Financial Controller - Financial Planning & Analysis | Real Estate

Overview Of The Role:

The Financial Controller, FP&A plays a key role in strengthening financial planning, performance management, and management reporting across the Real Estate Group, providing a consolidated regional view of business performance. The role partners closely with senior leadership, leveraging strong commercial acumen, macroeconomic insights, and real estate market knowledge to drive forward-looking analysis, forecasting, and strategic decision-making.

A key focus is transforming FP&A through AI, automation, and advanced analytics, enhancing the quality, efficiency, and predictive value of financial planning and reporting. The successful candidate will bring a strong executive presence, excellent presentation skills, intellectual curiosity, and a proactive ownership mindset to generate actionable insights, improve financial visibility, and foster accountability across the organization.

What You Will Do:

FP&A Leadership

Act as the central point of contact for FP&A activities across the Real Estate Group and relevant Group Finance requirements.
Build trusted relationships across Finance and the business, using influence and appropriate escalation to drive alignment and timely delivery.
Support the Head Of Finance in establishing strategic priorities and converting them into implementation plans.

Budgeting, Forecasting and Strategic Planning

Lead and review individual and consolidated budgets, forecasts, and business plans across portfolios and geographies.
Manage the end-to-end cycle, including timelines, templates, assumptions, and reviews.
Challenge financial and operational assumptions with commercial knowledge and market intelligence.
Utilize scenario, sensitivity, and predictive analysis to present potential outcomes and management responses.

Performance Management and Insight

Lead monthly reviews of financial and operational performance against budget, ensuring variances are explained.
Shift performance review focus from historical to predictive using rolling forecasts and leading indicators.
Define and enhance relevant KPIs and leading indicators for each asset class.
Assess macroeconomic and industry factors impacting performance and translate analysis into recommendations.

Senior Leadership Reporting

Review Flash reports and commentaries, explaining events and requirements for future action.
Prepare and present monthly financial performance decks to the Group CFO and senior leadership.
Support various presentations, ensuring actions from reviews are addressed.
Respond to urgent requests with appropriate judgement and coordination.

FP&A Transformation and Technology

Champion the evolution of FP&A to a data-driven, insight-led function leveraging AI-powered tools.
Identify opportunities for automation and advanced analytics in planning and reporting.
Standardise templates, dashboards, and processes across portfolios.
Promote adoption of new tools while ensuring data quality and governance.

Governance and Performance Measurement

Ensure reporting and KPI frameworks are simple, measurable, and auditable.
Act as contact for Group requirements, maintaining reporting quality and consistency.
Coordinate responses to queries from Group Finance and other governance stakeholders.

Required Skills To Be Successful:

Executive-level communication and presentation skills.
Advanced Excel and PowerPoint skills; competency with data visualization and planning tools.
Strong commercial acumen and financial modeling capability.
Ability to interpret macroeconomic and real estate industry trends into financial implications.

What Qualifies You For The Role:

Professional Accounting/Finance qualification (CA, ACCA, CPA or equivalent); CFA or MBA is advantageous.
Minimum of 12 years of relevant Finance experience, with at least 4 years in FP&A or a related function.
Experience in Real Estate, Construction, Asset Management, or project-based industries strongly preferred.
Proven ability to present financial results and recommendations to senior executives and manage complex stakeholder deliverables.

About Al-Futtaim Real Estate

With a legacy of more than six decades in real estate and asset management, Al-Futtaim Real Estate – part of Al-Futtaim – creates real impact on the communities it serves through long-term investment and growth. As one of the region’s leading private developers, the company plans, creates and manages developments across the MENA region.

Al-Futtaim Real Estate has a diversified, multi-billion-dollar portfolio across the real estate value chain and asset types such as residential, commercial, malls and industries including hospitality, healthcare, infrastructure and education. Flagship mixed-use urban communities include Dubai Festival City and Cairo Festival City.

Al-Futtaim Real Estate is also responsible for Al-Futtaim Contracting, a fully integrated, end-to-end specialist division operating across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt. The business has delivered industry-leading construction, engineering, technology and FM solutions for more than 50 years.