About the job 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.