Financial Analyst - FP&A

ABOUT ALU ALU provides higher education for a higher purpose. Our students declare missions, not majors. They develop the real-world skills to take on the world’s most pressing challenges. And they take ownership of their learning from day one through our peer and student-led approach – because ALU believes in the power and agency of young people to start shaping the future right now.  Together with a world-class faculty and staff, our students are igniting a ripple of positive impact across Africa and the world. We are dedicated to fostering an open yet secure environment, balancing the safety of students, staff, and visitors with respect for individual rights, and safeguarding responsibilities. HOW WE WORK The ALU Team works in starkly different ways to traditional academic bureaucracies. We approach education from first principles, empower individuals to design, test, and implement creative new ideas, and work closely together to craft transformative learning experiences. We are deeply passionate about our students and excited by the challenge of building something entirely new. The African Leadership University is committed to ensuring the safety and Well-being of all students under our care. As part of this commitment , we have a comprehensive safeguarding policy in place , which outlines our Zero-tolerance approach to any violation of safeguarding. ABOUT THE TEAM  The Financial Performance & Reporting team at ALU is being established from the ground up. Under the leadership of the Associate Director of Financial Performance & Reporting, the team's mission is to transform financial data into strategic insights that guide institutional decision-making. This encompasses areas such as financial planning, management reporting, revenue assurance, and performance analysis.

This is a small but high-impact team, where the work has a significant impact. The systems, frameworks, and processes you help develop will directly influence how ALU understands and manages its financial performance for years to come. ABOUT THE ROLE  The Financial Performance & Reporting team sits at the core of ALU’s finance transformation agenda, with a mandate to establish a disciplined, insight-driven approach to financial management across the institution. Led by the Associate Director of Financial Performance & Reporting, the team is responsible for translating financial data into clear, actionable insights that support decision-making at both operational and leadership levels. This includes ownership of financial planning, management reporting, performance analysis, and the integrity of underlying financial data. The team operates at the intersection of FP&A and financial control, working closely with the Finance Operations function to ensure that reporting is grounded in accurate, reconciled, and complete financial information. As such, the function plays a critical role in reinforcing month-end discipline, strengthening data integrity, and enabling ALU’s “report once” reporting framework. This role reports directly to the Senior FP&A and ultimately to the Associate Director of Financial Performance & Reporting. As part of a small, high-impact team, you will contribute to building the systems, processes, and standards that will define how ALU manages and understands its financial performance going forward. ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES  1. COGS Analysis & Management - Own the monthly COGS reporting cycle: extract, reconcile, and analyze all direct programme costs against budget, tracking variances by cost category, programme, and campus. - Maintain the COGS master schedule, ensuring all direct costs, faculty fees, programme delivery costs, student-facing expenses, and contracted services are correctly coded, allocated, and reconciled to the NetSuite ledger. - Prepare monthly COGS variance commentary for review by the Associate Director, highlighting key drivers, timing differences, and cost risks.