Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

# Chief Financial Officer (CFO) **Sector:** Construction, Real Estate Development & Investment ## About the Role We are seeking an accomplished and commercially minded **Chief Financial Officer (CFO)** to lead the financial strategy, planning, reporting, controls, capital management, and financial performance of a diversified **Construction & Real Estate organization**. The CFO will be a key member of the executive leadership team, partnering closely with the President/CEO and Board to drive **profitable growth, capital efficiency, investment decisions, project economics, financial governance, and long-term enterprise value creation**. The successful candidate will bring deep experience in **construction, real estate development, property investment, infrastructure, project finance, corporate finance, or related sectors**, with a proven track record of managing complex financial operations and significant capital requirements. ## Key Responsibilities ### 1. Financial Strategy & Executive Leadership * Develop and execute the company's overall financial strategy in alignment with corporate objectives. * Provide strategic financial advice to the President/CEO and Board. * Establish financial priorities, performance targets, and long-term financial plans. * Evaluate the financial implications of strategic initiatives, acquisitions, developments, and expansion plans. * Serve as a strategic business partner to the executive leadership team. ### 2. Financial Planning, Budgeting & Forecasting * Lead the annual budgeting, forecasting, and long-range financial planning processes. * Develop financial models for construction projects, property developments, acquisitions, and investments. * Monitor actual performance against budgets and forecasts. * Identify financial risks, performance gaps, and opportunities for improvement. * Establish robust management-reporting systems and executive dashboards. ### 3. P&L, Cash Flow & Working Capital * Take executive responsibility for the company's **financial performance, cash flow, liquidity, and working capital**. * Optimize cash conversion and working-capital management across projects and business units. * Monitor project-level cash flows, payment schedules, receivables, payables, and funding requirements. * Establish appropriate financial controls to protect margins and liquidity. * Improve profitability and return on invested capital. ### 4. Project Finance & Construction Economics * Oversee financial management of major construction and development projects. * Review project budgets, cost estimates, financial feasibility, and profitability. * Monitor project cost-to-completion, variations, claims, contingencies, and financial exposure. * Establish effective project cost-control and reporting frameworks. * Partner with Operations and Project Directors to improve project financial performance. ### 5. Real Estate Investment & Development * Lead the financial evaluation of land acquisitions, property developments, investments, and asset disposals. * Assess development feasibility, project IRR, NPV, ROI, payback, and sensitivity scenarios. * Evaluate acquisition and development opportunities from a financial and risk perspective. * Monitor the financial performance and valuation of the company's real estate portfolio. * Support portfolio optimization and capital allocation decisions. ### 6. Capital Raising & Financing * Develop and execute capital-raising and financing strategies. * Maintain strong relationships with **banks, institutional investors, private equity firms, lenders, development-finance institutions, and other capital providers**. * Lead negotiations for project finance, construction finance, corporate debt, refinancing, and other funding arrangements. * Optimize the company's capital structure and cost of capital. * Ensure adequate funding is available for strategic projects and growth initiatives. ### 7. M&A, Joint Ventures & Strategic Investments * Lead financial due diligence for acquisitions, investments, joint ventures, and strategic partnerships. * Develop valuation models and investment cases. * Assess financial, tax, commercial, and operational risks associated with transactions. * Structure financially sustainable joint ventures and development partnerships. * Support negotiations and transaction execution. ### 8. Financial Reporting & Governance * Ensure accurate, timely, and transparent financial reporting. * Oversee statutory reporting, management accounts, consolidated reporting, and Board reporting. * Maintain strong internal financial controls and accounting policies. * Ensure compliance with applicable accounting standards, tax requirements, corporate regulations, and contractual obligations. * Lead relationships with external auditors, tax advisors, legal advisors, and other professional service providers. ### 9. Risk Management * Establish comprehensive financial risk-management frameworks. * Identify and mitigate risks related to liquidity, credit, interest rates, foreign exchange, project costs, investments, and financing. * Ensure appropriate insurance and financial protections are maintained. * Monitor financial exposure across projects, subsidiaries, joint ventures, and investments. ### 10. Tax & Regulatory Management * Oversee corporate, property, project, and transaction-related tax planning and compliance. * Optimize the organization's tax position while maintaining full regulatory compliance. * Monitor changes in tax legislation and financial regulations affecting the business. * Ensure appropriate governance across subsidiaries and special-purpose vehicles. ### 11. Technology, Systems & Financial Transformation * Strengthen financial systems, ERP platforms, reporting tools, and financial analytics. * Drive automation and digital transformation across finance operations. * Improve real-time visibility into project and corporate financial performance. * Establish data-driven financial decision-making across the organization. ### 12. Leadership & Talent Development * Lead and develop the finance, accounting, treasury, tax, audit, and financial-planning teams. * Build a high-performing finance organization capable of supporting business growth. * Develop succession plans and strengthen financial leadership capabilities. * Establish a culture of accountability, transparency, financial discipline, and commercial partnership. ## Key Performance Indicators The CFO will be accountable for: * Revenue and EBITDA/PAT performance * Cash flow and liquidity * Working-capital efficiency * Project profitability and cost control * Budget and forecast accuracy * Return on invested capital * Cost of capital * Debt and leverage management * Capital-raising success * Investment and development returns * Financial reporting accuracy and timeliness * Audit and regulatory compliance * Financial risk reduction * Finance-function efficiency ## Candidate Profile ### Must-Have Experience * **15+ years of progressive finance experience**, with substantial senior leadership exposure. * Previous experience as **CFO, Group CFO, Finance Director, VP Finance, Financial Controller, or equivalent executive role**. * Significant experience in **construction, real estate, property development, infrastructure, engineering, project finance, or a closely related sector**. * Proven experience managing a **large-scale P&L, balance sheet, treasury, cash flow, and finance organization**. * Strong experience in project finance and financial modeling. * Demonstrated experience managing complex construction or real estate project economics. * Strong capital-raising, banking, debt-financing, and investment experience. * Experience working directly with Boards, CEOs, investors, lenders, auditors, and government/regulatory stakeholders. ### Preferred Experience * Experience as **Group CFO** of a diversified construction and real estate organization. * Experience managing multiple subsidiaries, SPVs, joint ventures, or international operations. * Exposure to **large-scale residential, commercial, industrial, mixed-use, hospitality, infrastructure, or urban-development projects**. * Experience with private equity, institutional investors, development-finance institutions, or PPP structures. * Proven M&A, acquisition, JV, or corporate restructuring experience. * International or multi-country finance experience. ## Education & Professional Qualifications * Bachelor's degree in **Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business Administration**, or a related discipline. * Professional qualification such as **CA, ACCA, CPA, CMA, CFA**, or equivalent is strongly preferred. * MBA or Master's degree in Finance/Business is an advantage. ## Core Competencies * Corporate Finance * Financial Strategy * P&L & Balance Sheet Management * Project Finance * Real Estate Investment Analysis * Financial Modeling * Cash Flow & Treasury * Capital Raising * Debt & Financing * M&A & Due Diligence * Budgeting & Forecasting * Cost Control * Risk Management * Tax & Compliance * Corporate Governance * Investor & Banking Relations * Financial Transformation ## Leadership Characteristics The successful CFO will be: * **Commercially strategic and financially rigorous** * Highly analytical and data-driven * Strong in capital allocation and investment decisions * Comfortable managing complex project economics * An effective negotiator with banks and investors * Strong in risk management and financial governance * Able to balance growth objectives with financial discipline * Comfortable operating at Board and executive level * A strong business partner rather than a purely technical finance leader ## Compensation A **competitive executive compensation package** comprising base salary, performance-based incentives, executive benefits, and other benefits commensurate with experience and market benchmarks. **Confidential Executive Search** This is a critical executive leadership opportunity for a finance professional capable of strengthening **financial performance, capital structure, investment returns, liquidity, governance, and long-term enterprise value** across a construction and real estate platform.