Finance Analyst

Finance Analyst (Reporting & Analysis)

Takealot.com, a leading South African online retailer, is looking for a highly talented Finance Analyst to join our team in Cape Town.

Location: Cape Town | Team: Corporate FP&A, Takealot Group | Reports to: Head of Corporate FP&A

Takealot.com, South Africa's leading e-commerce and marketplace, is looking for a highly talented Finance Analyst to own the Reporting & Analysis pillar of our Corporate FP&A team in Cape Town.

Corporate FP&A is on a journey from operational reporting to strategic value creation. This role sits at the heart of that shift: you will own the Group's standardised internal reporting infrastructure and month-end process, and lead the automation agenda that frees the wider team to focus on strategic analysis, planning and CFO/CEO support.

You will be the accountable owner of a pillar, not a contributor to it. You will set the standard for reporting accuracy and timeliness across all business units (Retail, Marketplace, Trade Optimisation, CatOps and Marketing, MrD, TFS), drive the automation of month-end and recurring reporting, and develop a Junior Finance Analyst within the pillar.

Your responsibilities will include:

Pillar ownership: reporting infrastructure

• Own the Group's standardised reporting suite across all BUs, ensuring a single, consistent version of the truth for Exco, divisional leadership and the Board pack.
• Own the design, maintenance and governance of finance Looker reporting, including dashboards relied on by Accounts Payable, FinOps and Customer & Insights.
• Define and maintain reporting standards, data definitions and controls that safeguard the accuracy, completeness and validity of management reporting.

Month-end & operational excellence

• Lead the FP&A month-end process end to end: timetable, deliverables, reconciliations to the ledger and management accounts, and quality review before release.
• Identify root causes of reporting errors and late deliverables, and implement permanent fixes rather than manual workarounds.
• Document end-to-end processes, interdependencies and system touchpoints (e.g. TM1, Looker) and keep them current.

Automation & process redesign

• Own the pillar's automation roadmap: prioritise opportunities by hours saved and risk reduced, then deliver them.
• Build and redesign processes using SQL, Looker, Excel/Gsheets(AppsScripts) and AI tools to remove manual, high-volume work from the team.
• Act as Finance's lead representative on reporting and data projects, partnering with BI, IT, Tech and Product to specify requirements, get the right data points into the correct models/cubes, test outputs and sign off delivery.

People & stakeholders

• Supervise, coach and quality-review the work of the Junior Finance Analyst in the pillar.
• Build trusted relationships with BU finance partners and operational teams, and communicate clearly with senior stakeholders on reporting changes, issues and insights.
• Provide cover and support to the Planning & Forecasting and Strategic Analysis & Insights pillars during peak cycles.

How Success Is Measured:

• Report accuracy: reduction in post-release corrections and reconciling differences.
• Timeliness: month-end and recurring reports delivered on or ahead of the agreed timetable.
• Automation rate: share of recurring reporting and month-end tasks automated; analyst hours released to strategic work.
• Team development : growth and output quality of the Junior Finance Analyst.

Attributes required:

• Owner's mindset: takes full accountability for a pillar's outcomes, not just its tasks.
• Systems thinker who understands how data flows through the business and where it breaks.
• Exceptional attention to detail combined with the judgement to know what matters.
• Builder and doer: designs the solution and executes it.
• Clear, concise written and verbal communicator, confident with senior stakeholders.
• Collaborative partner to BI, Tech and Product; able to translate finance needs into technical requirements.
• Thrives in a fast-paced, changing environment and juggles competing priorities calmly.
• Coach who raises the capability of those around them.

Qualifications and Experience:

• BCom (Hons) or equivalent in Finance/Accounting; CA(SA), CIMA or CFA (completed or in progress) advantageous.
• At least 5 years' relevant experience in FP&A, management reporting or a finance/BI role, including ownership of a month-end or reporting process.
• Demonstrated track record of delivering reporting automation or process redesign with measurable results.
• Strong understanding of accounting, management accounts and financial reporting.
• Advanced Excel and working SQL skills; experience building in Looker or a similar BI tool.
• Familiarity with TM1, Sage and Board beneficial; exposure to Python or AI/automation tools is a plus.
• Experience in e-commerce, retail, marketplace or tech highly advantageous.
• Experience supervising or mentoring junior analysts preferred.

The Environment:

• Takealot.com employees are entrepreneurial and dynamic, smart, customer-centric, fun and have the shared ambition of takealot.com being the leading e-commerce company in Africa.
• We have fun, work hard, take ownership, work in teams to create solutions, and are always open to direct feedback/new ideas on where we can improve.
• We are short on ego and high on output.
• We are doers and not only thinkers, it's all in the execution after all.
• We love what we do and what we are creating.

If you meet the above you are an Extraordinary Mind so come and join us!

Takealot is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Applicants from the previously disadvantaged groups and people with disabilities will be given preference