Financial Manager: SAREA at Sanlam Group

Purpose of the role

• Financial management of SAREA and responsible for the financial, treasury and regulatory reporting for the vehicle which it advises, Sanlam Africa Core Real Estate Investments Limited (SACREIL), domiciled in Mauritius and its subsidiary entities and entities in which SACREIL has an ultimate ownership stake to contribute to, and support the financial decision-making process of the SAREA executive team and board.

Work Functions (Summary):
The main functions of the position are as follows:
Financial Management of SAREA:

The day-to-day financial management of SAREA is outsourced to Sanlam Investments (SI) Finance team and the role will be required to manage the relationship with SI Finance including:

• Reviewing monthly accounts and ensuring monthly reporting
• Preparing the annual budget and updated forecasts
• Quarterly management reporting to the SAREA Board and SI Alternatives Exco

Outsourced Financial Management of SACREIL:

SACREIL does not have any employees and is managed by its Board as assisted by the Audit and Risk Management Committee (ARMC) with certain investment and portfolio management functions outsourced to SAREA and other administrative, compliance and company secretarial functions outsourced to Intercontinental Trust Limited (ITL). The role is required to continue improvement of the internal financial controls across the SACREIL group of companies, and manage the relationship with the ARMC and ITL with respect to:

• Management accounts, including the management accounts of all of SACREIL’s subsidiaries and other investment entities in Mauritius and the relevant countries in which its properties are located.
• Oversight of the internal valuations of the SACREIL property portfolio on a quarterly basis
• Quarterly financial reporting to the ARMC and SACREIL Board
• Quarterly reporting on the ARMC terms of reference checklist
• Preparation of SACREIL’s quarterly published accounts and directors’ commentary.
• Calculation of the quarterly Advisory Fee due to SAREA.
• Calculation and implementation of SACREIL’s dividend policy.
• Liaison with the auditors for the SACREIL and its underlying investee entities.
• Preparing SACREIL’s annual financial statements (AFS) and annual report and providing oversight on the preparation of SACREIL’s subsidiaries’ AFS.
• Liaison with the tax advisors for the SACREIL group entities and review of tax computations
• Consolidation of SACREIL’s accounts into the Sanlam Group accounts semi-annually
• Preparing SAREA’s representation to SACREIL, and SACREIL’s representation to Sanlam Group semi-annually.
• Preparing the SACREIL annual budget and updated forecasts and reviewing the in- country budgets
• Manage SAREA Finance Team

SAREA is allocated a CA trainee on rotation from Sanlam Group Finance annually. The role is required to:

• Onboarding admin (Granting of access, travel and accommodation arrangements)    
• Induction and continuous training throughout rotation    
• Work allocation and workflow management    
• Timesheet and LTS system competencies approval    
• Report back on the trainee's progression, key competencies and professionalism

Educational Qualifications and Special Skills Required:

• Bachelors degree in Accounting;
• Chartered Accountant  
• 3 or more years’ experience post qualifying experience in a similar role
• Computer literacy (MS Office), IDU, HFM and other real estate software management packages, e.g., JDE Real Estate would be an advantage

COMPETENCY REQUIREMENTS:

• Cultivates Innovation – Creating new and better ways for the organisation to be successful
• Client focus – building strong client relationships and delivering client centric solutions
• Drives results – consistently seizing opportunities and achieving results even under tough circumstances
• Collaborates – building partnerships and working collaboratively and inclusively with others to meet shared objectives
• Resilient – rebounding from setbacks and adversity when facing difficult situations
• Real Estate acumen – understanding the nuances of the real estate sector

BEHAVIOURAL COMPETENCIES:

• Integrity – conduct worthy of the utmost trust
• Business insight – applying knowledge of business and the marketplace to advance the organisation’s goals
• Financial acumen – interpreting and applying understanding of financial indicators to make better business decisions
• Analytical – focus on understanding business drivers and risks
• Decision quality – making good and timely decisions that keep the organisation moving forward
• Action orientated – taking on new opportunities and tough challenges with a sense of urgency, high energy and enthusiasm
• Communicates Effectively – developing and delivering multi-mode communications that convey a clear understanding of the unique needs of audiences
• Attention to Detail – high degree of accuracy of meticulousness when approaching work
• Prepared to work overtime.
• The following outline describes the essential duties of the employee. However, the employee may be required to perform additional duties when required.

Knowledge and Skills

• Financial analysis
• Financial planning and recommendations
• Financial Information Processing
• People Management
• Financial Reporting