AVP, UK Finance Transformation Business Analyst

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group; City of Westminster; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading global financial institution in the UK is seeking a proactive and hands-on Business Analyst to enhance financial processes across EMEA. This role requires collaboration with stakeholders to gather and advocate for financial requirements, propose solutions via data analysis, ensure effective stakeholder management, and lead continuous improvement initiatives. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in financial services, core business analysis skills, and a formal accountancy qualification. The company promotes a culture of innovation and offers flexible working requests.

Benefits

Flexible working arrangements

Strong emphasis on career development

Collaborative work environment

Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience as a Business Analyst in a large bank or consultancy.
• Proficient in core Microsoft desktop software.
• Strong understanding of accounting concepts and financial reporting.

Responsibilities

• Gather and advocate for Finance business requirements.
• Propose aligned solutions backed by data analysis.
• Coordinate with stakeholders to meet project milestones.

Skills

Proactive ownership

Business analysis

Stakeholder engagement

Process optimization

Data analysis

Communication skills

Education

Formal accountancy qualification (ACA, CIMA, ACCA)

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft PowerPoint

Microsoft Word

IBM Cognos

Oracle GL/Subledger

Job description

We are seeking a proactive and hands‑on Business Analyst to join our UK Finance Transformation team. You will be instrumental in delivering the Bank's strategic projects and driving day‑to‑day process improvements to enhance the efficiency, accuracy, and governance of financial processes across EMEA.

• Requirements management and advocacy: Collaborate with key stakeholders to gather, document, and advocate for Finance business and functional requirements. Proactively share insights to support comprehensive understanding of Finance/EMEA context and requirements within broader settings.
• Solution design: Formulate and propose viable, strategically aligned solutions. Utilise data‑backed analysis and illustrative calculations to clearly demonstrate anticipated benefits and ensure solutions are fit for purpose.
• Stakeholder leadership and coordination: Lead and facilitate workshops and meetings, appropriately holding stakeholders accountable to ensure Business Analyst deliverables and project milestones are consistently met. Proactively coordinate efforts across interdependent projects to leverage learnings, identify efficiencies, and ensure strategic cohesion.
• Testing and quality assurance: Formulate testing strategies, compile test plans and cases, and support system/integration testing including supporting business users through User Acceptance Testing (UAT) to ensure successful delivery.
• Risk and issue management: Proactively identify, elevate and help mitigate project risks and issues to project and line management.
• Continuous improvement: Act as a catalyst for innovation and efficiency within the Bank's Financial Control and Reporting function:
• Process optimisation: Work closely with Financial Control and Reporting team to identify, assess, and deliver continuous process improvement opportunities, reducing manual effort and strengthening controls.
• Automation and innovation: Drive automation initiatives, including testing new tools and assisting in the development of automated reporting solutions.
• Change agency: Actively function as a change agent to foster a culture of transformation, role modelling positive change behaviours, constructively challenging, and encouraging innovative thinking.
• Stakeholder collaboration: Build strong cross‑functional working relationships, coordinating efforts, communicating effectively, and actively sharing knowledge and best practices to elevate overall operational performance.
• Future‑State design: Contribute to the design of future‑state finance processes ensuring they are controlled, efficient, and support strategic objectives.
  We are looking for an experienced Business Analyst with a strong background in financial services and a proven track record in driving change. The ideal candidate will possess:
• Core business analysis and delivery expertise:
• Demonstrated experience as a Business Analyst, ideally within a large bank or consultancy, navigating multiple entities, currencies, and reporting calendars.
• Hands‑on experience across the project lifecycle, including the ability to compile scope documents, detailed business requirements, and comprehensive test plans.
• High proficiency with core Microsoft desktop software, including Excel, PowerPoint, and Word. Project management experience is also highly desirable
• Core financial expertise:
• Strong understanding of core accounting concepts (double‑entry, financial statements, adjustments, IFRS standards). A formal accountancy qualification (ACA, CIMA, ACCA) is advantageous.
• Understanding of GL functions in a complex, global, multi‑GAAP environment (chart of accounts, intercompany, FX management) and knowledge of core subledgers for payments, revenue accounting, and asset/project costing (capitalisation, NBV, depreciation).
• Expertise in all core finance functions, including month‑end/year‑end close processes, financial reporting disclosures (Balance Sheet, P&L), reconciliations, attestations, and controls.
• Good understanding of financial products such as corporate lending, project lending, loans, repos, deposits, and capital markets products (derivatives, OTC, fixed income).
• Data, platform and process excellence:
• Demonstrated ability to map complex end‑to‑end processes and data flows.
• Experience in data analysis, working with diverse information sources, and leading initiatives to enhance data quality and governance.
• Strong understanding of financial data concepts, reporting structures, data warehouses, and industry‑standard BI solutions and tools (e.g., APIs, IBM Cognos, DataMart solutions like Snowflake).
• Experience with standard Finance platforms (e.g., Oracle GL/Subledger, Murex, LoanIQ). Prior experience with MUFG systems and processes is a strong plus.
• Stakeholder engagement and communication:
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to distil complex financial and technical concepts for diverse audiences.
• Strong network‑building and relationship‑management skills, with a proven ability to engage, influence, and collaborate with a broad range of stakeholders at all levels, including senior management, business contacts, technical developers, data teams and more
• Ability to work effectively both independently and as a collaborative team member, actively sharing knowledge across regions and teams.
• Transformation and strategic mindset:
• Proven experience in leading or contributing to significant finance transformation programs e.g general ledger migrations and process automation initiatives.
• Ability to proactively apply a risk and control framework to accelerate transformation, identifying opportunities for standardisation to reduce manual intervention and operational risk. This includes using a risk mindset when testing new processes and embracing new tools to ensure controls are embedded from the outset., We are seeking a proactive and highly motivated individual with exceptional analytical and problem‑solving skills. The ideal candidate will possess:
• Proactive ownership and drive: Demonstrate a self‑starting, results‑driven approach by taking initiative, strong accountability and understand the importance of acting with urgency. Consistently seek to improve processes and deliver high‑quality outcomes with minimal supervision and strong consulting/collaboration.
• Exceptional analytical and decision‑making skills: Strong judgement and a structured, logical approach to work, with high attention to detail and the capacity to digest complex information to support sound decision‑making.
• Adaptability and resilience: Exhibit the flexibility required to respond effectively to changing priorities, urgent tasks, and evolving business needs. Maintain the ability to perform well under pressure, adeptly balancing immediate demands with strategic objectives.
• Superior communication and stakeholder management: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the confidence and clarity to engage stakeholders at all organisational levels. A collaborative partner who can build relationships, influence outcomes, and drive consensus across business and IT teams.
• Strong organisation and delivery focus: Proven ability to organise, prioritise, and manage large workloads and tight deadlines across multiple projects. A commitment to driving tasks and projects through to completion.
• Creative and practical problem‑solving: Bring innovative thinking to investigate challenges and design solutions, while applying a strong risk lens to ensure they are practical, well‑controlled, and aligned with compliance requirements
• Continuous learning & SME capability: The ability to quickly absorb new knowledge, adapt to new technologies or processes, and act as a subject‑matter expert to support colleagues and project delivery.
• A curious, forward‑looking mindset: Demonstrate a proactive willingness to ask questions and constructively challenge existing norms. Maintain an outward‑looking perspective to stay informed on external trends and foster a similar inquisitive culture within the team.
• Relentless drive for improvement: Show a consistent passion for enhancing ways of working, problem‑solving, and making positive impacts on project outcomes and the day‑to‑day experience of colleagues.
• We are open to considering flexible working requests in line with organisational requirements.
  Discover your opportunity with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), one of the world's leading financial groups. Across the globe, we're 150,000 colleagues, striving to make a difference for every client, organization, and community we serve. We stand for our values, building long‑term relationships, serving society, and fostering shared and sustainable growth for a better world. With a vision to be the world's most trusted financial group, it's part of our culture to put people first, listen to new and diverse ideas and collaborate toward greater innovation, speed and agility. This means investing in talent, technologies, and tools that empower you to own your career. Join MUFG, where being inspired is expected and making a meaningful impact is rewarded.