Finance Business Partner

Job title:

Finance Business Partner

Company

British Council

Job description

We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide.

We work directly with individuals to help them gain the skills, confidence and connections to transform their lives and shape a better world in partnership with the UK. We support them to build networks and explore creative ideas, to learn English, to get a high-quality education and to gain internationally recognised qualifications.

Working with people in over 200 countries and territories, we are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2021-22 we reached 650 million people.

Finance Business Partner

Pay Band: 8

Salary: Starting £38,820 (+ £3,300 market allowance if based in London)

Contract Type: 2 year fixed term contract

Location: UK; London, Manchester, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Belfast

Role Type: Finance Operations

Reports to: Head Financial Planning & Analysis, Education Cultural Engagement

Requirements: Candidates must have the pre-existing (permanent) right to work in location.
Mobility / relocation / visa sponsoring support will not be provided.

Benefits include, but are not limited to:

• 32 days annual leave, in addition to public holidays
• 3 days volunteering leave
• Career average defined benefit pension scheme
• An unrivalled opportunity for you to get to use all the experience you’ve built up working in and / or leading global organisations to support us in building trust across the world!

Closing date: 22nd February 2024, 11:59 UK time

Context

The finance function plays a critical and active role in ensuring the SBU remains financially sustainable, through more efficient operations and greater commercial focus. It provides commercial advice to support good decision-making and high-quality management information and analysis. The function also has a global remit to support regional finance and delivery teams, ensuring a consistent approach to financial planning, reporting and business support.

The UK finance function consists of 4 sub teams:

• Commercial: Supporting the Business Development function. Develop and maintain the Pricing and Costing Model to evaluate all new bids and contracts. Apply the model and advise on business case proposals. Ensure rigour and financial governance in any bid submissions. Translate the pipeline into financial income forecasts.
• UK and Global delivery: Business Partnering for all UK/Global UK lead products and services, ensuring these are financially complaint, cost effective and deliver value for money. Translate the Pricing and Costing Model into budgets, identify financial risks and assist with audit.
• Global Financial Planning, Reporting and Analysis (FP&A): Support global financial planning and analysis during Business Planning, Operational planning and monthly reporting. Provide headcount and staff costs analysis for across the UK function. Review of performance against grant targets.
• Erasmus, Chevening and Others Delivery Finance: As above specifically for our large Programme.

Role Purpose

Finance Business Partner (FBP) will act as the main point of contact for donor and grant funded project’s Delivery Managers and Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) with a strong emphasis on business partnering, including financial business planning and reviewing business performance to ensure maximum impact and commercial viability for the Education Sector within Cultural Engagement.

Reporting into the Head FP&A – Education, CE, the post holder will interact closely with project governance team, providing FP&A information, analysis and Financial control support for project.

The role holder will have commercially focused finance experience and have previously worked with Business Development teams for donor funded projects. Role holder must display a clear understanding of the British Council’s aims and an ability to connect with operational and wider finance colleagues.

Main Accountabilities:

• Working alongside the Senior Project Manager (SPM) and SRO based in UK as well as named project manager based globally on the donor funded project, liaising with other finance teams as and when necessary.
• Working closely with delivery teams (that might be geographically dispersed) and providing consolidated financial information to SPM and SRO.
• Keeping tack of foreign exchange (Fx) fluctuation where expenses might be recorded in local currency and reporting to clint might be in a different currency for the project.
• Providing support for the annual and quarterly business planning cycle for the donor funded project. Working with FP&A to ensure compliance with the planning process, helping develop standard reports that meet the requirement for KPI reporting and ensuring the quality and validity of KPI reporting and working with FP&A to ensure agreed projections are correctly reflected in SAP planning.
• Providing support for financial month-end reporting. Reviewing monthly and annual business performance, preparing management reports and variance analyses and highlighting areas for improvement to ensure maximum impact and return on investment as well as financial compliance and operational efficiency. Working with delivery teams to ensure that reports are provided on a “self-service” basis with support if required.
• Providing support for contract reporting to clients, partners and donors.
• Providing financial advice to the Project Delivery teams ensuring not just tailored, consistent, timely, accurate and relevant financial information but also interpretation and decision support resulting from trends identified in the achievement of strategic business objectives.
• Working with delivery team leads in managing and executing financial viability (P/L) of contract amendments and identifying any risks/opportunities. Ensuring that allocated budgets are managed, and income and expenditure, debtors/creditors, activity risk and year-end processes relating to the projects/activities are delivered effectively.
• Supporting the consistent production of financial and management information relating to internal, external and Client audits.
• Provide assistance in developing and embedding effective finance processes, standards, templates, tools and systems which provide an effective framework for the provision of financial business partner support to programmes and contracts.
• Supporting the development and maintenance of guidance notes and liaising with the corporate policies team to ensure consistency. Where appropriate, monitoring compliance with policies and guidance for the donor funded project.
• Providing financial input for the Monthly Control Check (MCC) for the donor funded project to identify potential financial risks and ensure that these are appropriately communicated.
• Identifying and resolving issues with financial control and financial accounting. Supporting the requests for set-up of client reporting and Master Data Items for the project.

Qualifications:

• CCAB qualified / part qualified accountant or / other finance degree with proven experience of successfully managing and delivering similar roles.

Role specific knowledge and experience

• Operating in international and multi-cultural organisations.
• Commercial finance experience gained in an organisation undergoing change and driving for growth.
• Appraisal of Development projects.
• Minimum of 5 years of qualified experience in a relevant managerial post.

Closing date: 22nd February 2024, 11:59 UK time

Interviews will be held at the beginning of March 2024.

A connected and trusted UK in a more connected and trusted world.

Equality , Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Statement

The British Council is committed to policies and practices of equality, diversity and inclusion across everything we do. We support all staff to make sure their behaviour is consistent with this commitment. We want to address under representation and encourage applicants from under-represented groups, in particular, but not exclusively, on grounds of ethnicity and disability. All disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria are guaranteed an interview and we have Disability Confident Employer Status. We welcome discussions about specific requirements or adjustments to enable participation and engagement in our work and activities.

The British Council is committed to safeguarding children, young people and adults who we work with.

We believe that all children and adults everywhere in the world deserve to live in safe environments and have the right to be protected from all forms of abuse, maltreatment and exploitation as set out in article 19, UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child) 1989.

Appointment to positions where there is direct involvement with vulnerable groups will be dependent on thorough checks being completed; these will include qualification checks, reference checks, identity & criminal record checks in line with legal requirements and with the British Council’s Safeguarding policies for Adults and Children.

If you have any problems with your application please email

Please note: Applications to this role can only be considered when made through the Apply section of our careers website. Our ‘ASK HR’ email is only to be used in case of a technical issue encountered when applying through the careers website. Emails with supporting statements and CV/Resumes sent to this email address will not be reviewed and will be deleted.

Expected salary

Location

London

Job date

Sat, 10 Feb 2024 00:49:22 GMT

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