Optasia is a fully enabled B2B2X financial technology platform covering scoring, financial decisioning, disbursement and collection. We are committed to enabling financial inclusion at scale across emerging and developed markets. As a newly listed public company, we combine high growth with disciplined execution and rigorous governance.
The Senior Vice President, Financial Planning & Analysis (SVP FP&A) is the Group CFO’s primary business partner for performance, planning and value creation. This is a highly senior, commercial role in a listed environment, responsible for turning data into decisions, plans into outcomes and performance into shareholder value.
You will own the Group planning and forecasting cycle, lead performance reviews with Commercial and Regional leadership, and shape the financial narratives presented to the Executive Committee, Board and investors. You will challenge the business, support strategic decision-making and ensure that Optasia continues to deliver profitable, capital-efficient growth.
What you will do
Strategic finance & leadership
- Act as the right hand to the Group CFO on all matters related to Group performance, planning and external guidance.
- Provide forward-looking financial insight to the CEO, Executive Committee and Board, helping to prioritize strategic initiatives, capital allocation and growth bets.
- Lead the Group FP&A function globally, setting standards, ways of working and best practice across regions and business units.
- Own the financial narrative that underpins strategy papers, Board materials, investor communication and guidance.
Performance management & commercial business partnering
- Run the Group performance rhythm (monthly performance reviews, quarterly deep dives), ensuring a sharp focus on revenue, profitability, unit economics and cash.
- Partner with Commercial, Product, Risk and Operations leaders to translate commercial plans into financial outcomes, challenge underperformance and agree corrective actions, and build robust business cases for new products, markets and partnerships.
- Drive commercial analytics: pricing, take-rate optimization, partner economics, portfolio profitability and return on capital.
- Ensure clear accountability for P&L ownership across regions and products, supported by KPIs and dashboards.
Planning, budgeting & forecasting
- Own the Group budget and forecasting process (P&L, balance sheet and cash flow) across all entities and business lines.
- Lead dual-track planning: internal stretch plan to drive ambition, and external guidance plan aligned with market expectations and JSE disclosure requirements.
- Implement and continuously improve rolling forecasts and Integrated Business Planning (IBP), with clear linkages between volume drivers, risk, funding and profitability.
- Coordinate with Treasury, Risk and HR to ensure alignment between financial plans, funding strategy and workforce plans.
Advanced analytics & decision support
- Build and maintain a robust decision-support toolkit: driver-based models, scenario analysis, sensitivity analysis and “what-if” simulations.
- Use advanced analytics to improve accuracy on demand, FX, churn, loss rates and funding costs.
- Provide clear, concise insight to senior stakeholders through variance analysis focused on drivers and actions, value-bridge analysis, and post-investment reviews.
Data, systems & reporting
- Set requirements and priorities for EPM / planning tools, BI and data platforms in partnership with Finance Systems and Data teams.
- Ensure a single source of truth for performance reporting, with automated dashboards and drill-downs for executives and regional leaders.
- Oversee the production of Board and Committee FP&A content, ensuring consistency between internal reporting, external reporting and guidance.
- Maintain strong governance and controls around models, assumptions, versioning and approvals.
Team leadership & capability building
- Build, lead and develop a high-performing FP&A team across geographies.
- Embed a performance and challenge culture in Finance: curious, commercial, data-driven and action-oriented.
- Coach senior business leaders on financial acumen, value drivers and capital allocation
What You Will Bring
- 12–15+ years in senior FP&A / Commercial Finance / Strategic Finance roles, with at least 5+ years at Group or Regional level in a complex, international business.
- Experience in a listed company (ideally on JSE or other major exchange) or in a business preparing for / transitioning to public-company standards.
- Proven track record of owning and running Group-wide budgeting and forecasting, leading performance reviews and challenging senior stakeholders, and supporting strategy, M&A and major commercial negotiations with robust financial insight.
- Background in FinTech, financial services, telco, payments, or data-driven B2B/B2B2X models is a strong plus.
- Strong commercial mindset – comfortable talking revenue, pricing, partners and customer metrics, not just costs.
- Exceptional analytical and modelling skills, including scenario and sensitivity analysis.
- High executive presence – able to hold the room with the CFO, CEO, Board and investors; able to challenge respectfully and constructively.
- Confident user of modern EPM / BI / data platforms and comfortable working with advanced analytics and large data sets.
- Excellent storytelling and communication skills: can turn complex analysis into clear, actionable messages and narratives.
- Experience leading international teams and working in multicultural environments.
- Degree in Finance, Economics, Accounting or related field; MBA, CFA or equivalent post-graduate qualification is an advantage.
- Professional accounting qualification (e.g. ACCA, CA, CPA) beneficial but not essential if commercial and FP&A experience is strong.
Why you should apply
What we offer:
💸 Competitive remuneration package
🏝 Extra day off on your birthday
💰 Performance-based bonus scheme
👩🏽⚕️ Comprehensive private healthcare insurance
📲 💻 All the tech gear you need to work smart
Optasia’s Perks:
🎌 Be a part of a multicultural working environment
🎯 Meet a very unique and promising business and industry
🌌 🌠 Gain insights for tomorrow market’s foreground
🎓 A solid career path within our working family is ready for you
📚 Continuous training and access to online training platforms
🥳 CSR activities and festive events within any possible occasion
Optasia’s Values 🌟
#1 Drive to Thrive: Fully dedicated to evolving. We welcome all challenges and learning opportunities.
#2 Customer-First Mindset: We go above and beyond to meet our partners’ and clients’ expectations.
#3 Bridge the Gap: Knowledge is shared, information is exchanged and every opinion counts.
#4 Go-Getter Spirit: We are results oriented. We identify any shortcomings that hold us back and step up to do what’s needed.
#5 Together we will do it: We are committed to supporting one another and to understanding and respecting different perspectives, as we aim to reach our common goals.
