Finance Director

Sportcarriere is assisting World Aquatics in recruiting its Finance Director on a permanent contract.

World Aquatics formerly FINA (Féderation Internationale de Natation) is the global governing body for aquatic sports. Founded in 1908 and currently formed by 210 National Federations across five continents, World Aquatics is based in the Olympic-capital city of Lausanne.

Our vision is to create A world united by water, for health, life and sport, and our mission is to ensure that everyone has the ability to participate, compete and benefit from aquatic sports.

World Aquatics includes six sports : Swimming, Open Water Swimming, Diving, Water Polo, Artistic Swimming and High Diving.

Role

We are looking for a Finance Director with strong experience of finance and accounting functions especially in the domain of Swiss non-profit and sport federations.

The Finance Director will need to be operational from day one and provide both executive support and strong governance leadership to the Executive Director and the Treasurer.

The successful candidate will also be the primary point of contact for the World Aquatics’ audit committee and World Aquatics’ external auditors.

Reporting to the Executive Director and leading and managing a department of four, the successful candidate will be responsible for delivering first class financial governance, managing all financial aspects of the World Aquatics, liaising with the World Aquatics Treasurer and managing the World Aquatics Audit Committee meetings and World Aquatics Business and Investment Committee meetings.

The position is based in Lausanne, Switzerland. However, World Aquatics has announced plans to move to a purpose-built state of the art Aquatics Centre in Budapest, Hungary.

This move is likely to take place in 2027.

• Providing financial leadership and strategic advice and support to the Executive Director, the Treasurer, and Senior Management.
• Responsible for all Finance Operations and all aspects of World Aquatics’ Financial Management, including Accounting, Budgeting, Controlling, Treasury, Investments, Foreign exchange, Audit, Financial Planning & Analysis, Reporting and Cost Control.
• Managing transactions with, and prize money payments to, Member Federations in more than 200 countries, dealing with and finding solutions to global payment challenges and taxation queries.
• Management of the World Aquatics corporate insurance portfolio and assisting the Human Resources team with personnel insurance (LPP, LAA, mandatory sickness insurance).
• Risk Management, Audit, Taxation and Regulatory Developments that have an impact on the World Aquatics’ financial statements and / or the organization’s financial resources and investments.
• Management of all third-party financial service suppliers, including banks, insurances and auditors.
• Providing leadership and mentoring to the financial controller and the finance team.
• Providing expert leadership on risk management, Audit, Taxation and Regulatory Developments that have an impact on the World Aquatics’ financial statements and / or the organization’s financial resources and investments.
• Assisting the World Aquatics Treasurer and Executive Director directing the World Aquatics Remuneration Committee. Working closely with Human Resources and the Executive Director on payroll budgeting, incentives, payroll management and processing.
• Providing financial oversight and expert input to AQUA legal team in all major contractual negotiations and reviewing financial terms in contractual documents.
• Providing expert guidance to the Executive Director in the management of the World Aquatics business and investment committee and World Aquatics investment management partners.
• Responsible for finance systems and their integration with other World Aquatics information management systems. Driving process improvement and efficiencies.
• Leading the Finance team in oversight of all taxation, VAT and social security matters.
• In conjunction with the Financial Controller, reviewing World Aquatics short and medium-term cash flow requirements.
• Ensure maintenance of appropriate internal controls and finance procedures (such as expense claim policy, travel policy and others).
• Coordinate annual audits with external auditors and preparation and production of organization’s Annual Financial Reports.
• With a view of the federation’s move to Hungary, provide expert strategic advice on transition planning covering all aspects of structure, taxation, regulation and employee matters and real estate.
• The ideal candidate is a qualified accountant (ACA, CPA or equivalent). She / he will be a solid finance expert and business partner with sound commercial experience and a track record of successful financial management in an international environment.
• Prior experience as a Senior Financial Manager, Head of Finance or Finance Director with hands-on, can-do approach; prior experience dealing with investment portfolio mandates and plus.
• Analytical problem solver who is solutions-driven, has a service-oriented approach, and is not afraid to make decisions.
• Proven management skills with an experience in leading a team, while being a good team player
• Strong communication and presentation skills with a significant evidence of building strong working relationships with the Board, senior directors and a range of diverse internal and external stakeholders of different cultural backgrounds.
• Ability to translate financial concepts into simple, polished language.
• Perfectly fluent in English, strong spoken French a plus.
• Location : Lausanne (Switzerland), then Budapest (post 2027 - some travel to be expected between now and then)

Committed to inclusivity, Sportcarriere encourages applications from all talents. All applications will be reviewed without consideration of race, color, religion, gender, age, national origin, disability, or genetic information.