Regional Chief Financial Officer — Low-Carbon Platform

The mandate

An institutionally backed low-carbon platform in the Gulf has expanded through operating renewables, development projects, customer solutions and emerging energy positions. Commodity-cycle repositioning now requires the platform to decide which positions can scale, which need partners and which should stop.

The financial perimeter covers approximately AED 37,450 million in operated assets and commercial portfolio and 1,150 employees and material partners. Accountability includes regional finance strategy, planning, controllership, treasury coordination, project and commercial finance, capital allocation, performance, tax partnership, controls and finance talent. Business leaders own delivery and the group retains reserved funding authority. The CFO owns regional financial truth, independent investment challenge and the connection between portfolio choice, liquidity and realised return.

Low-carbon economics are exposed to energy prices even when revenue is contracted. Indexation, merchant tails, power costs, environmental attributes, customer premiums, feedstock and financing may behave differently through the cycle. The CFO must show which cash flows are protected, which remain market-exposed and which depend on policy or counterparties.

Performance will not be managed through a single blended return. Operating assets, developments and options require different evidence and gates, but all must reveal enterprise support and opportunity cost.

Why this seat is open

This is a planned replacement with a four-to-six-month transition. The incumbent continues normal authority and will transfer board, lender, project and leadership context through an agreed handover. Confidential assessment enables orderly communication to employees, partners and financiers. No undisclosed control, liquidity or conduct event prompted the succession.

What you will own

• Establish one regional view of earnings, cash, capital and risk.
• Set comparable stage gates for assets, developments and options.
• Rebuild project and customer economics around explicit market exposure.
• Improve cash, funding, guarantees and working-capital discipline.
• Strengthen controllership, data ownership and board evidence.
• Develop regional finance leaders and successors.

The portfolio baseline will reconcile committed capital, future funding, guarantees, operating cash, development spend and shared services. Costs will follow the capability or position that consumes them. The CFO will expose businesses made attractive by corporate subsidy, unpriced land or infrastructure, and distinguish intentional platform investment from unresolved allocation.

Capital gates will match stage. Operating assets need reliability, customer and lifecycle evidence; developments require land, permits, offtake, technology, financing and execution capacity; emerging options need learning objectives, expenditure caps and a dated decision. The CFO will require a counterfactual and downside before releasing further capital. Sunk development spend will not justify continuation.

Market assumptions will be controlled. Power, gas, carbon, certificate, commodity and currency views will have sources, dates and scenario ranges. Customer premiums must be supported by contract or credible adoption evidence. The finance team will identify correlated downside, such as weaker commodity economics coinciding with higher funding cost and delayed offtake.

Cash governance will connect project milestones, supplier payments, customer security, receivables, collateral and distributions. Project companies may be ring-fenced legally but still consume group guarantees or support. The CFO will price that capacity and identify trapped cash, refinancing windows and contingent calls. Working-capital release cannot come from delaying critical suppliers or moving obligations between entities.

Partnerships and project finance will be judged on more than headline leverage. Contribution, control, covenants, reserve accounts, completion support, step-in, refinancing and exit rights must align with the risk retained. A partner's capital is not attractive if governance prevents timely operating or portfolio action.

Controllership will focus on project capitalisation, revenue, asset valuation, impairments, environmental attributes, provisions, derivatives and related-party services. Automation will follow clear ownership and reconciliation. The CFO will ensure lenders, boards and operators receive one coherent economic story rather than tailored versions of performance.

The first 12 months

Within 90 days, the CFO will re-underwrite the twelve largest capital and commercial positions, validate liquidity and guarantees, and assess finance leadership. The board committee will receive immediate fund, stage, partner and stop recommendations.

By month eight, three priority businesses should use common regional performance bridges, two developments should pass redesigned capital gates and the largest shared-cost ambiguity should be resolved. Funding and guarantee headroom will be tested under correlated downside.

At year-end, regional cash forecast variance should remain within 7%, capital expenditure within 5% of approved gates and aged receivables improve 20%. Ninety per cent of portfolio positions should carry explicit funding and market-exposure ownership, with no material covenant surprise and ready cover for 70% of pivotal finance roles.

What the board will measure

• A transparent regional view of cash, capital and enterprise support.
• Investment gates suited to business stage but comparable in rigour.
• Commodity and customer assumptions supported by controlled evidence.
• Funding, guarantees and partnerships priced for retained risk.
• Strong controllership, finance leadership and succession.

The person

You are a Regional CFO, energy finance executive or infrastructure investment leader with 22–28 years of experience. You have carried accountable scope above AED 21,700 million and led at least 800 people. Your record includes operating assets, project development, commercial contracts, funding and volatile market assumptions.

The board will test a project you stopped despite sunk spend, a partnership whose apparent leverage concealed retained support and a regional performance model you reconciled to cash. You must challenge growth constructively while enabling viable investments. Corporate reporting alone without project and capital authority will not qualify.

This onsite Abu Dhabi appointment requires regular travel to assets, projects, partners, lenders and regional boards.

Compensation and terms

Fixed compensation is AED 1.9–2.7 million plus annual incentive and LTI. Measures include cash, capital gates, funding, forecast quality, controls and succession. Long-term awards follow standard vesting and confirmed scope.

Confidentiality

The platform, assets, projects, partners, financiers and capital positions remain confidential. Further detail follows qualification and mutual confidentiality. Rounded values and blended circumstances prevent identification.