Specialist, Business Performance

Job description

At First Quantum, we free the talent of our people by taking a very different approach which is underpinned by a very different, very definite culture – the “First Quantum Way”.

Working with us is not like working anywhere else, which is why we recruit people who will take a bolder, smarter approach to spot opportunities, solve problems and deliver results.

Our culture is all about encouraging you to think independently and to challenge convention to deliver the best result. That’s how we continue to achieve extraordinary things in extraordinary locations.

Job description:

Purpose

Develop and maintain robust financial models and economic analyses that support operational, commercial and investment decision-making across the business. The role translates operational and technical assumptions into transparent financial outcomes, enabling management to evaluate alternative scenarios, understand key value drivers and make informed decisions that improve business performance.

Key Responsibilities

The holder of this position will be required to adhere to all relevant requirements, policies, procedures and legal regulations pertaining to health, safety, environment and quality, as well as finance, human resources, and any other regulations as required by the company and relevant to the level of the role and responsibilities of the function.

• Build, maintain and continuously improve integrated financial models used to evaluate operational initiatives, commercial opportunities and investment decisions, ensuring that models are accurate, transparent and fit for purpose.
• Perform discounted cash flow, net present value, internal rate of return, payback and other relevant investment analyses to assess financial viability, compare alternatives and support sound investment recommendations.
• Develop scenario and sensitivity analyses around key operational, technical and economic assumptions, clearly identifying the principal value drivers, risks and opportunities that may influence expected outcomes.
• Work closely with operational and technical teams to obtain, understand, challenge and validate model assumptions, ensuring that analyses accurately reflect operational relationships, constraints and expected business conditions.
• Support the development of comprehensive business cases and investment proposals by validating assumptions, assessing financial impacts and presenting clear evidence to support management review and approval.
• Build detailed cost, profitability and operational trade-off models that quantify the financial implications of alternative operating strategies and support value-based decision-making.
• Support Life of Mine and strategic planning processes by preparing economic evaluations, testing planning assumptions and assessing the long-term financial impact of alternative operational strategies.
• Analyse historical and forecast operational and financial data to identify performance trends, emerging risks, underlying value drivers and opportunities to improve economic outcomes.
• Support benefits tracking for approved initiatives by defining appropriate baselines, monitoring realised outcomes and highlighting variances against the expected financial and operational benefits.
• Assist with the preparation of management presentations and decision-support materials, translating complex financial and operational analysis into clear findings, sensitivities and recommendations.
• Support the development and maintenance of Business Performance dashboards and analytical tools that provide timely, accurate and meaningful visibility of operational and financial performance.
• Lead the preparation and continuous improvement of financial and management reporting, while identifying and integrating appropriate artificial intelligence solutions into finance activities to automate routine processes, strengthen analysis, improve forecasting and deliver more timely, accurate and decision-relevant insights.
• Identify and implement opportunities to improve modelling and analytical processes through automation and other appropriate technologies, enhancing efficiency, consistency and the quality of financial outputs.

Qualifications

• Full grade Twelve (G12) school certificate.
• Bachelor’s degree in finance, Accounting, Economics, Engineering, Mining, or another relevant quantitative discipline.
• A recognised professional qualification such as CA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent would be advantageous.
• Relevant professional registration or membership where required by the applicable profession.
• All academic qualifications and results must be verified by the Zambia Qualifications Authority (ZAQA)

Experience

• Three(3) to five (5) years’ experience
• Minimum 3 years’ relevant experience in financial modelling, management accounting, business analysis, investment analysis, mining economics or a related analytical role. Experience within mining, processing or another capital-intensive industry would be advantageous

BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS

• Teamwork
• Bold Initiative
• Thinking Safely Up
• Upholding quality
• Technical skill
• Driving quantity
• Driving attendance

OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

• Effective management of own work
• Management accounting and finance fundamentals
• Finance Modelling and analytical thinking
• Investment appraisal
• Excel, Power query, basic to intermediate power BI
• Communication and presentation skills