Head of Group Treasury
Greenfield Build • Family Conglomerate • Multi-Geography Prepared for HR • Confidential Context & Strategic Rationale •
The Group currently has no dedicated treasury function; this is a greenfield appointment • Bank accounts operate independently across multiple geographies with no centralised oversight or cash visibility
- Liquidity management is currently achieved by moving funds between entities on an ad hoc basis — a model that creates FX risk, inefficiency and governance exposure
- The Group carries minimal debt but operates across multiple currencies, creating both transactional and translational FX exposure
- Tax and transfer pricing implications of inter-entity fund flows are currently not managed in a structured way
- As a family-owned conglomerate, the Head of Group Treasury must navigate shareholder sensitivities, legacy structures and family governance alongside technical treasury best practice
- This is a builder role, not a caretaker role — the successful candidate will design and implement the function from the ground up Role Purpose
- Establish, lead and professionalise the Group’s treasury function across all operating geographies and business lines
- Deliver visibility, control and efficiency over Group cash, liquidity, FX and banking relationships
- Act as the primary interface between the Group and its banking partners, and between treasury and the operating businesses
- Report to the Group CFO; maintain a close working relationship with the family principals and holding company governance
Head of Group Treasury — Job Profile Confidential Key Responsibilities Foundation & Function Build
- Design and implement a Group Treasury Policy covering cash management, FX, banking, counterparty risk and inter-company funding • Establish a Group-wide cash visibility framework — consolidating bank account structures, implementing cash pooling or notional pooling where appropriate
- Rationalise the bank account estate: reduce proliferation, consolidate banking relationships and negotiate improved terms
- Implement a Treasury Management System (TMS) or equivalent tooling suited to the Group’s scale and complexity
- Define and document treasury procedures, controls and reporting standards for operating units Cash & Liquidity Management
- Establish daily/weekly cash visibility across all entities and geographies
- Develop a liquidity forecasting framework — short, medium and long-term — integrated with business unit planning
- Replace ad hoc inter-entity fund transfers with a structured, documented intra-group lending framework with appropriate interest pricing and legal agreements
- Optimise working capital across the Group through improved payment terms management and cash conversion cycle discipline FX & Risk Management
- Map, quantify and prioritise the Group’s currency exposures across all geographies (transactional, translational and economic)
- Develop and implement an FX hedging policy appropriate to the Group’s risk appetite, with family principal buy-in
- Establish relationships with FX providers; execute hedging instruments (forwards, options) where appropriate
- Monitor and report FX exposure and hedging effectiveness to the CFO and Audit Committee Banking & Counterparty Relationships
- Own and manage all core banking relationships at Group level; ensure operating units have appropriate local banking support
- Lead bank facility negotiations (revolving credit facilities, trade finance lines, guarantees) as the Group’s debt needs evolve
- Manage KYC/AML documentation and banking compliance requirements across geographies
- Maintain a panel of banking counterparties appropriate to the Group’s risk and operational requirements Tax, Compliance & Governance
- Work closely with Group Tax to ensure inter-company funding arrangements are transfer pricing compliant across all jurisdictions
- Ensure treasury activities comply with local regulatory requirements (exchange controls, repatriation restrictions, reporting obligations)
- Maintain appropriate treasury governance — segregation of duties, mandate controls, payment authorisation frameworks
- Support dividend planning and capital repatriation to the holding/family level in a tax efficient manner
- Contribute to Group financial risk reporting for the Audit Committee and family governance bodies Family Conglomerate Dimension
- Understand and respect the family ownership context: decisions often involve shareholder sensitivities beyond pure financial optimisation
- Support the CFO in providing clear, jargon-free treasury reporting to family principals who may not have a finance background
- Navigate legacy structures, historical arrangements and family-held entities with diplomacy and pragmatism
- Maintain strict confidentiality and discretion regarding Group financial position and family wealth
- Build trust with family principals as a reliable, independent professional — not a “corporate imposition”
Qualifications & Experience
- Professional treasury qualification (ACT/MCT strongly preferred) and/or professional accounting qualification (CPA, CA, ACCA, CFA)
- 10–18 years of experience, with significant time in hands-on treasury roles rather than purely in audit or advisory
- Proven experience building or significantly transforming a treasury function — not just inheriting and maintaining one
- Hands-on experience with cash pooling, FX hedging, intra-group lending and bank relationship management
- Experience working in or with multi-geography, multi-currency businesses — including operating in emerging or frontier markets a plus
- Exposure to family-owned, privately held or founder-led businesses strongly preferred; pure corporate/listed company backgrounds alone are insufficient
- Experience selecting and implementing a Treasury Management System advantageous
- Working knowledge of transfer pricing principles as they apply to intra-group treasury transactions
- Pharma, medical devices or distribution sector experience helpful but not essential — treasury fundamentals transfer across industries Personal Profile
- Builder mentality — energised by creating structure where none exists, not frustrated by it
- Politically astute — able to work within a family ownership dynamic, earn trust with principals and manage upwards with sensitivity
- Excellent communicator — can explain complex treasury concepts (hedging, pooling, transfer pricing) in plain language to non-specialists and family stakeholders
- Commercially grounded — understands that treasury exists to serve the operating businesses, not to impose bureaucracy on them
- High integrity and discretion — will be privy to sensitive Group and family financial information; absolute trustworthiness is non-negotiable
- Collaborative by nature; able to build relationships with local FDs and operational teams who have historically operated with full autonomy
- Comfortable with ambiguity — will inherit incomplete information, inconsistent practices and legacy structures; resilience and pragmatism are essential
- Digitally capable: familiar with modern treasury tools, data analytics and open to AI-assisted cash forecasting and reporting
