Overview
The Senior Specialist, Finance (Cost Optimization Initiative) will serve as the financial lead for the Cost Management & Efficiency Initiative, providing data-driven insights and financial modelling to support the organization's cost optimization ambitions.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead financial analysis and cost modelling of organisational cost structures.
- Establish and maintain cost baselines and operational benchmarks.
- Drive benefits realisation and savings validation methodologies.
- Provide transformation finance support for operating models and business process redesign.
- Deliver financial governance and reporting for senior leadership.
- Build and maintain KPI and performance frameworks for cost efficiency.
- Influence and engage senior financial stakeholders.
- Assess financial implications of operational redesign initiatives.
- Ensure financial alignment across transformation workstreams.
- Embed financial discipline and data-driven decision-making.
Required Experience
- Extensive track record of financial leadership within large-scale organisational transformation, cost optimisation, or operational efficiency programmes in complex global organisations.
- Significant experience working within complex INGOs, federated organisations, multinational matrix environments, or similarly complex stakeholder structures.
- A proven ability to design and apply sophisticated financial models, cost-driver analyses, scenario planning, and sensitivity analyses.
- A proven ability to apply strong analytical and problem-solving skills collaboratively.
- Extensive experience developing and maintaining financial benefits realisation frameworks, savings validation methodologies, and cost baseline models.
- A proven ability to engage, influence, and build alignment among senior finance, operations, HR, and programme stakeholders.
- Strong knowledge and practical experience of cost management, operational cost structures, support function efficiency, staffing and level-of-effort optimisation, and financial implications of service delivery redesign.
- Exceptional communication, presentation, and financial storytelling capability.
- Professional accounting qualification (CPA, ACCA, CIMA, ACA, or equivalent) with progressive experience in finance, financial planning & analysis, business partnering, or transformation finance — global or multi-country experience essential.
- Experience supporting ERP transformation initiatives or enterprise-wide financial systems implementations.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in finance, Accounting, Economics, Business Administration, or related discipline.
- Professional accounting qualification (CPA, ACCA, CIMA, ACA, or equivalent).
