Operations & Projects Coordinator
Job Description
Company Overview
Polytra Africa SSC, part of the Swiss Fracht Group, operates as a shared services center supporting international logistics operations across multiple regions. With a global presence and strong expertise in freight forwarding, we focus on operational excellence, accuracy, and collaboration across teams.
• Job Title: Operations & Projects Coordinator
• Location: Mauritius (with frequent coordination across Africa and Belgium; remote collaboration)
• Reports To: Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
• Department: Finance
• Direct interaction with: Senior Controller (Belgium), Controllers (Mauritius), Head of Shared Services, Country Finance Managers, selected non-finance stakeholders
• Primary purpose: Drive structured execution of actions and commitments by translating discussions into clear tasks, ensuring follow-up, documentation, and timely closure.
• Confidentiality level: High – role handles sensitive financial information and governance documentation.
Job Overview:
The Operations & Projects Coordinator supports the CFO Africa and the wider Finance leadership by ensuring that actions, deadlines, and deliverables are executed consistently across entities. The role focuses on closing loops: translating decisions into clear tasks, following up until completion, maintaining evidence and documentation, and enabling a lightweight governance rhythm that teams can sustain.
Key Responsibilities:
Action capture and task governance (core)
• Capture actions from internal meetings and cross-functional meetings where Finance is accountable.
• Convert actions into clear deliverables, defining owner, due date, priority, dependencies, and a definition of done (expected output/evidence).
• Maintain a single, practical action log as the source of truth; keep statuses current and reliable.
• Proactively follow up with task owners, confirm progress, identify blockers, and agree revised timelines when justified.
• Escalate overdue or blocked actions according to agreed escalation rules, maintaining a respectful and constructive tone.
Meeting rhythm and execution cadence
• Prepare and support weekly/bi-weekly execution check-ins (agenda, status snapshot, and list of decisions required).
• Ensure meeting outputs are action-oriented and concise (decisions and actions rather than lengthy minutes).
• Track decisions and ensuring related tasks, documents, and evidence are updated accordingly.
Documentation, evidence, and audit readiness
• Maintain structured documentation for recurring deliverables (monthly reporting, tax/audit requests, intercompany confirmations, policies, approvals).
• Ensure evidence is stored consistently (supporting documents, approvals, signoffs, and version control).
• Support compilation, follow-up, and closure of audit/PBC lists and compliance deliverables, under Finance leadership guidance.
. Cross-entity coordination and standardization
• Coordinate shared tasks across entities and teams (Mauritius, Southern Africa, Belgium, and other African locations as applicable).
• Support standardization of templates and ways of working (folder structure, naming conventions, checklists, meeting templates).
• Facilitate alignment of timelines for deadlines that cut across teams (month-end, submissions, board packs).
. Continuous improvement support (light PMO)
• Support simple improvements to workflows and checklists to reduce rework and delays.
• Encourage adoption discipline for the selected tools (e.g., Odoo Projects or equivalent) without overengineering.
• Identify recurring bottlenecks and propose pragmatic fixes to the CFO/Finance leadership.
Typical Working Week (Role Expectations)
The role operates with a lightweight cadence designed to keep execution disciplined without creating administrative burden.
Weekly deliverables
• Weekly Finance Execution Snapshot (max 1 page): top priorities, upcoming deadlines, risks, and required escalations.
• Action log refreshed continuously: overdue items flagged, blockers captured, completions evidenced and closed.
• Week Close update to CFO: completed items, carry-over items with reasons, and next-week priorities.
Standard weekly rhythm
• Monday: consolidate priorities, refresh action log, and circulate execution snapshot.
• Tuesday-Thursday: structured follow-ups with owners; prepare agendas and pre-reads; collect and file evidence for completed items; manage dependencies and unblock.
• Friday: close the week – validate completions with evidence, roll forward incomplete items with revised dates and rationale, prepare next week packs.
Recurring meetings supported (typical)
• CFO/Finance leadership execution check-in (weekly).
• Shared Services operational rhythm (weekly or bi-weekly).
• Month-end readiness check and reporting timetable coordination.
• Board pack / management reporting cycle support (monthly/quarterly, as applicable).
Tools and Ways of Working
• Maintain a single source of truth for actions (tool to be confirmed; must remain lightweight and sustainable).
• Apply consistent naming conventions and filing standards for all key deliverables.
• Use concise written communication for follow-ups, decisions, and escalations.
• Protect focus by limiting work-in-progress and prioritizing critical deadlines.
Required Skills and Experience
Hard skills (must-have)
• Advanced proficiency in Excel for tracking, filtering, and basic analysis; strong attention to data accuracy.
• High comfort with task management tools (e.g., Odoo Projects, Planner, Trello, Asana or equivalent).
• Strong documentation and evidence management practices (folder structures, version control, approvals).
• Strong written and spoken English; able to write clear, concise action notes and follow-up messages.
• Basic understanding of Finance operations and cycles (month-end close logic, reporting cadence, audit/PBC concept).
Hard skills (nice-to-have)
• Experience in a multi-entity, multi-country environment.
• Exposure to ERP environments (Odoo preferred) and document repositories (SharePoint/Google Drive).
• Familiarity with internal controls, compliance calendars, and audit coordination
Soft skills (critical)
• Proactive follow-up mindset: anticipates slippage and acts early.
• Diplomatic assertiveness: can follow up firmly across cultures and seniority levels, without friction.
• Structured thinking: translates vague requests into clear tasks, owners, and expected outputs.
• Reliability and discretion: handles sensitive information appropriately.
• Comfort with ambiguity and change, while maintaining discipline and clarity.
• Service mindset with boundaries: supports teams without becoming a catch-all resource.
Qualifications
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in Business Administration, Finance, Accounting, or related field (preferred).
• 2+ years of experience in an administrative coordination, operations, PMO support, or finance support role (preferred).
• Experience supporting senior stakeholders and managing multiple deadlines in parallel.
Performance Measures (KPIs)
• Action closure rate: percentage of actions closed on time and trend over time.
• Reduction in overdue items and average aging of open actions.
• Quality of action definition (clarity of owner/due date/definition of done) and evidence completeness for closed items.
• Meeting effectiveness: fewer re-discussions of the same points; clear decisions and actions documented within agreed timeframes.
• Stakeholder feedback: perceived reduction in administrative burden and improved execution discipline.
Working Conditions
• Role based in Mauritius with daily remote interaction across Africa and Belgium.
• Working hours aligned to Mauritius time zone, with flexibility for occasional calls aligned to other time zones.
• May require limited travel depending on operational needs and key meetings.
Values and Conduct
• Maintain professional integrity, confidentiality, and respect in all interactions.
• Promote clarity, accountability, and disciplined execution without unnecessary bureaucracy.
• Operate with a continuous improvement mindset: simple, sustainable solutions over complex systems.
Disclaimer
This job description is not exhaustive. Responsibilities may evolve based on operational needs, priorities, and the organisation’s structure, in consultation with the CFO Africa.
Benefits
• Competitive salary and benefits package.
• Training and professional development opportunities to enhance skills and expertise.
• Candidates should be willing to travel for training/missions to Belgium/Africa.
• Collaborative and supportive work environment with opportunities for teamwork and innovation.
Polytra Africa SSC is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity in the workplace. We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds and experiences.
