Finance Business Partner, SSA

Schneider Electric is seeking an experienced and commercially astute Finance Business Partner for the SSA Cluster, to drive financial performance and strategic decision support across the SSA cluster.

Reporting to the SSA cluster CFO, this role serves as the primary finance business partner and single point of contact (SPOC) for the business. The successful candidate will provide financial leadership, performance management, commercial insights, and governance oversight to support sustainable growth, margin expansion, and operational excellence.

This position requires a strong blend of financial expertise, business acumen, stakeholder influence, and transformation leadership to ensure robust decision-making and the successful execution of business strategies across the SSA cluster.

What will you do?

Strategic Business Partnering

• Act as the finance lead and trusted advisor for SSA, partnering closely with Zone Business Finance, Country Leadership, and Commercial Teams.
• Develop deep market and business understanding, including industry trends, competitive dynamics, channel performance, customer concentration, and emerging opportunities.
• Support the development and execution of long-term and short-term growth strategies through commercial policy optimization, pricing governance, product launch evaluations, and go-to-market initiatives.
• Provide actionable insights and recommendations to enhance business performance, profitability, and market competitiveness.
• Subject Matter Expert and advisor
• Contribute to strategic roadmap definition on project & equipment business
• Provide financial expertise on segment performance, projects financing, accounting & credit management
• Provide insights & recommendations on business performance improvement (mix, continuous improvement, resource allocation)
• Provide financial expertise on projects financial models (revenue recognition, under/over absorption, funding schemes)
• Business partner and challenger to drive profitable and sustainable performance
• Business case, Long term plan & transformation, target set-up

Management /Strategic & Business advisory

• Relationship Management with BU, FO, Marketing & Operation
• Support deployment of Global/Zone/Local Initiative
• Support & Challenge BU VPs on performance
• Support upskilling of team- “Finance for Non-Finance”
• Challenge management on: 3 golden KPIs, mix management & segment approach
• Work closely with all rest Finance team, SRM, Legal
• Review Pipeline &Customer Portfolio Analysis
• Perform Segment wise analysis for Topline & GM
• Performance analysis by Sales Leader
• Recommendation to Business basis deep dive
• Perform Adhoc Analysis
• Support request from Zone/Corporate
• Coordination with ETO on New Offers & costing
• Periodic meeting with Customer / Partner
• Share Monthly Performance with Mgmt & FO team
• Monthly Performance Cadence Review
• Support Execution Team

Financial Control and Governance

• Lead selected month-end and year-end close activities, ensuring financial integrity, accuracy, and compliance.
• Oversee accrual management, reconciliations, customer incentive calculations, bonus provisioning, and related financial controls.
• Ensure adherence to local statutory regulations, Schneider Electric policies, transfer pricing requirements, and internal control standards.
• Support internal and external audit activities and drive timely resolution of audit findings.

Planning and Forecast

• Coordinate quarterly rolling forecasts and business outlook submissions from Orders through Gross Margin.
• Lead role in RF activities with BU, FO, Marketing, Execution
• Support & Challenge Backlog Liquidation and pipeline generation
• Anticipate & Challenge Book and Bill assumptions
• Consolidate Forecast input
• Simulate & compare topline and Margin vs Target
• Anticipate potential Risk & Opportunity to deliver forecast
• Collaboration with Stakeholders to mitigate Risk
• Lead role in Commercial and Weekly Call file simulation

Annual Planning and Forecast

• Cascade Yearly Target to Business & Execution
• Support Marketing/FO for AMSP
• Lead Role in Annual Labor Rate Finalization
• Support External Audit cycle – Quarterly / Annual
• Identify and drive action plan to achieve target

Ideal Candidate Profile

The successful candidate is a highly analytical and commercially minded finance professional with the ability to translate financial data into strategic business actions. They thrive in fast-paced, matrix organizations and possess strong stakeholder management and influencing capabilities.

You are:

• A strategic thinker with strong business and financial acumen.
• Highly analytical while maintaining a broad, enterprise-wide perspective.
• Confident in challenging assumptions and influencing decision-makers.
• Results-oriented with strong ownership and accountability.
• Adaptable and resilient in complex and evolving business environments.
• A collaborative leader capable of driving transformation and organizational change.
• Passionate about continuous improvement, automation, and digital finance solutions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, Accounting, Economics, Business Administration, or related discipline.
• Professional accounting qualification preferred (CA(SA), ACCA, CIMA, or equivalent).
• MBA or relevant postgraduate qualification is advantageous.
• Proven experience as Finance Lead or in a similar senior financial role.
• Advanced skills in Planning, Forecasting and Performance Analysis.
• Business acumen i.e Systems, Services and Software.
• 7-10 years of progressive experience in Finance Business Partering, Business Finance, FP&A, Commercial Finance, or Controlling.
• Proven experience partnering with Sales, Commercial, or Business Leadership teams.
• Experience in a multinational organization operating within a matrix structure.
• Strong exposure to financial planning, performance management, and forecasting.
• Experience supporting business transformation, process improvement, and digital finance initiatives.
• Knowledge of distribution, channel management, manufacturing, industrial automation, electrical, or technology sectors is advantageous.
• Experience working across multiple African markets would be beneficial.

What's in it for me?

• High-impact role with visibility across commercial operations and senior leadership
• Opportunity to shape strategy and influence key business decisions
• Collaborative, growth-focused culture that values innovation and expertise
• Professional development support including training, mentorship, and career advancement opportunities

Bring your financial expertise to a team that's ready to achieve great things together — apply today!