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.

---

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.

---

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

Desired Candidate Profile