Financial Controller

ABOUT THE COMPANY

We are a mission-driven platform transforming higher education access for students and working professionals across Sub-Saharan Africa. We believe that quality education should be a universal right, not a privilege.

Our platform has already guided thousands of learners by connecting them to hundreds of world-class institutions and study destinations globally, unlocking their potential and ensuring every individual has the tools

ABOUT THE ROLE

Our firm is a fast-growing organization scaling rapidly across multiple countries. As we scale, weak financial controls become expensive fast — late collections strangle cash flow, mispaid vendors damage relationships, and disorganized books make every decision harder. This role exists to make sure none of that happens.

You'll oversee two full-time accounting team members who handle the hands-on work: making payments, recording bookkeeping entries, following up with customers, and reconciling payments as they come in. Because they own the day-to-day, your job is oversight, not execution — you own the outcomes. On the AR side, that means collections happen on time, and you step in on the hard cases. On the AP side, that means vendors are billed, verified, and paid correctly and on time. Underneath both, you review their bookkeeping so the books stay accurate and current. On a normal day, this is a couple of focused reviews, not hours of data entry — the team handles the volume.

Beyond finance, you'll handle key administrative work across the company, legal, and HR — the operational backbone that keeps a multi-country company compliant and running.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

• Oversee collections. Make sure AR is invoiced and chased on schedule, and step in on the difficult or escalated cases to get them closed. Day-to-day chasing is the AR officer's job; you handle exceptions.
• Oversee payables. Ensure vendors and obligations are billed, validated, and paid correctly and on time, escalating anything irregular before it becomes a problem. Payment authorization above a set threshold sits with the finance manager or a co-founder.
• Review the day-to-day bookkeeping done by the junior accountants — catching errors, enforcing consistency, and keeping the books clean and current.
• Own the month-end close, and work with the Finance Manager to produce management reports and board packs.
• Own our audits — preparing for them, managing the process, and seeing them through to completion.
• Own tax compliance across our markets — making sure filings and obligations are met correctly and on time, working with external advisors where needed.
• Manage and develop direct reports — driving, motivating, and growing them into a team that works hard and delivers.
• Handle company, legal, and HR administration — for example, working with lawyers to incorporate entities and set up bank accounts in new jurisdictions, and managing payroll across markets.

WHO YOU ARE

• A qualified accountant (CPA / ACCA or equivalent) with at least five years of experience, including managing or mentoring others.
• Someone genuinely diligent about accuracy — unreconciled accounts and late collections bother you.
• Someone who can drive, motivate, and develop a team — getting people to work hard and put in the hours, while building them up rather than burning them out.
• Willing to put in the hours to succeed. This is a role for someone who wants to build a career in a fast-growing startup, takes on more to grow, and isn't looking for a nine-to-five seat to warm.
• A prolific user of AI — you reach for it daily to work faster and sharper, without ever compromising accuracy, and you build with it rather than just talk about it.
• Organized across many moving parts — you can run finance and administrative responsibilities without dropping either.

WHY THIS ROLE?

You'll own a critical function in a fast-scaling company, work closely with the founders and finance leadership, and grow as the finance function grows underneath you. You won't be doing it alone — you'll have the support of an experienced finance leader to learn from as you take on more.