Director - Finance (University of Liverpool, Bangalore)

Role Overview :

We are hiring a Head of Finance for a Joint Venture University under the India Campus business. This role will be the finance leader for the JV, responsible for driving financial discipline, operational excellence, and informed decision-making at the campus level.

Beyond day-to-day financial management, the role acts as a strategic partner to the JV COO and campus leadership, supporting decisions on program mix, intake planning, pricing, cost structures, and scale-up initiatives. The role reports hard-line to the JV COO and works closely with the VP - Finance, India Campus Business, ensuring alignment with portfolio-level strategy and governance.

This role is suited for a finance leader who combines strong execution skills with commercial thinking and is comfortable operating in a JV and matrix environment.

Key Responsibilities :

1. Campus Financial Strategy & Planning • Translate campus academic and growth plans into annual budgets and medium-term financial plans. • Support intake sizing, program launches, and cohort planning through financial analysis. • Contribute to campus-level strategy discussions with clear views on sustainability, breakeven, and return on investment.

2. Budgeting, Forecasting & Performance Management • Own annual budgeting and rolling forecasts for the JV. • Monitor performance against plan; identify risks, opportunities, and corrective actions. • Track unit economics at program and cohort level and drive margin improvement initiatives.

3. Business Partnering & Decision Support • Act as the primary finance partner to the JV COO and leadership team. • Support decisions on pricing, scholarships, faculty and infrastructure costs, and vendor engagements. • Evaluate financial implications of new initiatives, partnerships, and operational changes. • Balance academic priorities with financial discipline and governance.

4. Accounting, Controls & Compliance • Oversee outsourced accounting firm managing day-to-day bookkeeping and statutory compliance. • Ensure timely monthly closes, accurate MIS, and adherence to accounting standards.

• Maintain strong internal controls, approval workflows, and audit readiness. • Coordinate statutory, tax, and partner-university audits.

• Ensure timely and accurate management of tax, regulatory, and secretarial compliances for the JV, coordinating with advisors and central teams as required.

5. Reporting, Governance & Stakeholder Management • Prepare financial reports and dashboards for JV management, partner universities, and India Campus Finance. • Ensure compliance with finance policies, approval matrices, and reporting standards. • Act as the first level of financial review for capex proposals, contracts, and commercial commitments.

6. Cash Flow & Scale Readiness • Manage cash flow planning, working capital, and funding requirements. • Support efficient utilisation of capital in line with JV agreements. • Work with central teams to implement common finance systems, tools, and reporting formats as the campus scales.

Desired Profile :

Experience & Qualifications

• Chartered Accountant with 8-12 years of post-qualification experience.

• Experience in a business-unit, campus, or single-entity finance leadership role.

• Exposure to education, services, infrastructure, or operations-heavy businesses preferred.

• Comfort working with outsourced accounting models and matrix reporting.

Core Capabilities :

• Strong operational finance foundation with growing strategic acumen.

• Ability to influence business decisions through data and commercial insight.

• Hands-on mindset with the ability to zoom out to campus-level economics.

• High ownership, structure, and stakeholder-management skills.

Why This Role :

• End-to-end ownership of finance for university JV.

• Direct partnership with JV COO and campus leadership.

• Exposure to global university partners and structured JV governance.

• Clear progression path as campuses and responsibilities scale.