Sarah Benali

Independent consulting practice serving SMBs, startups, and ex-corporate founders who need senior operational and financial support without hiring full-time.

Core engagements:

• Project Financial Officer work — taking ownership of the financial heartbeat of client projects: budget vs. actuals tracking, forecasting, variance analysis, monthly executive reporting, and the structured conversations needed to keep projects on track.

• Notion + AI Operations builds — designing and implementing the operating system small teams are missing. Projects, finances, SOPs, client management, knowledge base — installed in 14 days, with AI integrated where it adds real value.

• Fractional COO support — plugging in for 4-12 weeks at a time to bring structure, project hygiene, and Big-4-trained operational discipline to founders carrying too much alone.

What clients get:

✔ Senior delivery (ex-PwC, 5 years in PMO and project financial controls)

✔ Multilingual capability — work delivered in French, English, Dutch, or Arabic

✔ Structured communication, clean reporting, no agency overhead

✔ Fast onboarding — typically operational within 5 working days of engagement start

Industries: Financial services, professional services, technology, consulting, retail. PMO discipline travels well across sectors.

Engagement formats: Short projects (2-4 weeks), longer fractional roles (3-6 months), or one-off project rescue work.

Based in Doha. Working remotely with clients across MENA, Francophone Europe, and Benelux.

5 years at PwC as Senior Associate, working on complex multi-stakeholder engagements with a focus on PMO discipline and project financial controls.

Key responsibilities:

• Led PMO function on large engagements — governance, risk tracking, stakeholder reporting, project hygiene

• Project financial management — budget vs. actuals, forecasting, variance analysis, executive financial reporting

• Managed financial expectations across project lifecycles — pricing, scope changes, profitability

• Worked across French, English, Dutch, and Arabic-speaking client environments

Recognition: Consistently performing on the highest-grade projects; Big Transformation; recognized internally as one of the strongest PMOs on project financial management discipline.

Skills developed: rigorous documentation, executive communication, multi-currency budget management, stakeholder management navigation under pressure, fast learning curve in unfamiliar industries.