Financial Controller

Location: Lebanon (on site)
Reports to: CFO / General Manager
Direct reports: Accounting, Treasury, Costing, Credit Control
Industry: FMCG (manufacturing and distribution)

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## About the Company

A well established Lebanese FMCG group with more than 35 years in the market. The company manufactures and distributes fast moving consumer products across Lebanon and exports to regional markets, working through a wide retail and wholesale network. Company name is disclosed to shortlisted candidates.

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## Purpose of the Role

The Financial Controller owns the financial engine of the business: closing the books on time, protecting margin, keeping the banking relationships healthy, and giving management numbers they can act on. This is not a back office role. The person will sit close to Sales, Supply Chain and Procurement, challenge assumptions, and support the ownership on major commercial and investment decisions.

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## Key Responsibilities

### Financial Control and Reporting
- Own the monthly, quarterly and annual close, and deliver the full reporting pack within agreed deadlines.
- Prepare financial statements in line with IFRS, including multi currency accounting and the treatment of USD and LBP exposure.
- Build and maintain the management reporting suite: P&L by brand, by SKU, by channel and by customer.
- Lead the annual budget and rolling forecasts, and explain variances with commentary that is useful, not decorative.
- Handle hyperinflation and currency devaluation accounting matters, including revaluation and translation impacts.

### Banking and Treasury
- Act as the main point of contact with local and correspondent banks.
- Manage credit facilities, overdrafts, term loans, guarantees and letters of credit for imports of raw material, packaging and equipment.
- Prepare bank submissions: financials, business plans, cash flow projections, covenant tracking.
- Run cash flow forecasting on a weekly and monthly basis, and manage FX exposure and hedging where instruments are available.
- Optimise working capital across receivables, payables and inventory.

### Contracts and Commercial Agreements
- Review, negotiate and control the financial terms of supplier, distributor, agency, lease, insurance and service contracts.
- Set up and monitor customer trading terms: credit limits, payment terms, rebates, listing fees and promotional support.
- Track contract obligations, renewal dates, penalty clauses and price adjustment mechanisms.
- Coordinate with legal counsel on the financial exposure inside any agreement before signature.

### FMCG Commercial Finance
- Control trade spend and promotional investment, and measure return on each activity.
- Own product costing and standard cost, including landed cost of imported material, customs duties, freight and clearance.
- Monitor gross margin by product line, and flag erosion early with the reason behind it.
- Support pricing decisions in a volatile cost and currency environment.
- Control inventory: valuation, provisioning, shrinkage, expiry, cycle counts and full physical stock takes across warehouses and vans.
- Review route to market economics, distributor profitability and secondary sales performance.

### ERP and Systems
- Lead or co lead the ERP implementation or upgrade, from selection through design, data migration, testing, go live and post go live stabilisation.
- Design the chart of accounts, cost centre structure and reporting hierarchy.
- Drive automation of manual processes and improve the quality and speed of data coming out of the system.
- Work with IT and department heads to make sure the system matches how the business actually operates.

### Governance, Tax and Audit
- Design and enforce internal controls across procurement, sales, cash, inventory and payroll.
- Manage VAT, income tax, payroll tax, NSSF and all filings with Lebanese authorities.
- Handle external audit, statutory audit and any tax inspection, and close findings.
- Protect company assets and reduce the risk of fraud, leakage and unrecorded loss.

### Leadership and Business Partnering
- Lead, coach and develop the finance team, and build a succession plan for key positions.
- Sit at the management table as a business partner, not as a scorekeeper.
- Contribute to strategy: expansion plans, new product launches, capex, make or buy decisions, feasibility studies and market entry.
- Present clearly to owners, board members and external stakeholders.

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## Requirements

### Must Have
- 15+ years of progressive finance experience, with at least 5 years in a Financial Controller, Finance Manager or equivalent senior position.
- Solid FMCG background. Manufacturing plus distribution is strongly preferred over pure trading.
- Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance or Business. Professional qualification such as CPA, ACCA, CMA or an MBA is a strong plus.
- Strong IFRS knowled