Business Control Advisor

We are currently looking for a Business Control Advisor.

• Contract duration: One-year initial contract with possibility for extension
• Type of contract: national contract
• Expected start date: October/November 2026
• Work authorisation: Candidates must have existing authorization to work in the Netherlands, as SNV is not able to sponsor visas or work permits for this role.

Who you are

You are a seasoned finance professional with strong FP&A, business control, analytics and stakeholder partnering experience. You combine strategic judgement with hands-on analytical capability and you are comfortable engaging senior leaders, challenging assumptions and translating complex financial information into clear decisions and actions. You bring curiosity for digital transformation, automation and AI-enabled finance, while remaining grounded in the realities of a project-based international organisation. You lead through expertise, influence, coordination and coaching rather than relying on formal authority.

Position overview

The Business Control Advisor is part of SNV’s Global Finance team within Business Control, reporting to the Business Control Manager. The role leads and strengthens enterprise financial planning and analysis across SNV, supporting senior management decision-making through high-quality planning, forecasting, reporting, analytics, and financial narratives. Over the coming 12–36 months, the role will help modernise SNV’s planning and analytics capability by improving automation, consistency, and scalability, while keeping a strong connection to project-cycle business control, portfolio performance, cost recovery, and country-level decision support. The role contributes directly to SNV’s organisational transformation agenda by helping embed stronger capabilities, scalable analytical models, and effective use of digital tools and AI for informed decision making.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and continuously improve FP&A processes, including annual planning, mid-year review, forecasting, management reporting, scenario analysis, and financial outlooks for senior leadership decision-making.
• Translate financial, operational, portfolio, and project data into concise executive narratives, insights, risk/opportunity analysis, and recommended actions for the CFO, Executive Team, and other senior stakeholders.
• Drive more automated, scalable, and consistent planning and analytics by identifying opportunities for Power BI, workflow automation, AI-enabled analysis, self-service reporting, and improved data flows.
• Strengthen integrated performance insight across corporate, country, global-team, portfolio, and project levels, connecting financial and non-financial indicators where relevant to support evidence-based steering.
• Maintain a meaningful connection to project-cycle business control by supporting project financial analysis, budget/depletion and gross contribution monitoring, cost-recovery principles, donor compliance considerations, and quality assurance of project financial data where relevant.
• Develop and improve planning, reporting, guidance, tools, and minimum quality standards, helping country and global teams access reliable, comparable, and actionable financial insights.
• Partner across Finance, countries, global teams, Business Development, HR, Risk & Compliance, ICT/Data, and other stakeholders to improve decision-making, data quality, process ownership, and adoption of new ways of working.
• Coach colleagues and contribute to capability building in FP&A, business control, analytics, project financial management, and responsible use of digital tools and AI.

What you bring

To be considered for this role, you bring:

• A master’s degree in finance, economics, business administration, accounting, commercial engineering, or equivalent by experience; professional qualifications such as MBA, CPA, CMA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent are an advantage.
• 7+ years of relevant experience in FP&A, business control, finance business partnering, financial planning/reporting, or analytics in a complex international environment.
• Proven ability to lead planning, budgeting, forecasting, financial modelling, scenario analysis, management reporting, and executive-level decision support.
• Excellent analytical and data-storytelling skills, with the ability to convert complex financial and operational information into clear insights for senior and non-finance stakeholders.
• Strong digital capability: advanced Excel, strong working knowledge of BI/reporting tools such as Power BI, and experience with ERP and planning/reporting systems; experience with SAP Business ByDesign or comparable ERP systems is valuable.
• Demonstrated ability to improve or automate finance processes and a strong interest in applying AI, advanced analytics, and automation to improve quality, consistency, efficiency, and decision support.
• Strong stakeholder management, influencing, facilitation, and communication skills, including the ability to challenge constructively and guide discussions towards sound decisions.
• Understanding of project-based financial management, cost recovery, and donor-funded or contract-based environments, or the ability to quickly apply strong FP&A expertise in such a context.
• A high degree of independence, judgement, quality orientation, adaptability, and ability to coordinate across multiple teams and priorities in a changing environment.

Additionally, we value

• Experience with finance transformation, shared services, target operating model design, data governance, or self-service analytics.
• Hands-on experience with AI assistants, automated workflows, EPM/planning tools, SQL, Python, or data visualisation platforms.
• Experience in international development, non-profit, donor-funded, or mission-driven organisations.
• Fluency in English; French or other SNV working-country languages are an asset.
• A learning mindset and curiosity to test, scale, and embed new analytical approaches.

Working at SNV

At SNV we challenge and inspire and offer continuous growth. We offer meaningful opportunities to shape the future, expand your skills, and collaborate with a vibrant, global network of experts. At SNV your contribution matters, and your development is our priority.

We are home to 57 cultures working in 22 countries, with about 95% of our team members holding the nationality of the respective countries we work in. We promote international career development. Our workforce consists of a mix of both people with longstanding tenure, willing to share their institutional knowledge, as well as people with local expertise and knowledge. All with an inquisitive view and united in ONE SNV working towards our purpose.

Together, we are committed to the effective and efficient stewardship of resources and maximising positive, lasting impacts.