The World Economic Forum, committed to improving the state of the world, is the international organization for public-private cooperation.

The Forum engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

Why are we hiring?

The Forum is currently searching for a Head of Financial Planning, Performance & Partnering (FPP).

In direct reporting to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and in close collaboration, this position will be instrumental in crafting and executing top-tier strategies for the FPP function, encompassing people, processes, and systems.

Reporting lines and interactions

The Head of Financial Planning, Performance & Partnering will work closely with all Forum Centres and functions as a strategic business partner, driving value creation, strategy and contributing to the successful delivery of the Forum’s vision and mission. 

This role will oversee all facets of planning, budgeting, forecasting, performance analysis, decision support, business partnering, Managing Board reporting, Audit & Risk Committee reporting, Board of Trustees reporting, and other stakeholder reporting, both regular and ad-hoc.

Main Responsibilities

Financial Planning:

• Partner with the Forum Centres and functions to develop and implement comprehensive financial strategies and plans aligned with the Forum’s objectives

• Lead the redesign of the financial planning, budgeting and forecasting processes to enhance agility, responsiveness and alignment with dynamic business needs, while ensuring robust financial controls

• Lead the review of existing planning and forecasting tools, develop and implement a systems strategy

Financial Performance:

• Responsible for the monthly Managing Board report, regular Audit & Risk Committee reports and Board of Trustees reports, as well as other ad-hoc analysis and reporting as required by the CFO or organization stakeholders

• Lead the redesign of the management reporting process, Managing Board reports, Audit & Risk Committee reports and Board of Trustees reports

Partnering:

• Develop robust working relationships with key stakeholders across the Forum’s Centres and functions, enhancing collaboration and partnership

• Develop the team’s strategic business partnering and decision support capabilities to develop, guide and support the Forum to achieve its objectives

• Ensure the team is embedded across the organization as the ‘go-to’, trusted advisor and value-add, customer focused enabler

Leadership, People Management and Team Development:

• Contribute and collaborate with other members of the Finance leadership team to develop and enhance positive team culture and behaviours, promoting respect, trust, integrity, diversity, openness and constructive conversations

• Develop customer focused, service provider, change and continuous improvement mindset and behaviours across the function

• Develop a high-performing team, fostering a culture of proactivity, collaboration, professional excellence and financial discipline

• Provide professional development, mentoring and coaching

Innovation, Continuous Improvement and Control:

• Promote process excellence, continuous improvement and a robust control culture

• Encourage the use of financial technologies and innovative solutions, where appropriate, to enhance efficiency and effectiveness

Preferred Requirements and Experience

• Degree in finance, accounting and / or business administration

• Professional accounting qualification (e.g. ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent)

• 15+ years of professional experience in financial planning, performance and business partnering, preferably within a multinational corporation with international exposure.

• Excellent strategic and analytical thinking, coupled with proficient technical accounting and FPP skills.

• Demonstrated track record in leading people, process, and systems transformations, fostering process excellence, and implementing continuous improvement practices.

• Outstanding communication, collaboration, interpersonal, and active listening skills, coupled with a high level of emotional intelligence and the ability to engage stakeholders across all levels effectively.

• Strong presentation skills, capable of conveying complex concepts clearly and concisely.

• Fluent in English

• Demonstrated experience in building, developing, and managing high-performing teams, coupled with a strong controls mindset and behaviours. Additionally, exhibits a proactive, practical, pragmatic, flexible, hands-on, customer-focused, solution-based, and results-oriented approach

• High level proficiency in Microsoft Office tools, knowledge of Salesforce a plus.

• Knowledge of Business Intelligence tools (e.g. Tableau, Power BI) a plus

Why work at the Forum:

The Forum believes that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to improve the state of the world by building awareness and cooperation, shaping mindsets and agendas, and driving collective action. Join us and become a driver for positive change!