Head of Finance
About us:
Discover Africa Group is a team of innovative, experienced, and ambitious go-getters passionate about sharing Africa’s best with travelers from around the world.
Our portfolio includes:
- Discover Africa Safaris: Bespoke luxury safari travel in Southern and East Africa.
- 4x4 Hire: Adventure 4x4 self-drive exploration.
- Drive South Africa: Africa’s first online rental car comparison and booking engine.
Our team culture is friendly, supportive, and professional - we value creativity, collaboration, and personal growth. Based in the northern suburbs of Cape Town, you might even enjoy a smoother commute, traveling against peak traffic.
Your Purpose
As our Head of Finance, you will lead the financial management, reporting, control, and commercial finance function of the Group.
You will ensure that our leaders have accurate, timely, and meaningful financial information to support informed decision-making. You will safeguard cash flow and financial assets, manage foreign-exchange exposure, strengthen financial controls, and provide strategic financial insight that supports sustainable growth and profitability
Your Core Responsibilities:
Financial Strategy and Commercial Support
- Translate business strategy and growth plans into financial plans, forecasts, budgets, and commercial priorities.
- Provide financial analysis and recommendations on profitability, pricing, margins, investment decisions, and cost management.
- Evaluate the financial viability of new products, markets, systems, suppliers, and strategic projects.
- Support commercial negotiations through margin, cash-flow, currency, and scenario analysis.
- Help structure commercially sustainable agreements that protect cash flow, margins, and the Group’s financial interests.
Budgeting, Forecasting and Financial Planning
- Lead the annual budgeting process across departments and business units.
- Maintain rolling revenue, margin, expense, and cash-flow forecasts.
- Develop financial models for changes in demand, exchange rates, supplier pricing, payment timing, and operating costs.
- Track performance against budget and forecast, explaining material variances and recommending corrective action.
- Partner with department heads to strengthen financial ownership and forecasting accuracy.
Cash Flow, Treasury and Foreign Exchange
- Maintain reliable cash-flow forecasts and ensure sufficient liquidity for supplier payments, payroll, taxes, refunds, and operational commitments.
- Monitor working capital, customer receipts, supplier payment timing, and material liquidity risks.
- Identify and manage foreign-exchange exposure arising from customer receipts, supplier payments, deposits, cancellations, and refunds.
- Monitor realised and unrealised foreign-exchange gains and losses and recommend appropriate mitigation strategies.
- Ensure exchange rates used across financial and operational systems remain accurate and aligned.
Financial Operations, Controls and Reporting
- Oversee accounts payable, accounts receivable, banking, refunds, reconciliations, and payment processes.
- Own the monthly financial close and ensure management accounts are completed accurately and within agreed deadlines.
- Prepare clear reporting on revenue, gross margin, expenses, cash flow, working capital, customer deposits, supplier liabilities, and foreign-exchange exposure.
- Strengthen controls over payments, refunds, journals, supplier banking details, accruals, and system access.
- Identify and address booking errors, margin leakage, overpayments, under-collections, and other financial risks.
- ️ Systems, Data and Process Improvement
- Ensure the integrity of financial data across accounting, reservation, banking, payment, and reporting systems.
- Lead improvements to financial systems, dashboards, integrations, and automated processes.
- Reduce unnecessary manual processes and spreadsheet dependency where these create control or scalability risks.
- Define finance requirements for system implementation, migration, and reporting projects.
- Ensure finance processes remain efficient, accurate, and fit for purpose as the business grows.
️ Compliance, Risk and Finance Leadership
- Manage statutory compliance, tax exposure, audit requirements, and financial-control risks.
- Oversee local and cross-border tax matters, including VAT, tourism levies, withholding taxes, and transfer pricing, in partnership with external advisers.
- Lead the annual external audit and maintain audit-ready records throughout the year.
- Lead and develop the finance team through clear priorities, standards, accountability, and performance expectations.
- Communicate financial results, risks, and recommendations clearly to Directors, senior leaders, and non-financial stakeholders.
Who We’re Looking For:
- A professional accounting qualification.
- At least seven years’ progressive finance experience, including experience in a senior finance leadership role.
- Strong experience in management accounts, budgeting, forecasting, cash-flow management, financial controls, and audit.
- Demonstrated experience managing multi-currency transactions and foreign-exchange exposure.
- Experience producing complex financial reporting across multiple business units, products, brands, or revenue streams.
- Advanced financial modelling, analytical, and Excel skills.
- Confidence working with accounting, operational, payment, and reporting systems.
- Strong commercial judgement and the ability to translate financial information into practical business recommendations.
- High integrity, accuracy, professional judgement, and attention to detail.
- Strong people leadership and the ability to communicate complex financial information clearly.
- Experience in travel, tourism, e-commerce, or another high-volume transactional environment
- Experience in the inbound travel sector would be particularly beneficial.
Why Join Us?
At Discover Africa Safaris, we believe that our team’s passion and dedication deserve to be celebrated and rewarded. Here’s what you can look forward to:
- A competitive salary
- 20 days of annual leave
- After 5 years, earn one extra annual paid leave day per year, up to a max of 25 days
- Paid birthday leave - because no one should work on their special day!
- Professional development opportunities to support your growth.
- Africa travel at discounted rates, giving you the chance to explore and deepen your connection to the continent.
- Hybrid working opportunities in a flexible, supportive environment.
- A chance to work with a team of passionate, like-minded individuals who share your love for Africa.
How to apply:
If you’re ready to turn your passion for Africa into a career that inspires and transforms lives, we’d love to hear from you. Apply today and join us in sharing Africa’s wonders with the world.
Discover Africa Group is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all.
