Jumeirah Hiring for Finance Controller – The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management Job at Dubai Full Time

About Jumeirah and the Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management:

At Jumeirah we are committed to encouraging and developing our colleagues in world class environments. We value diversity and equal opportunities, employing colleagues from over 140 different countries including locations in Asia Pacific, CIS, Central Asia, Western and Eastern Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

We want you to do well from the beginning, so we will give you every chance to impress during the recruitment process. We promise our colleagues a warm welcome and will help you feel part of our Jumeirah family from day one. You can rely on us to support you as you settle into your journey with us and make Jumeirah ‘Your Place to Shine’.

The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management (EAHM) in Dubai is one of the world’s leading hospitality business management schools and an integral part of the global luxury hotel company, Jumeirah Group. It is a leading provider of university-level hospitality business education and offers both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees designed to develop the hospitality leaders of the future. All programs of study are fully accredited by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in the United Arab Emirates and THE-ICE (International Centre of Excellence in Tourism and Hospitality Education) in Australia. It is also a higher education member of the Council of International Schools (CIS).

About the Job:

An experienced Finance Controller to join the team to assist the Managing director to formulate and execute the EAHM strategy. Maximize the returns on capital investment by providing accurate financial analysis and later assist with the new openings, Support the operation with legal matters such as leases, contracts, and management agreements. Contributes to the success of the enterprise by managing cash flow, budgeting, and performing unit operating analysis to enable executives to make informed business decisions. Maximizes the return on financial assets through financial policies, procedures, controls, and reporting systems.

Financial and Management Accounting Responsibilities:

• Managing the accounting records, and financial reports and overseeing the issuance of SBU’s financial reporting.
• To ensure that the books, records, and accounts are maintained accurately and fairly to reflect the transactions and administration of the assets of the SBU.
• Ensure general ledger posting are in compliance with uniformed system of accounting for the lodging industry.
• Establish strong cash management controls, prepare monthly cash flow forecast, and recommend actions accordingly.
• Manage cash requirements and coordinate with Corporate on the funds.
• Ensure all balance sheet accounts are fully reconciled monthly and discrepancies are immediately identified and corrected.
• Review and approve balance sheet reconciliation monthly.
• To oversee the Finance and Accounting department in the SBU and ensure its smooth running so that all financial and management reports are accurate and available by their due dates.
• Establish and recommend to management major financial objectives for SBU.
• Direct preparation of annual budgets and monthly forecasts; establish and/or recommend to management major economic objectives and policies for SBU.
• Draft and maintain accurate yearly financial statements, in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards.
• Generate and discuss with relevant parties’ special operation analysis reports with a strategic objective of minimizing the variance: performance versus budget and versus prior year, flow-through analysis, outlet menu engineering, profit margin analysis, manning structure and payroll cost, etc.
• Ensure all capital purchases/disposals are in accordance with policies and procedures and review all management and depreciation reports.

Strategic Planning and Business Support

• Develops SBU finance strategies by contributing financial and accounting information, analysis, and recommendations to strategic direction, establishing functional objectives in line with organizational objectives.
• Prepare a 5-year capital budget plan and 5-year operation projections.
• Prepare and present return on investment evaluation for capital development projects when needed.
• Maximizes return on invested funds by identifying investment opportunities and maintaining relationships with asset management.

Communication and relationship

• Establish a professional and strong relationship with owner and asset managers.
• Report monthly to regional, corporate and asset management groups on the property’s financial performance.
• Work closely with the Managing Director and Executive committee of the property and act as an SBU advisor and risk advocate.
• Work closely with regional team and corporate on any specific requirement.
• To maintain close communication with third parties such as the public auditors, external auditors, SBU partners and local authorities.
• Provide training in SBUs to enhance the financial skills of the Management Team as a whole. You should be the “coach” to both the SBU Finance teams and non-Financial Managers.
• Maintain appropriate records of education, training, skills and experience of each individual colleague.
• Ensure that responsibilities and authorities are defined and communicated within the organization.
• Set individual development plans for each individual colleague and strive for their future development.
• Work on special assignments set by regional or corporate teams and meet the specific deadlines set by the group.
• Manage the coordination with the finance shared service based on the agreed SLA. (Applicable in a shared service environment.)

Risk, Audit and Compliance responsibilities

• Ensure compliance with company finance directives and delegation of authority.
• Ensure that the company complies with all legal and local regulatory requirements
• Coordinate with Internal Audit on compliance according to company financial policies, governance, risks, and fraud.
• Comply with the company’s ethics code of conduct and report any variation.
• Coordinate with government authorities for tax compliance.
• Monitor any legal issues involving the property and report to the owner and corporate office accordingly.
• To devise and maintain a system of internal accounting control sufficient to ensure that transactions are executed in accordance with Management’s general and specific authorization and in compliance with generally accepted accounting principles and specific country legislation.
• Maintain relations with external auditors and investigate their findings and recommendations.
• To review and certify any Business unit internal or external financial reporting before distribution.
• Mitigate any key risk on the asset and the company IP in general.
• Liaise with company treasury and corporate finance on cash flow, finance policies, reports, audits, and insurance matters.
• Contribute to company finance policy drafting, and implementation and ensure compliance within the Area.
• Conduct monthly performance reviews with HODs and establish a combined action plan.
• To regularly organize credit meetings with the participation of the General Manager and all concerned Heads of Department where all debtors’ balances are analyzed.
• Ensure the right person in the right role, in an environment of continuous development.
• Implement and create best practices that could be shared with Finance Leadership Committee.
• Complete ad hoc requests when required.

About you:

The ideal candidate for this position will have the following qualifications, experience and skills:

• Bachelor’s degree in Commerce / Business / Accounting or Professional accreditation e.g. ACA, ACCA, CPA, CIMA, CMA
• Qualified member of an accountancy body or holder of an equivalent qualification. CA/CIMA or University Graduate in Accountancy or Finance
• A minimum of 5 years of finance experience in a senior position in hospitality or education
• Proficiency in computer software systems such as MS Office and knowledge of Opera, Micros, Sun, and Hyperion is essential
• Attention to detail, strong organization skills and desire for continuous improvement and learning.
• Must be able to speak to key business drivers at a high level while understanding the details and have the ability to package executive-level presentations.
• Management role in a culturally diverse workforce.
• Proficiency in spoken and written business English.
• Competent in Microsoft Office applications.
• Must have strong skills in Excel and PowerPoint.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.

About the Benefits:

We offer an attractive tax-free salary, paid in Dirhams (AED), the local currency of the UAE. In addition, we offer generous F&B benefits, reduced hotel rates across our properties globally, excellent leave and health care package , flights allowance , life insurance, and other employee benefits making the role attractive to high performers and any applicant looking for a career with one of the most luxurious brands in the hospitality industry.