Chief Financial Officer

Founded in 1970, the school is one of India's most respected educational institutions, recognized for academic excellence, innovation, and holistic student development. As the institution continues its expansion across multiple campuses and strategic initiatives, we are seeking a visionary Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to provide financial leadership, strengthen governance, optimize capital allocation, and support long-term institutional growth.

The CFO will serve as a strategic advisor to the Promoters, CEO, and Board, driving financial discipline while enabling sustainable expansion and operational excellence.

Key Responsibilities

Financial Strategy & Business Leadership

• Develop and execute the institution's long-term financial strategy aligned with business growth objectives.
• Partner with the Promoters, CEO, and Board to drive strategic decision-making and institutional expansion.
• Provide commercial and financial insights to support new campuses, infrastructure investments, and diversification initiatives.
• Build a high-performance finance organization that supports operational excellence and sustainable growth.
  
  

Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)

• Lead the Annual Operating Plan (AOP), budgeting, rolling forecasts, and long-term financial planning.
• Develop robust financial models for expansion projects, capital investments, and strategic initiatives.
• Conduct detailed variance analysis across revenue, costs, profitability, departments, and campuses, ensuring timely corrective actions.
• Deliver executive dashboards and business performance reviews to senior leadership.
  
  

Financial Controllership & Governance

• Own the integrity, accuracy, and timeliness of all financial statements and management reporting.
• Strengthen internal financial controls, governance frameworks, approval matrices, and financial policies.
• Ensure accurate financial reporting in accordance with applicable accounting standards and regulatory requirements.
• Drive finance process automation and continuous improvement initiatives.
  
  

Treasury, Cash Flow & Working Capital

• Lead treasury operations, liquidity management, banking relationships, and working capital optimization.
• Prepare cash flow forecasts and ensure optimal utilization of financial resources.
• Monitor fund deployment, investment decisions, and capital allocation strategies.
  
  

Fund Raising & Capital Strategy

• Lead debt and equity fundraising initiatives for institutional expansion.
• Structure the optimal capital mix across self-funding, debt, grants, and strategic investments.
• Build relationships with banks, financial institutions, investors, and funding partners.
• Lead financial due diligence, lender negotiations, and capital structuring initiatives.
  
  

Financial Controls & Performance Management

• Develop and monitor financial KPIs, including:
• EBITDA
• Operating Margin
• Gross Margin
• ROCE
• ROI
• Current Ratio
• Quick Ratio
• Debt-to-Equity Ratio
• Working Capital Cycle
• Cash Conversion Cycle
• Drive organization-wide cost optimization and profitability improvement initiatives.
• Establish robust cost centre accounting and financial accountability frameworks.
  

Audit, Compliance & Risk Management

• Lead statutory, internal, tax, and compliance audits.
• Ensure compliance with all financial, taxation, labour, and regulatory requirements applicable to educational institutions and not-for-profit entities.
• Develop enterprise risk management frameworks and financial risk mitigation strategies.
• Present audit findings, risk assessments, and compliance updates to senior leadership and the Board.
  
  

Business Finance & Decision Support

• Partner with Admissions, Operations, HR, Procurement, Infrastructure, and Academic teams to drive financial discipline.
• Evaluate business cases, capital expenditure proposals, pricing strategies, and investment opportunities.
• Support strategic initiatives through financial modelling, scenario planning, and sensitivity analysis.
  
  

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop the finance, accounts, treasury, taxation, and compliance teams.
• Build a culture of accountability, governance, continuous improvement, and data-driven decision-making.
• Drive ERP implementation, finance automation, MIS transformation, and reporting excellence.
  
  

Qualifications

• Chartered Accountant (CA) is mandatory.
• MBA (Finance), CFA, or equivalent qualification will be an advantage.
• 12–18 years of progressive leadership experience in Finance, FP&A, Corporate Finance, Financial Controllership, or CFO roles.
• Experience in education, healthcare, infrastructure, real estate, manufacturing, or other multi-entity organizations will be preferred.
• Prior experience working with promoters, boards, lenders, auditors, and investors is highly desirable.
• Lead treasury operations, liquidity management, banking relationships, and working capital optimization.
• Prepare cash flow forecasts and ensure optimal utilization of financial resources.
• Monitor fund deployment, investment decisions, and capital allocation strategies.
  
  

Fund Raising & Capital Strategy

• Lead debt and equity fundraising initiatives for institutional expansion.
• Structure the optimal capital mix across self-funding, debt, grants, and strategic investments.
• Build relationships with banks, financial institutions, investors, and funding partners.
• Lead financial due diligence, lender negotiations, and capital structuring initiatives.
  
  

Financial Controls & Performance Management

• Develop and monitor financial KPIs, including:
• EBITDA
• Operating Margin
• Gross Margin
• ROCE
• ROI
• Current Ratio
• Quick Ratio
• Debt-to-Equity Ratio
• Working Capital Cycle
• Cash Conversion Cycle
• Drive organization-wide cost optimization and profitability improvement initiatives.
• Establish robust cost centre accounting and financial accountability frameworks.
  

Audit, Compliance & Risk Management

• Lead statutory, internal, tax, and compliance audits.
• Ensure compliance with all financial, taxation, labour, and regulatory requirements applicable to educational institutions and not-for-profit entities.
• Develop enterprise risk management frameworks and financial risk mitigation strategies.
• Present audit findings, risk assessments, and compliance updates to senior leadership and the Board.
  
  

Business Finance & Decision Support

• Partner with Admissions, Operations, HR, Procurement, Infrastructure, and Academic teams to drive financial discipline.
• Evaluate business cases, capital expenditure proposals, pricing strategies, and investment opportunities.
• Support strategic initiatives through financial modelling, scenario planning, and sensitivity analysis.
  
  

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop the finance, accounts, treasury, taxation, and compliance teams.
• Build a culture of accountability, governance, continuous improvement, and data-driven decision-making.
• Drive ERP implementation, finance automation, MIS transformation, and reporting excellence.
  
  

Qualifications

• Chartered Accountant (CA) is mandatory.
• MBA (Finance), CFA, or equivalent qualification will be an advantage.
• 12–18 years of progressive leadership experience in Finance, FP&A, Corporate Finance, Financial Controllership, or CFO roles.
• Experience in education, healthcare, infrastructure, real estate, manufacturing, or other multi-entity organizations will be preferred.
• Prior experience working with promoters, boards, lenders, auditors, and investors is highly desirable.
  
  

Skills: finance,corporate fp&a,controllership functions,compliance