• University degree, with post degree qualifications.
• More than 8 years financial/administrative management experience, ideally in
a professional services firm, blue-chip corporate or equivalent McKinsey
consulting experience.
• Knowledge of core finance and accounting principles with specific finance
and/or management qualifications eg. CA, CPA, MBA.
• Broad business acumen, with ability to develop strong collaborative
relationships with senior executives/leaders.
• Excellent problem solving, analytic and project management skills.
• Outstanding communication, influencing and negotiation skills.
• Strong leader and people developer and able to interface with people at all
levels.
• Collaborative, integrative working style, rapid to adapt to a changing and
ambiguous environment
This role will be based in one of our Africa locations as part of McKinsey Africa complex with 6 offices across the continent (Johannesburg, Lagos, Casablanca, Nairobi, Addis Ababa and Luanda) and about 500 collaborators.
The role will report into the Regional Director of Finance. You will provide overall on-the-ground leadership for Finance team members located in the EEMA offices across Finance Service Lines (and evaluate some of them).
You’ll collaborate with firm members across the office, region and other finance pillars. You’ll review and refine the office(s) operating model with cell leadership. You’ll be a thought partner to the office manager, finance partner and each of the location managers. You’ll be an active member of various committees including the office finance committee and client investment committee.
You’ll support the office manager and other senior partners in determining office strategy - both short and medium term and in preparing the annual plan, particularly in terms of linking the office client strategy with the financial impact on the office. You will also support various initiatives determined from time to time and drive economic performance improvement and long term sustainable economic performance.
You’ll also work closely with the Controllership, PACE, Client Finance and Global Operations teams to ensure best practice is adopted and the office and key stakeholders are well supported. You’ll work with the corporate tax team to ensure tax compliance in accordance with local laws. You’ll work closely with the Director of People, Director of Client Strategy and other department heads in the office eg HR, Administration, IT, R&E, especially in relation to managing the operating costs of the office and with the help of the firm’s real estate team manage the real estate portfolio. You’ll work closely with the firm’s travel team to ensure external travel providers are delivering value and making sure that the office’s travel and expense policy is current and adhered to.
You will be a Business Partner for office leadership on all Finance and economic performance topics and will liaise with other team members and Finance pillars to meet the needs of the office and key stakeholders.
Your primary focus will be on driving healthy, sustainable economic performance (cell contribution) for the office focusing on the key levers that drive cell performance eg client utilization, pricing, investments, import/export mix, CSP HC growth, leverage and OPEX management. You will work with office leadership to develop a multi-year playbook for each office that supports and enables each office to achieve its full potential.
You will also help stabilize Finance reporting and operations post SAP transition working closely with the regional FP&A team to establish performance reporting & insights that support leadership with decision making eg reporting on key economic levers, highlighting and monitoring working capital risks impacting office performance, investments (and leakage) levels, costs, activity levels, forward looking indicators.
Additionally, you’ll drive the annual planning process. This includes reviewing pricing, activity levels to ensure recruiting targets are reasonable and tie back to planned utilization, that investment and leakage levels are planned and contained and that we optimize costs. You will also need to track progress against plan and take any corrective actions throughout the year as needed.
You’ll also provide counsel and advice to a wide group of stakeholders on matters with financial implications. You’ll safeguard the firm through evolving and deploying controls which deliver effective stewardship.