Introduction:
Our client is AAK, a leading international manufacturer specializing in plant-based oils and specialty fats. They mainly source shea across multiple countries in West Africa and export to Europe for the development of high-value, sustainable ingredient solutions for the food, bakery, chocolate & confectionery, and personal care industries.

About the Role:
The Regional Finance Controller is a strategic financial support to the leadership and operations team in a complex and multi-country environment. He/she is responsible for driving financial planning, analysis and monitoring financial data & costs across West Africa region.

This role ensures strong data transparency & cost controls, accurate forecasting and provides support in improving financial & operational efficiency. The role also covers regulatory compliance, internal controls & process optimization, while acting as a key interface between local finance teams, regional leadership and corporate headquarters.

The position is based in Cotonou, Benin and reports to the Regional Finance Director.

Education and Experience:

• Master’s degree, Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics or related fields
• Minimum 4-5 years of relevant experience in FP&A, finance business partnering or finance/cost control in multi-country or regional roles
• Knowledge of SYSCOHADA & IFRS environment
• Strong exposure to inventory management
• Experience in logistics and operations in the agriculture industry, manufacturing or commodity-based environments would be preferred.
• Regional or multi-country experience in West Africa or emerging markets is a strong advantage.
• Ability to work in both language French & English, in a multicultural environment and an experience in West Africa.

Key Tasks & Responsibilities:
1) Financial Planning & Analysis:

• Own & lead regional budgeting, forecasting and long-term planning.
• Analyze business performance and provide monthly overview of variations to Actuals/budget/forecast/Last year with clear identification of key drivers and corrective actions on unjustified cost.
• Monitor and report key indicators such as cost per ton, yield efficiency, logistics costs...
• Provide actionable insights to improve profitability, productivity and working capital efficiency.
• Evaluate the current and future development of business exposure.
• Manage Cash flow planning/funding and prefinance process.
• Develop integrated financial models covering the full value chain from sourcing volumes to export, passing by production and logistics.

2) Data transparency & Cost control

• Ensure cost awareness and data transparency across the region.
• Establish and maintain transparent cost structure across the value chain.
• Analyze cost per ton, yield variances and logistics costs.
• Support the implementation of standard costing, cost allocation and variance analysis frameworks.
• Track cost drivers and explain variances.
• Maintain cost overview reports for country, regional and HQ management.
• Identify cost-saving opportunities and efficiency improvements

3) Group Reporting & Consolidation:

• Manage regional consolidation of financial information.
• Assist in preparation of group reporting packages within strict timelines.
• Ensure consistency and comparability of financial data across countries.
• Control the consistency of financial assumptions, methodologies and reporting standards across the region.
• Prepare regional management reports and presentations to senior leadership.

4) Business Partnering & Decision support:

• Act as the strategic finance partner to the supply chain, regional operations, leadership team and HQ.
• Manage investment appraisals, capex proposals and business growth initiatives through business cases & development projects.
• Support commercial teams with profitability and cost control analysis.
• Support buy/sourcing decisions
• Manage the Capex process, including guiding WAF leadership in compliance with AAK rules and authority.
• Assist functional teams in administrative tasks
• Support finance team in various tasks where necessary.
• Support system implementations and upgrades.
• Support country managers in managing the finance/accounting people/practices

5) Inventory Management, Pricing & Billing:

• Monitor and analyze inventory levels across the region.
• Drive visibility into inventory position, valuation and losses.
• Support inventory management policies and ensure accurate valuation in line with accounting standards.
• Manage pricing and Support billing process with accurate cost data.

6) Internal Controls & Governance:

• Ensure compliance and effective implementation of group internal controls, Code of Conduct and Delegation & Authority.
• Support internal and external audits and timely closure of audit findings.
• Strengthen financial controls and data accuracy in complex, multi-currency environments.
• Drive risk identification, remediation and continuous improvement.
• Drive standardization, automation, optimization and documentation of processes and controls.
• Control the consistency of financial assumptions, methodologies and reporting standards across the region.
• Maintain legal and business compliance reports and ensure proper follow-up to guarantee business continuity.
• Oversee use and optimization of ERP and accounting systems.
• Ensure all key company documents are securely stored, properly organized and maintained in designated shared folders with appropriate access controls.

7) Leadership, Team & Stakeholder Management:

• Provide coaching and technical guidance to local finance resources.
• Build strong working relationships with other finance functions.
• Collaborate with global finance, supply chain, sourcing, operations and leadership stakeholders.
• Coordinate with external auditors, regulators, banks and tax advisors
• Act as the key interface between local finance teams, regional leadership and corporate headquarters.
• Support regional finance transformation, capability building and succession planning
• Promote a strong cost control culture across the region

This position is open to all nationalities and it is advised to share an English version of your CV with us.

If you're interested to become the new Regional Finance Controller in Benin, please submit your application below.