Director Strategy- VP Finance and CFO Office

Job Description

Entity:Aga Khan UniversityLocation:KarachiIntroduction to the Aga Khan University:Chartered in 1983, Aga Khan University (AKU) is a private, autonomous and self-governing international university with 13 teaching sites in 6 countries distributed across three continents. As an integral part of the Aga Khan Development Network, AKU provides higher education in several disciplines, carries out research pertinent to the countries in which it exists and has campuses, programmes and/or teaching hospitals in Afghanistan, Kenya, Pakistan, Tanzania, Uganda and the UK. As an international institution, AKU operates on the core principles of quality, relevance, impact and access; and AKU is a model of academic excellence and an agent of social change.Job Role / Responsibilities:The Director of Strategy in the Vice President Finance (VPF) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Office will play a critical role that will support the VPF with the day-to-day running of the financial operations. You will be responsible for developing, implementing, and monitoring the financial and statistical performance, identifying opportunities for growth, and mitigating emerging risks. You will enable communication and collaboration across the Finance teams and broader AKU. In this role, you will work closely with the VPF and CFO, and finance leadership to set, implement, and monitor strategy execution and will be responsible for managing competing priorities in a fast-paced environment and producing best-in-class materials for projects. You will also be expected to understand and execute the VPF and CFO?s vision for a high-performance culture within the Finance function and oversee performance management and work closely with Human Resources for the global Finance teams. You are expected to handle several principal duties, all focused on making time, information, and decision processes more effective.Job Responsibilities:You are expected to:

• develop key strategic objectives which are to be met in the short term, medium term, and long term and identify financial challenges that the Institution may face in the achievement of the key strategic goals
• support the VPF and CFO in setting the overall strategy and direction
• provide strategic direction in conjunction with the VPF to develop and focus on a vision, strategy, partnerships, and an implementation plan to harmonise finance policies globally. This includes setting up and facilitating discussions, articulating and synthesising concepts, ideas and strategies emerging from drafts, and generating feedback and responses for further consideration
• provide strategic oversight and direction to facilitate VPF and CFO in preparing Board reports, papers and presentations. Undertake responsibility to prepare feasibility and project evaluation reports to gauge the progress and impact of the project, where necessary
• prepareand review analysis of actual performance reports (comprising of business KPIs and variance accounting), on a monthly basis for the Executive Committee and Board of Trustees
• develop and ownthe Finance Project plan and ensuremilestones are identified and communicated to key stakeholders
• facilitate the financial strategic planning process to ensure that comprehensive strategies, plans, and budgets are developed, approved, and effectively communicated to the stakeholders
• collaborate and work with the teams within finance globally, to establish a budgeting and forecasting process that is both accurate and agile
• facilitate effective decision-making
• identify opportunities for business process improvement in consultation with VPF and CFO to enhance productivity, reduce cost and optimise throughput
• drive execution of top priorities agreed upon by the CFO and finance leadership team
• lead the preparation, production, and compilation of presentations for the VPF and CFO, including materials for the Board of Trustees, senior management updates, analysis, presentations, and statutory reports
• act as a bridge between planning teams and the VPF and CFO; refine the planning process on an ongoing basis, identifying weakness and strategies to mitigate those in order to strengthen the overall planning framework
• refine financial policies for consistent and coherent budgeting practices throughout the University
• provide active support in reviewing University-wide plans and budgets to support VPF and CFO in strategising her time and effort in finalising plans
• ensure close coordination with planning teams and business heads in setting up realistic and sustainable plans and budgets
• ensure timely and accurate submission of plans with supported analytical documents in close coordination with respective regions planning teams
• advise VPF and CFO on key takeaways and insights on the plan and budget to have an informed discussion at the Finance Committee of the Board and the full Board
• provide additional support on special and/or cross-functional projects
• act as a key interface for dealing with the offices of the Deans, CEOs, and Divisional Directors, to ensure timely responses are given and requests for time/deliverables
• proactively address and provide direction on pressing business and other issues that need immediate attention
• collaborate with team members to determine and prioritise goals, tasks, and business strategies
• collaborate with Human Resources to manage talent acquisition and performance management for the global Finance Team in order to continue to develop a high-performance culture within Finance
• partner with respective HRBP to support the delivery of key HR processes, including, but not limited to performance management and calibration process and in setting key performance indicators and their implementation to measure team performance
• support the VPF and CFO with organisational leadership accountabilities, including employee engagement initiatives and employee communications
• oversee the monitoring of budgets and financial targets and reporting any variation to the VPF andCFO and work with the relevant Finance teams to ensure that the gaps, if any, that are identified and addressed in a timely manner.

• MBA, ACA, ACCA, CFA or any other equivalent qualification
• over 10 years of professional experience in preferably in Finance (Chief of Staff, project management, or consulting experience)
• excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• expert project management/organisation skills and exceptional attention to detail
• strong analytical rigor with quantitative capabilities
• effortless storytelling, communication, and synthesis abilities, with strong data visualisation capabilities
• ability to establish trust with business partners and stakeholders at all levels of the organisation.
• self-starter who thrives in ambiguous environments and adapts easily to change
• strong orientation to team culture and cross-functionality.

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