Associate Director - Financial Planning & Analysis - Aldar Education

About the Role

The company is seeking an Associate Director - Financial Planning & Analysis for our HQ in Abu Dhabi. This is an exciting opportunity for a skilled professional to join a highly successful family of schools and help shape the future of Abu Dhabi’s leading school group. Since its inception in 2007 with just 250 students, the company has grown into a highly sought-after education provider, serving over 38,000 students through more than 25 premium and super-premium schools partnered with prestigious institutions including Rugby School, King’s College Wimbledon, and Cranleigh. The Group employs 5,000 educators from more than 100 nationalities to deliver world-class education from nursery through to K12.

In this role, you will lead the company's group-wide Financial Planning & Analysis function, providing the CFO and Executive Leadership Team with accurate planning, forecasting, performance insight, and decision support. This role includes ownership of the annual budget, rolling forecasts, management reporting, long-range planning, and financial performance analysis across schools and HQ functions. Additionally, you will lead Corporate Finance activities such as funding strategy, investment appraisal, strategic financial modeling, and capital allocation analysis.

Responsibilities

Main Duties:

• Lead the group-wide FP&A function across the school portfolio and HQ functions.
• Own the annual budget, rolling forecast, five-year plan, and in-year reforecasting cycles.
• Provide clear, timely management information and performance insight to the CFO and executive leadership.
• Strengthen budgetary control, cost discipline, financial accountability, and corrective-action tracking.
• Lead school and functional performance reviews, translating financial and operational data into actionable recommendations.
• Develop FP&A capability through effective team leadership, standardized processes, planning tools, and data governance.
• Lead Corporate Finance analysis, funding assessments, investment appraisal, and strategic financial modeling for growth and expansion initiatives.

Specific Duties:

Planning, budgeting and forecasting

• Lead the annual budget process for all schools and HQ functions, including assumptions, timetables, templates, challenge sessions, and final consolidation.
• Own rolling forecasts and scenario modeling for enrolment, tuition revenue, staffing, operating costs, capital expenditure, and cash flow.
• Consolidate the Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Statement for the full portfolio, ensuring consistency and reconciliation across entities.
• Maintain the five-year financial plan and ensure alignment with approved strategic and operational priorities.
• Establish planning assumptions, sensitivity ranges, and clear version control for all budget and forecast submissions.
• Allocate work effectively, review key outputs, and maintain resilience across critical planning and reporting cycles.
• Build strong working relationships across Finance, schools, and HQ functions while maintaining independent financial challenge.

Management reporting and insight

• Own monthly school, HQ, and group management reporting, including actual versus budget and forecast analysis.
• Produce concise executive commentary explaining material variances, drivers, risks, opportunities, and required management actions.
• Develop dashboards and scorecards combining financial and non-financial measures, including enrolment, capacity utilization, staffing ratios, revenue per student, and cost per student.
• Ensure reporting is accurate, consistent, decision-focused, and delivered to agreed deadlines.
• Respond to ad hoc analysis and group reporting requirements with clear assumptions and audit trails.

Performance management and business partnering

• Lead regular performance reviews with school and functional leaders, challenging results constructively and agreeing recovery or improvement actions.
• Partner with business leaders on workforce planning, resource allocation, pricing, cost optimization, and operating-model decisions.
• Evaluate business cases, growth initiatives, and operational investments through financial modeling, scenario analysis, and post-investment review.
• Identify portfolio-wide performance trends, benchmarks, and opportunities to improve financial sustainability and operational efficiency.
• Track agreed actions, benefits, and financial outcomes, escalating significant risks or delivery gaps to the CFO.

FP&A governance, systems and data

• Define and maintain FP&A policies, calendars, templates, controls, and approval requirements.
• Maintain a single, controlled source of planning and reporting data, with documented ownership and reconciliation procedures.
• Drive continuous improvement and automation of planning, reporting, and analytical processes within the ERP and supporting tools.
• Ensure models are robust, transparent, appropriately controlled, and supported by documented assumptions.
• Coordinate with Financial Control to ensure management information reconciles to the general ledger and approved financial records.

Leadership:

• Lead, coach, and develop the FP&A team, setting clear objectives, service standards, and development plans.
• Allocate work effectively, review key outputs, and maintain resilience across critical planning and reporting cycles.
• Build strong working relationships across Finance, schools, and HQ functions while maintaining independent financial challenge.

Corporate Finance and strategic investment

• Lead financial evaluation of strategic growth opportunities, new schools, acquisitions, partnerships, capacity expansion, and major investment initiatives.
• Develop and review investment models, business cases, valuation analysis, sensitivity analysis, and scenario assessments to support executive and Board decisions.
• Identify medium- and long-term funding requirements arising from approved business plans, capital programs, and growth initiatives.
• Support the CFO in evaluating external and intercompany funding options, including financial implications, affordability, and impact on cash flow and returns.
• Prepare financial analysis and decision materials for Executive Leadership, Board, and investment approval forums.
• Assess capital allocation priorities and provide recommendations based on strategic alignment, financial returns, risk, and affordability.
• Monitor the long-term financial performance and return profile of school assets and major investments against approved business cases.
• Conduct post-investment reviews and track the delivery of approved financial benefits, assumptions, and returns.
• Coordinate with group finance, advisers, lenders, and relevant stakeholders on Corporate Finance matters as required.
• Establish and maintain appropriate Corporate Finance models, processes, controls, documentation, and approval records.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business, or a related discipline.
• Professional accounting qualification such as ACA, ACCA, CIMA, CPA, or CA strongly preferred; relevant master’s degree desirable.

Minimum Experience:

• Minimum 12 years of progressive finance experience, including at least 5 years leading FP&A, budgeting, forecasting, or management reporting teams.
• Demonstrable ownership of complex, multi-entity or multi-site budgeting, forecasting, and management reporting cycles.
• Strong experience presenting financial performance, risks, and recommendations to CFO and executive-level stakeholders.
• Advanced financial modeling, scenario analysis, and business-case evaluation experience.
• Experience with ERP, planning, and business intelligence tools; education, services, or other multi-site operating environments preferred.
• Experience supporting growth, transformation, or performance-improvement programs desirable.
• Experience in investment appraisal, funding analysis, capital allocation, valuation, or Corporate Finance projects.

Job Specific Knowledge & Skills:

• Expert knowledge of FP&A disciplines, including driver-based planning, rolling forecasts, variance analysis, scenario modeling, and long-range planning.
• Strong understanding of the Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Statement, and the links between operational drivers and financial outcomes.
• Advanced Excel and financial modeling capability; able to review model logic, assumptions, controls, and outputs.
• Strong data and systems orientation, with the ability to improve ERP, planning, and business-intelligence reporting processes.
• Commercial judgment and the confidence to challenge assumptions, influence senior stakeholders, and convert analysis into decisions.
• Clear executive communication, including concise written commentary and presentation of complex information.
• Strong people leadership, coaching, prioritization, and quality-review capability.
• High standards of accuracy, ownership, confidentiality, and deadline management.
• Fluent written and spoken English; cultural sensitivity and effectiveness in a diverse stakeholder environment.
• Strong knowledge of investment appraisal methods, including discounted cash flow, net present value, internal rate of return, payback analysis, and sensitivity modeling.
• Ability to evaluate funding requirements, capital allocation choices, and the financial implications of strategic growth decisions.

What We Offer:

The company offers an attractive remuneration package and benefits in a family of world-class, child-centered, and innovative schools. Our future-focused learning model emphasizes professional development, coaching, and training for both students and staff. Successful candidates will have access to a wide network of professionals and opportunities to both lead and contribute to training others as well as developing themselves.

The company is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff to share this commitment. Offers of appointment are subject to satisfactory references and police clearance.