Associate Director, Planning & Expense Management

* Job purpose
As the Associate Director of the Planning & Expense Management function, the focus will be on leading the expense management oversight and discipline of SLVN’s yearly expense budget. The Associate Director, Planning & Expense Management will be involved in the monthly/quarterly financial cycle, lead the expense planning/forecast process, coordinate the yearly budget and manage any expense related projects. The role is expected to provide insight and information to SLVN senior management and will be looked upon as a key liaison with the Regional Office (RO). The Associate Director, Planning & Expense Management will report to the Director, Finance.
*** Major accountabilities
* Reporting:
•All expense management functions for SLVN including meetings with senior management and various department heads to review and discuss variance analysis;
•Responsible for the monthly expense process, which includes maintaining the integrity of monthly expenses, coordinating monthly schedules, and ensuring deadlines are adhered to;
•Performs budget verification prior to payment and reviews project proposals against budget;
•Investigate and effectively communicate expense variances. This will entail communicating/liaising with budget managers/senior management/other departments;
•Update on project spending progress and promptly advises related budget manager on project issues and expense overrun;
•Review expense accounts and propose necessary adjustments prior to closing the books;
•Actively seek out expense saving opportunities and present action plan to senior management;
•Build relationships with other departments within SLVN as well as those outside the BU (RO);
•Manage and lead the current Expense Management team as well as support other SLVN Finance and Actuarial areas where applicable;
•Ensure all deliverables and deadlines are met, and to effectively communicate any delays to all required parties.
* Expense Model:
•Develop/enhance expense model to support expense allocation by segment and fund splitting;
•Enhance expense model in order to support more accurate monthly/quarterly expense forecasting;
•Support IFRS 17 expense allocation requirements;
•Provide expense acquisition and maintenance data for reporting;
•Interact with key stakeholders will be critical to ensure that model results and changes are understood;
•Ensure that changes to the model assumptions are managed through interaction with key stakeholders. Formal sign-offs will also be a key component of this role;
•Implement and oversee a rigorous documentation and approval process over the expense model and its results. This will ensure the model/results integrity as well as provide the necessary approval.
* Financial Planning and Budgeting:
•Assist with SLVN Planning (Strategic and Final) by providing expense components and inputs;
•Review SLVN projects and initiatives to ensure that expenses, capitalization and amortization have been properly captured and reflected;
•Proactively interact with all required area (Finance, Actuarial, IT, RO) where required;
•Lead the expense forecasting and budgeting processes;
•Provide support to budget managers with the different tools required to complete budgets;
•Prepare and present budget-training material for budget managers to improve expense control awareness.
Leadership:
•Key contact for all expense-related issues identified by SLVN management and must have the ability to deal effectively with all levels of management;
•Must demonstrate solid management and problem-solving skills, delegate effectively and proactively work with staff members to resolve issues and handle numerous operational tasks and projects concurrently, with minimal supervision.
* Other:
•Monitor initiatives and develop new KPIs to assess progress;
•Develop and monitor productivity measures;
•Assist with FTE monitoring;
•Timely delivery and submission of all requirements;
•Present information to senior management.

* Specialized knowledge
•Strong financial projection skills and ability to deal with change due to complex environment;
•Strong financial knowledge of all expense reporting flows and drivers;
•Excellent PC skills (Excel, PowerPoint) and modelling capabilities.
* Problem solving
•Strong achievement, motivation and prioritization (problem solving / decision making) due to short time frames for deliverables;
•Ability to identify inefficiencies and develop recommendations for process improvements;
•Flexibility/adaptability/creativity to meet deadlines and manage priorities.
* Education and experience
•CPA/ACCA designation preferred and a minimum of 5 years’ experience in a similar or other Finance function;
•University degree in Finance/Accounting required;
•Knowledge of Insurance Industry and Products;
•Management/leadership background.
* Communication scope
•Excellent communication skills - ability to effectively communicate complex ideas to, and collaborate effectively with, a wide-range of audiences;
•Strong interpersonal skills;
•Excellent command of the English language, both written and spoken