Group Financial Controller (Relocation to Kenya Required)

A leading agricultural production, processing, and export group based in Kenya is seeking a Group Financial Controller to oversee and lead its accounts payable function across multiple affiliated companies. This role involves managing high-volume supplier transactions, ensuring compliance with procurement-to-payment controls, and supporting the Group CFO with cash flow forecasting and financial reporting. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in manufacturing, agriculture, FMCG, or export-oriented industries and possess strong leadership skills to develop and manage AP teams across the group.

Key Responsibilities

- Oversee accounts payable operations across all group companies, establishing and enforcing standardized policies, procedures, and approval workflows.
- Supervise the processing of supplier invoices, credit notes, and debit notes, maintaining accurate supplier ledgers and ageing reports.
- Lead supplier reconciliations, resolve disputes promptly, and implement controls to prevent duplicate or unauthorized payments.
- Manage procurement-to-payment controls, including three-way matching of purchase orders (POs), goods received notes (GRNs), and invoices.
- Prepare weekly and monthly supplier payment schedules and collaborate with the Group CFO to support cash flow forecasting.
- Oversee accounting for payments to farmers, aggregators, and produce vendors, ensuring proper allocation and accuracy.
- Review payables related to manufacturing, packhouse, logistics, and freight, allocating costs correctly to companies and cost centres.
- Reconcile intercompany balances and assist with group financial consolidation.
- Control supplier master data and banking detail changes, monitor ERP workflows, and enforce segregation of duties.
- Develop and maintain fraud prevention controls and ensure clean audit trails for all payments.
- Prepare monthly accounts payable ageing and liability reports and coordinate with internal and external auditors.
- Lead, mentor, and develop accounts payable teams across entities, providing regular reports to the Group CFO.

Required Qualifications

- Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Commerce, or a related field.
- Professional accounting certification such as ACCA, CPA, CA, or equivalent is mandatory.
- 8 to 10 years of progressive experience in accounting and financial management.
- At least 3 to 5 years in a senior accounts payable, financial controller, or finance management role.
- Proven accounts payable experience within manufacturing, agriculture, FMCG, food processing, or export-oriented companies.
- Demonstrated ability to manage high-volume supplier transactions across multiple companies or business units.
- Strong knowledge of procurement accounting, inventory accounting, cash flow planning, and working capital management.
- Hands-on experience with ERP systems, advanced Excel skills, and financial reporting expertise.
- Good understanding of IFRS and applicable taxation requirements.
- Direct experience in companies dealing with physical goods such as procurement, production, processing, trading, or distribution is essential; candidates with experience limited to service-based industries will not be considered.

Preferred Qualifications and Benefits

Experience in sectors such as agriculture and fresh produce exports, food processing and manufacturing, FMCG manufacturing and distribution, agricultural commodity trading, or industrial manufacturing with inventory-intensive trading is highly desirable.

The company offers a comprehensive benefits package including in-patient medical insurance, company accommodation (private room in a shared apartment), and transport to and from the workplace. Additional benefits include airtime allowance, one return air ticket to the home country after each full year of service, relocation travel assistance to Kenya, work permit support, and annual leave plus statutory entitlements in accordance with Kenyan law.