Group Financial Controller

Company Description

Our Client is a dynamic and innovative oil and gas firm serving the energy needs of the Nigerian market with a renewed focus on downstream excellence, customer-centricity, and operational efficiency. Since its inception, the company has established itself as a leader in the trading, supply, and distribution of petroleum products, leveraging a massive retail network and strategic logistics infrastructure.

As they deepen their commitment to financial sustainability, capital optimization, and fiscal discipline, we seek an outstanding Group Financial Controller  to foster financial transparency, control integrity, and compliance with Nigerian and international accounting standards.

Job Description

Group Financial Controller is a critical executive leadership role accountable for enterprise-wide financial assurance, capital management, and risk-based fiscal governance. The incumbent will act as a trusted advisor to the CFO and Senior Executives, fostering financial transparency, control integrity, and compliance with Nigerian and international accounting standards (IFRS). This is a transformational role aimed at driving a forward-looking, agile, and digitally enabled finance function that supports the company’s investment and growth agenda in the energy sector.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as a key advisor to the CFO and senior leadership on financial strategy, capital allocation, and internal control frameworks.

• Monitor financial trends, emerging economic risks, and tax legislation to ensure the organization is always compliant with FIRS guidelines, oil and gas fiscal regulations, and other applicable financial laws.

• Establish and maintain a comprehensive financial framework, including budgeting policies, treasury monitoring programs, and financial reporting mechanisms.

• Lead the development and enforcement of a strong fiscal discipline and ethics culture across the enterprise to safeguard company assets.

• Collaborate with the Enterprise Risk Management team to ensure robust financial risk assessments are embedded in downstream and midstream trading activities.

• Proactively identify liquidity gaps, emerging financial threats, and areas for cost optimization and operational improvement.

• Develop effective testing, monitoring, and financial control systems to detect and prevent leakages, fraud, or reporting inefficiencies.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Economics, or a related quantitative field. An MBA or a relevant Master’s degree (e.g., MSc in Finance or Financial Management) is highly preferred.

• Professional certifications such as ICAN (Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria) or ACCA are mandatory. Additional certifications like CFA, CITN, or CMA are strongly required.

• Minimum of 12–15 years of progressive experience in financial management, treasury, and corporate accounting, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership capacity—specifically within the oil and gas downstream or midstream sectors.

• Deep knowledge of the Nigerian financial and regulatory environment, including IFRS reporting standards, FIRS tax regulations, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) foreign exchange guidelines, and the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

• Strong experience in capital raising, working capital management, trade finance (Letters of Credit), and managing complex financial audits within a high-volume trading environment.

Leadership Attributes

• Strategic and critical thinker with deep business insight into market volatility, margin optimization, and the financial complexities of the energy industry.

• High ethical standards and a proven track record in organizational trust-building and maintaining rigorous internal controls.

• Exceptional communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to manage relationships with banks, regulators, and the Board.

• Ability to lead change and drive enterprise-wide culture shifts toward fiscal discipline, cost reduction, and financial transparency.

• Digitally aware, with a strong understanding of systems-based controls, ERP systems (such as SAP, Oracle, or Microsoft Dynamics), and advanced financial modeling tools.