Introduction to the VKB Group

The VKB Group is an agricultural company, providing support to farmers and producing straight-from-the farm-foods for consumers. Apart from the various consumer brands, the VKB Group is also represented by its regional brands: VKB, GWK and NTK. Our roots are firmly planted in agriculture with farming at our core, continuously growing and evolving throughout the years.

Starting with providing everything needed on the farm to produce food, we now also operate in all areas of the food supply chain: processing, logistics, and national and global market channels.
This “house of brands” we’ve established with the support of our farmer shareholders is the foundation for building the agribusiness of the future.

About the position:

The Head of Treasury – Back Office is a senior leadership role focused on overseeing and managing all treasury operations related to settlement, reconciliations, in-house bank functionalities, reporting, governance and compliance within the treasury function.

This role is critical to ensuring that the treasury activities are efficiently and accurately processed, risks are mitigated and financial transactions are correctly executed, recorded, reconciled and reported in a timely manner.

The position will require a deep understanding of financial systems, operational processes, reporting, complex group structures and regulatory compliance.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Treasury Operations Management:
• Oversee the back-office treasury operations including trade settlement, in-house (intercompany) cash accounts, reconciliation of financial transactions and treasury reporting.
• Manage the processing of foreign exchange, money market, commodity derivative, loans and other financial instrument transactions, ensuring accurate settlement and proper recording in the financial system.
• Ensure the timely reconciliation of cash and collateral accounts, identifying discrepancies and resolving issues swiftly.
• Manage in-house cash accounts including intercompany loans (capital portion), interest charges to the business, monthly in-house bank statements and daily recording of cash calls.
• Establishing and maintaining intercompany loan agreements, including the monitoring of borrowing limits.
• Manage the Treasury cost recovery model, including the cost of capital.
• Manage Treasury related third party payments
2. Risk and Control:
• Implement effective controls over treasury back-office operations to minimize operational risks and ensure that all transactions are compliant with internal policies, regulatory requirements, statutory reporting requirements and industry best practices.
• Develop, maintain and enforce policies and procedures to prevent errors in transaction processing, settlement, reconciliations, issuance of in-house bank statements and reporting.
• Work closely with internal audit and compliance teams to ensure proper documentation, reporting and adherence to governance and compliance standards.
3. Reporting and Data Integrity:
• Supervise the accurate and timely assurance of back-office reports, including intercompany balances and interest charged, weighted average cost of debt, compliance confirmation and financial reporting for treasury operations.
• Manage the treasury-related accounting process and the preparation of financial statements, ensuring that all transactions are accurately and completely accounted for and disclosed according to regulatory and accounting standards.
• Ensure data accuracy and completeness in the treasury management systems, optimizing reporting processes for senior management, external auditors and regulatory bodies.
4. Treasury Systems and Technology:
• Oversee the implementation and maintenance of treasury management systems (TMS), ensuring they meet the company's operational requirements and provide real-time access to key treasury data.
• Manage system upgrades, integrations and testing to ensure the continuous operation of treasury management systems.
• Work with IT teams to streamline and automate back-office treasury processes to improve efficiency and reduce manual interventions.
5. Liquidity and Funding Support:
• Monitor and manage daily cash balances to ensure that liquidity requirements are met across all business units and jurisdictions.
• Support front-office treasury functions by ensuring accurate tracking of external borrowing positions and managing the settlement of funding transactions.
• Collaborate with front office and middle office to ensure accurate and timely funding for business operations.
6. Team Leadership and Development:
• Lead, mentor and develop a team of treasury back-office professionals, ensuring that the team is properly trained and equipped to handle complex treasury operations.
• Establish performance objectives for the team and provide continuous feedback, coaching and career development opportunities.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement within the back-office treasury team by identifying and implementing best practices.
7. Compliance and Regulatory Adherence:
• Ensure compliance with local and international regulatory requirements (including South African Reserve Bank) and internal policies and procedures related to treasury operations.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of regulatory changes affecting treasury operations and ensure the company remains in full compliance with these regulations.
• Collaborate with auditors and regulators during audits or reviews of treasury activities.
8. Stakeholder Communication:
• Act as a liaison between back-office, middle-office, front-office, group reporting, group tax, business units and external stakeholders to ensure accurate and efficient information flow and alignment across functions.
• Provide regular updates to senior management on the status of treasury operations, cost of debt, intercompany loans and guarantees and compliance. 
• Manage relationships with external service providers, including transactional (house) bank, TMS service providers, and settlement agents to ensure smooth and efficient operations.

Qualifications:

• Education:
• Chartered Accountant
  
• Experience:
• At least 10 years of experience in treasury operations and/or financial reporting in a corporate environment, with a minimum of 5 years in a managerial role.
• Experience in a complex group of companies will be an advantage.
•  
• Experience in working with treasury management systems or similar IT systems and financial system integration.
• In depth knowledge of treasury related regulations, accounting standards and industry best practices.
• Skills and Abilities:
• Strong leadership, team management and communication skills.
• In-depth understanding of treasury back-office processes, including in-house banking, and financial reporting.
• Proficiency in treasury management systems (or similar IT systems) and financial reporting software.
• High attention to detail and ability to manage large volumes of data accurately.
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to resolve complex matters and implement effective solutions.
• Knowledge of regulatory requirements related to the treasury environment.

Additional Information:

• Location: Reitz
• Travel Requirements: Occasional travel may be required.

This is an exciting opportunity for a seasoned  professional to play a vital role in managing the treasury back-office operations of a leading organization. If you have strong leadership skills and experience in treasury, finance, governance and compliance  and reporting , we encourage you to apply.

Other Information

• The company can expire jobs at any time at their own discretion.
• VKB Group and/or its subsidiary companies will use any personal data collected through the job opportunities section of this website for recruitment purposes only and, should your application be successful, for purposes connected with your employment.
• VKB Group is an equal opportunity employer. VKB Group’s approved Employment Equity Plan and Targets will be considered as part of the recruitment process aligned to VKB Group’s Employment Equity & Transformation Strategy. VKB Group actively supports the recruitment of People with Disabilities.
• Things to take note of when applying through our Career Portal.
• Use Google Chrome when accessing the portal
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• The CV should not have handwriting on the document
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