Head of Financial Planning & Analysis
Date: 16 Sept 2025
Location: Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, AE
Company: Etihad Airways
Synopsis
The Head of FP&A will lead the financial planning and analysis function, ensuring robust business planning, forecasting, and decision support to drive shareholder value. This role is critical to delivering ADQ mandates on profitability and growth while enabling business continuity across Ground Handling, Cargo, and Support Functions. The role holder will provide strategic financial insights, manage the FP&A team and the 5-Year Business Plan (5YBP) process, and partner closely with senior leadership on transformation initiatives.
Accountabilities
Business Planning & Forecasting
- Lead the annual 5YBP process, ensuring alignment with shareholder expectations (growth, profitability, ROI).
- Manage monthly re-forecasts and annual budget cycles, producing accurate, timely, and insightful outputs.
- Build and stress-test financial models covering revenue, tonnage, flight volumes, manpower, G&A, IT, and CAPEX.
- Challenge and validate business assumptions from Commercial, Operations, HR, and IT.
Performance Management & Insights
- Deliver monthly performance reviews, variance analysis, and scenario bridges (volume, yield, cost, overhead allocation).
- Provide actionable insights to improve margins, productivity, and capital efficiency.
- Drive activity-based costing and overhead allocation methodologies across Ground Handling, Cargo, and Support Functions.
- Support decision-making for major projects with clear financial analysis and recommendations.
Strategic Finance & Shareholder Support
- Translate operational KPIs into financial impacts for Board, BRM, and ADQ submissions.
- Prepare CFO-level storylines, bridging operational data with financial outcomes.
- Ensure compliance with shareholder mandates and financial governance standards.
- Partner with Treasury and Tax to reflect dividend policy, share-capital increases, and group relief structures in FP&A outputs.
Leadership & People
- Build, mentor, and develop the FP&A team, ensuring strong succession planning and continuity.
- Foster a culture of accuracy, resilience, and delivery under pressure.
- Act as a trusted partner to the CFO and senior leadership team.
Education & Experience
- Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, or Accounting (Master’s/MBA preferred).
- 10–12 years’ experience in Finance, with at least 5 years dedicated to FP&A.
- Big Four training (audit or advisory) is a must.
- Prior aviation, logistics, or manpower business experience strongly preferred.
- At least 4 full 5-year business planning cycles, ideally with exposure to shareholder or Board-level scrutiny.
- Proven track record in managing budgeting, forecasting, and scenario planning in complex, multi-entity structures.
About Etihad Airport Services-Ground
Etihad Airport Services Ground is the sole ground operations handler at Zayed International Airport.
EASG handles a wide variety of ground functions at the capital’s international airport, from passenger check-in and boarding to baggage handling and aircraft services.
All operations are centered around its three main prerogatives: safety and security in all its functions, world class operations for all customer airlines through maximum efficiency and a world class customer experience for all visiting and transiting guests.
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