Finance Business Partner
Location: Remote, South Africa based
Reports to: Chief Financial Officer
Level: Manager
Role Overview
Caribou is seeking a Finance Business Partner to own the commercial, financial and operational backbone of program delivery.
Working closely with Program Leads and the CFO, the Finance Business Partner ensures programs are commercially sound, financially disciplined and supported by scalable operational processes.
The role prioritises decision support and performance visibility but requires strong background in reporting production. It is focussed on improving how Caribou plans, tracks and manages program economics and performance.
The ideal candidate is a digital-first operator who takes pride in delivering high quality work, is comfortable rolling up their sleeves and can balance detail-orientation with strategic awareness. Highly organised, they excel at managing multiple priorities, combining the commercial, financial and transformational aspects of this role with the day to day requirements of the business.
Our program teams are the engine room of our business and this role ensures they are commercially and financially set-up for success to deliver the highest quality work for our clients. This is a true business partner role where its success is dependent on the success of its key stakeholders.
Key Responsibilities
Program Performance
- Partner with Program Leads to shape and challenge project budgets and commercial decisions
- Own, with strong attention to detail, financial visibility and insight across major projects and funding streams
- Ensure delivery of high-quality, timely financial reporting to clients
- Align program/project plans with organisational financial forecasts and constraints
- Lead in the facilitation of Quarterly Program Reviews by going well beyond data collation, through high quality and accurate report preparation, insight gathering, and assistance to program teams in effective communication on financial story
- Act as a primary financial contact for program-level queries and decision support by developing a thorough understanding of underlying cost and revenue drivers.
- Support audit readiness and coordination across program budget audits, as required
Planning, Insight and Financial Discipline
- Contribute program level inputs into organisational planning and forecasting cycles
- Identify cost drivers, efficiency opportunities and profitability improvements
- Partner with CFO to perform targeted analysis and value case development for ELT, including but not limited to ROI and Payback calculations on key strategic investments
- Partner with CFO to prepare detailed and phased financial forecasts for enterprise level spend including professional fees, BD budgets, software and technology spend
- Assist with preparation of financial presentations for a variety of business audiences: Executive, Leadership and all Caribou audiences.
Program Management Systems & Process Ownership
- Act as a business owner and solution architect for our current Project Management System (Project Works)
- Ensuring strong interlocking between HR and Commercial data that is being used for Program Management and ensuring data consistency across HR, Operations & Finance
- Onboarding and off-boarding of new staff into and off the Project Management System and managing system licences, usage and access
- Partner with Program teams to develop fit-for-purpose Program dashboards that allow for accessible and easy visualisation
- Own finance-related delivery processes and continuously improve their scalability
Candidate Profile
Essential Skills & Experience
- 7+ years of experience in operational or commercial finance roles, ideally in consulting or project delivery-led environments.
- Qualified CA(SA) or equivalent
- Demonstrated success influencing commercial decisions through business partnering
- Experience supporting complex, multi-stakeholder programs or portfolios, ideally within the international development sector.
- Strong commercial judgement and understanding of organisational risk dynamics
- Strong analytical capability and ability to synthesis complex data into insights
- Proven ability to connect finance, technology, HR and operational processes
- Confident communicator able to engage senior stakeholders
- Strong organisational capability and comfort managing multiple priorities
Desirable Skills & Experience
- Experience championing digital-first processes and being a process owner
- Exposure to program operations, due diligence, or funding-based environments
- Experience supporting digital first transformation or process automation initiatives
Personal Attributes
- Confident operator able to execute details with precision.
- Proactive, solutions-oriented, and able to anticipate needs.
- Collaborative and empathetic, skilled at bringing people together.
- Commitment to Caribou’s mission of building inclusive and sustainable digital economies.
What We Offer
- A front-row seat to the inner workings of a mission-driven, global consultancy.
- Opportunities to learn and grow across collaborative functions.
- A supportive international team that values flexibility, inclusion, and collaboration.
- Fully remote work, with occasional in-person opportunities and team retreats.
Application Deadline
We review applications on a rolling basis and roles may close after 7 days due to high interest. To ensure full consideration, we encourage you to submit your application as early as possible.
Find out more: https://caribou.global