willing to travel to the Stellenbosch head office as needed to interface with the executive team.
• Personal Productivity: You must be personally productive with technology, as leadership in this business requires direct execution rather than just supervising.
• Hands-on AI Use: You will actively embed and use AI tools directly to build financial models, generate board packs, and perform compliance research.
• Systems Knowledge: Familiarity with Zoho Books, Zoho CRM, Zoho Subscriptions, and Zoho Analytics or Google Looker Studio is highly desirable.

Requirements;

• CEO Synergy: Work closely with a commercial, fast-moving, and people-first CEO who is also a CASA.
• Complementary Strengths: Bring operational financial depth, process governance, and commercial anchoring to complement the visionary leadership style of the executive team.
• Constructive Pushback: Demonstrate the courage to push back constructively when numbers do not support the vision.
• Learning Agility: Possess extreme ownership, intellectual curiosity, and the drive to close your own knowledge gaps fast without waiting to be told.

Vunani Chambers, 5th Floor 33 Church Street, Cape Town City Centre, 8000.

Registration No. 2014/002888/07

27 0 212012260 [e-mail] www.ocfo.com