Job Purpose:
The Associate Head of Financial Planning & Analysis is the dedicated FP&A Business Partner for the Academic Services vertical – the Provost Office, Academic Affairs, Academic Appointments, Academic Recruitment, Office of Student Affairs, Office of Faculty Excellence and Post Doctoral Affairs, AI Nexus, Central Student Services and CTL – reporting to the Assistant Director of FP&A. The role owns the stakeholder relationship end-to-end and operates as an Advisor and Strategic Partner, combining operational understanding of the stakeholders’ business, financial governance and rigor, and awareness of how decisions land at the institutional level. It leads planning, budgeting, forecasting, and performance management for the vertical, and leads and develops the vertical’s FP&A team.
Key Responsibilities:
Strategic Business Partnering & Insights
- Owns the FP&A relationship with Academic Services leadership end-to-end, acting as an advisor who brings a recommendation – not just the numbers – and flags material changes as they occur rather than at month-end.
- Builds a deep understanding of each unit’s plans, programs, hiring pipelines, and commitments, and runs regular scheduled touchpoints, so that spend is forecast from what is coming rather than recorded after the fact.
- Applies Problem → Analysis → Solution to every issue, defines it, models scenarios and options, and recommends a course of action with its financial impact; flags cross-functional impacts (other FP&A verticals, Finance and Treasury, Procurement, HR) before they land elsewhere.
- Leads multi-year plans, scenario models, and 3–5-year pro formas for Academic Services priorities, new programs, and strategic investments, supporting resource allocation and reallocation decisions.
Budgeting, Planning & Forecasting
- Leads the end-to-end annual and multi-year budgeting process (manpower, OPEX, CAPEX), covering templates, submissions, challenge, and consolidation across both the Academic Year and Calendar Year cycles.
- Owns quarterly and rolling forecasts with rigor, and flags variances beyond the agreed threshold early.
- Monitors utilization, commitments, and funding availability, identifying gaps, cost pressures, and efficiency opportunities and recommending corrective action; manages budget revisions, transfers, reallocations, and reserve draws through standard workflows.
- Maintains planning assumptions, cost allocation models, and templates; supports Oracle Fusion/EPM adoption and budget-holder training; ensures policy compliance and data integrity.
Financial Analysis, Reporting & Decision Support
- Presents the vertical’s financials independently after each month-end close, with variance narratives, key drivers, and recommended actions.
- Leads budget-vs-actual analysis, KPI dashboards, ad-hoc analysis, and benchmarking, and justifies and presents recommendations to senior leadership and governance forums.
- Validates financial information before release and sets reporting standards and templates for the vertical, using automation and AI-enabled tools to improve accuracy and efficiency.
Team Leadership & Capability Building
- Leads, mentors, and reviews the work of the Senior FP&A Analyst and FP&A Specialist before it moves forward, building their judgment and professional growth.
- Acts as a senior point of support within FP&A, contributing to onboarding, succession, and capability building.
Other Duties:
Perform all other duties as reasonably directed by the line manager that are commensurate with these functional objectives.
Qualifications and Criteria:
- Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Finance, Accounting or a related field.
- A postgraduate qualification (e.g., MBA, CPA, ACCA, or CFA) is preferred.
Essential:
- Minimum of 10+ years of progressive experience in FP&A, budgeting, forecasting, financial reporting, or business partnering.
- Significant experience supporting academic, academic support, or administrative functions in higher education or other complex matrix organizations.
- Expertise in strategic planning, multi-year budgeting, rolling forecasting, variance and scenario analysis, and advanced financial modelling.
- Proven trusted advisor to senior stakeholders: translates complex financial information into clear insight and recommendations, and presents independently to senior leadership.
- Experience designing financial frameworks, governance standards, reporting templates, and dashboards, with a strong understanding of internal controls and budget compliance.
- Advanced proficiency in ERP, budgeting and forecasting tools (Oracle Fusion/EPM), and data analytics.
- Excellent communication, influencing, problem-solving, and analytical skills; able to lead, mentor, and review teamwork with high autonomy, judgment, and accountability.
Preferred:
- UAE higher education experience and knowledge of UAE financial policies and procedures.
- ERP implementation experience.
- Experience applying AI, automation, or advanced analytics in FP&A.
- Experience in manpower and headcount planning and running concurrent budget cycles (e.g., Academic Year and Calendar Year).