Finance Operations Specialist

Role Purpose

The Finance Operations Specialist owns Front End's day-to-day accounts-payable, payments and finance-administration workload, ensuring suppliers are processed and paid accurately, on time and in full compliance with Saudi regulatory requirements. The role exists to keep transactional finance current and controlled, freeing the Financial Controller to focus on accounting, controls and reporting. It is the foundation hire as we rebuild and scale the finance function.

Key Responsibilities

Accounts payable & invoice processing

• Receive, verify and code supplier invoices (GL account, cost centre, project/WBS) and process them in Front End's ERP.
• Perform three-way matching of invoices to purchase orders and goods-received notes; investigate and resolve price, quantity and tax discrepancies.
• Validate that supplier tax invoices meet ZATCA e-invoicing (Fatoora) and VAT format requirements - including Arabic-language fields, VAT registration numbers, QR codes and required invoice elements - before posting.
• Route invoices through approval workflows and keep the AP inbox, ageing and accruals current.

Payments & banking

• Prepare local and international (multi-currency) payment runs for review and approval, including supplier payments for imported marine and heavy equipment.
• Process payments through Saudi bank portals and support WPS (Wage Protection System) payroll payments via Mudad/bank as required.
• Uphold segregation of duties - prepare payments for approval; never self-approve - and apply independent verification of any change to supplier bank details.

Vendor & supplier management

• Maintain accurate vendor master data; onboard new suppliers with valid Commercial Registration (CR), VAT certificate, bank letter and required documentation.
• Reconcile supplier statements, manage queries professionally, and support registration on client/principal procurement portals (e.g., Aramco/SABIC/PIF/etc. supplier systems).
• Track import documentation and customs/clearance paperwork for heavy-asset and equipment purchases, coordinating with logistics and the Controller.

Saudi statutory & compliance support

• Maintain complete, audit-ready records to support VAT returns and ZATCA filings, withholding-tax (WHT) deductions on cross-border payments, and the annual Zakat/Corporate Income Tax submission.
• Assist the Financial Controller in preparing data for ZATCA, GOSI, Qiwa, Mudad and other government-portal submissions and reconciliations.
• Help ensure invoices, contracts and payments comply with internal controls and anti-bribery/anti-corruption standards expected of Front End and its tier-1 clients.

Finance administration & month-end

• Manage employee expense claims, petty cash, filing and document control (Arabic and English).
• Support a clean month-end AP cut-off, accrual schedules and account reconciliations.
• Provide ad-hoc support to the Financial Controller and wider finance function.

Saudi Commercial & Regulatory Knowledge (Essential)

Front End operates entirely within the Saudi regulatory framework. The successful candidate must be familiar - or able to get up to speed quickly - with the following. Current rates are indicative and change periodically; the role is expected to keep current.

Area

What the role needs to know

VAT

Standard VAT rate of 15%; correct treatment of standard-rated, zero-rated and exempt supplies; input/output VAT and supporting records for periodic VAT returns.

ZATCA e-invoicing (Fatoora)

E-invoicing generation (Phase 1) and the integration phase (Phase 2): compliant XML invoices, QR codes, cryptographic stamps, UUIDs and Arabic fields, and integration of the invoicing system with ZATCA's Fatoora platform per the applicable wave.

Zakat & Corporate Income Tax

Zakat (2.5% of the Zakat base) for Saudi/GCC ownership and CIT (20%) on any foreign-owned share; supporting the annual return, due within 120 days of financial year-end.

Withholding Tax (WHT)

WHT on payments to non-resident suppliers (rates commonly 5%-20% by payment type), correct deduction, and monthly remittance/filing support.

GOSI & payroll

General Organization for Social Insurance contributions (Saudi vs non-Saudi rates and salary ceiling), and WPS payroll compliance via Mudad.

Labour & employment platforms

Awareness of Qiwa (contracts), Mudad (payroll/WPS), GOSI, and Saudization/Nitaqat obligations under the Ministry of Human Resources.

Corporate & banking

Commercial Registration (CR), Chamber of Commerce, supplier KYC documentation, and Saudi bank payment portals.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance or a related field.
• 2-5 years in accounts payable or finance operations, ideally in an engineering, energy, industrial, contracting or asset-heavy business in Saudi Arabia.
• Hands-on experience with Oracle NetSuite is strongly preferred; experience with a comparable enterprise ERP will be considered.
• Demonstrated, current knowledge of Saudi VAT and ZATCA e-invoicing requirements; exposure to Zakat/WHT, GOSI and WPS is a strong advantage.
• Bilingual Arabic and English (Arabic required for ZATCA-compliant invoicing and government portals).
• Progress toward a professional qualification (SOCPA, ACCA, CMA or equivalent) is a plus and supported by the company.

Skills & Attributes

• High accuracy, strong attention to detail and process discipline.
• Solid Excel skills and comfort working in digital finance and government portals.
• Understanding of internal controls, segregation of duties and fraud-prevention basics.
• Organised, proactive and reliable under month-end and deadline pressure.
• Professional communication with suppliers, banks and internal stakeholders; high integrity.