Role Purpose
This is the senior finance role responsible for the planning, modelling, and financial control infrastructure that underpins the airport development and operation. The Head of FP&A owns the numbers: the core financial model, CAPEX and OPEX tracking, cash flow and liquidity forecasting, management reporting, and variance analysis.
The role spans two distinct phases. During the development phase, the emphasis is on CAPEX control, construction cost tracking, and pre-operational budget management. As the project transitions to the operating phase, the focus shifts to revenue forecasting, OPEX management, commercial performance analysis, and live debt covenant compliance.
Key Responsibilities
Financial Modelling
- Own the integrated financial plan, consolidating traffic forecasts, revenue projections, CAPEX programme, OPEX build-up, financing structure, and return analysis into a single coherent document for the board, lenders, and government stakeholders
- Lead periodic financial plan updates to incorporate changes in business plan, design development, construction progress, and market conditions
- Own and maintain the core project financial model across the full concession horizon, covering traffic volumes, revenue streams (aeronautical and non-aeronautical), CAPEX phasing, operating costs, debt service, and equity returns.
- Run scenario analysis, sensitivity testing, and stress cases to support capital structure decisions, financing negotiations, and board approvals
- Ensure model integrity, version control, audit trail, and reconciliation against source data; serve as the single point of truth for project economics
CAPEX Planning & Cost Control (Development Phase)
- Establish and run the CAPEX tracking and control framework across all BT work packages, capital drawdowns
- Monitor committed, contracted, and forecast-to-complete costs against the approved budget, producing regular cost reports with variance explanations and trend analysis
- Work with project management and procurement to ensure cost commitments are captured in real time and reflected accurately in forecasts
- Flag cost overruns, scope changes, and contingency drawdowns early, with quantified impact on project returns and covenant headroom
OPEX Planning & Control (Development through Operating Phase)
- Develop the OPEX build-up for both the pre-operational phase (staffing ramp-up, systems, ORAT costs) and the steady-state operating phase, working with the operator, commercial team, and department heads to construct bottom-up cost estimates
- Once operations commence, track and control OPEX against the approved business plan with the same variance discipline applied to CAPEX
- Monitor the transition from development-phase cost structures (project team, advisors, pre-opening) to operating-phase cost structures (operations, maintenance, commercial), ensuring the handover is planned and budgeted
Revenue Forecasting & Commercial Performance (Operating Phase)
- Consolidate revenue forecasting across aeronautical charges, non-aeronautical concessions (duty free, retail, F&B, advertising, parking), cargo, ground handling, and other income streams
- Track revenue performance against the business plan, analysing variance by traffic volume, yield per passenger, concession conversion rates, and tenant performance
- Provide the financial analysis that informs commercial decisions (airline incentive schemes, tenant lease terms, pricing adjustments), working alongside the Business Finance function.
- Monitor regulatory pricing impacts on aeronautical revenue and model the financial implications of tariff changes
Budgeting, Forecasting & Variance Analysis
- Design and run the annual budgeting process and rolling forecast cycle across all project entities
- Produce monthly budget-vs-actuals variance analysis with clear root cause explanations, distinguishing timing differences from genuine over/under spends
- Maintain the cash flow forecast and liquidity model, coordinating with treasury on drawdown schedules, equity calls, and working capital requirements
- Track and report on debt covenants (DSCR, current ratio, debt-to-equity), providing early warning of potential breaches
Management Reporting
- Design and deliver the monthly management reporting pack covering project P&L, cash flow, CAPEX progress, OPEX tracking, covenant compliance, and key financial
- KPIsTranslate raw financial data into clear narratives that highlight what has changed, why, and what it means for the project
- Support the CFO in preparing financial outputs for internal and external stakeholders
Targeted Profiles
Experience & Background
- 10-15+ years in FP&A, project finance, or infrastructure finance, with substantial experience in CAPEX-intensive environments (infrastructure, construction, energy, real estate development, or aviation)
- Proven experience in developing and owning financial models end-to-end for a large-scale project, not just reviewing or auditing someone else's work
- Experience running a full planning cycle: budgets, rolling forecasts, variance analysis, management reporting, and board/lender reporting
- Experience building processes and reporting frameworks in early-stage or greenfield environments where nothing existed before
- Prior experience in Vietnam is a plus but not required
Skills & Competencies
- Deep modelling capability: builds complex, structured financial models. Excel mastery is non-negotiable; Python proficiency for automation, data processing, and model infrastructure is a strong differentiator
- Rigorous on detail and data integrity, with the discipline to maintain audit trails, version control, and reconciliation routines
- Able to translate numbers into clear, concise narratives for non-financial audiences (board papers, investor presentations, verbal briefings
- Comfortable working with incomplete data, evolving assumptions, and systems that are still being built
- Strong coordination skills: FP&A in this context requires pulling inputs from project management, procurement, accounting, treasury, and commercial teams
- Independent and self-starting, but collaborative across functions
Education
- Degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Engineering, or related quantitative discipline
- CFA, ACA, ACCA, CPA, or equivalent professional qualification preferred
