Finance Business Partner

5 Star Recruitment; City Of London; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A recruitment agency is seeking a Finance Business Partner in London. Responsibilities include leading financial support in local government, ensuring quality financial advice, and managing finance staff. The ideal candidate is a fully qualified accountant with experience in public sector finance. This role offers the opportunity to drive financial performance and support service improvement in a dynamic environment.

Qualifications

• Fully qualified accountant with a relevant accountancy body.
• Experience working in local government or public sector finance is desirable.
• Experience as a Finance Business Partner is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead financial advice and support to service areas for savings.
• Ensure relevant and balanced financial information is provided.
• Work with managers to ensure accurate information input to systems.
• Motivate and manage finance staff through clear communication and support.

Skills

Communication

Customer Service

Achieving Results

Planning & Implementing

Respecting Others

Driving Performance

Motivating Others

Operational Management

Education

Fully Qualified Accountant with relevant Accountancy body

Job description

About the job Finance Business Partner

Purpose of Role

Each Business Partner is responsible for implementing the business partnering function for the specified service area within the relevant council. You will act as a partner with the service leadership teams to assist, challenge and support service plans and projects and assist with managing performance for the business partnering team.

The post-holder's primary activity is to provide an effective Business Partnering function to the relevant council and to contribute to the development of the policies, activities and service improvements required to deliver the function. The post-holder will also contribute to, and matrix manage a team which supports business partnering, financial planning and accounting across all partner organisations.

Business Partners will work to ensure that finance staff deliver to customers in an efficient manner, within a professional business framework. The post holder will have a body of theoretical and practical knowledge commensurate with a fully-qualified accountant.

The post must support the councils leadership at all levels and develop a strategic and workable response to the financial challenges the council faces. The post holder will have a body of theoretical and practical knowledge with a CCAB or equivalent qualification.

Duties and Responsibilities

Responsibilities include:

• To proactively lead the financial advice and support to the defined service area particularly with reference to delivering savings.
• To ensure that financial information is relevant and balanced and is received by decision-takers at the appropriate level.
• To work with services to ensure the accuracy of information input to systems and proper responses to system outputs.
• To work with managers to ensure they have the information and tools and develop the skills to manage their finances themselves.
• To lead, manage and motivate staff through excellent communication, professional guidance, support and development in accordance with the councils policies and procedures.
• To be customer-focussed and to develop self-service underpinned by reducing finance support.
• To provide advice and support to Members, management board, directors and deputy directors on the full range of issues within the scope of the job.
• To support and contribute to joint working and matrix management within oneSource.
• To ensure effective financial support to programmes and projects.

Example outcomes or objectives include:

• Budget monitoring information which is accurate
• Managers who can carry out their own day-to-day financial management responsibilities with minimal input
• Member and officer level reports that are based on accurate financial information and robust financial analysis
• Programmes and projects that have effective financial support and which deliver on financial objectives

Critical Success Factors include:

• Provision of and delivery of quality services ensuring a high level of service that is reflective of all customer needs and value for money
• Anticipates different customer needs delivering a customer focused shared service which is a cultural fit, is flexible and proactive in approach
• Delivers a resilient business, which continuously improves and innovates with healthy revenue streams
• Operates an ethos of joint working and operates across the board regardless of location
• Delivers capacity and capability to operate business as usual with the capacity and capability to innovate and project manage to support this
• Delivers a flexible and scalable platform to innovate, enhance market knowledge and continuously improve
• Invests in people and skills to deliver a sustainable business

The post holder will report to the Strategic Business Partner and have key relationships with the Director of Finance, Senior Management Team, Internal audit, External Audit, and other managers.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Fully Qualified Accountant with a relevant Accountancy body, including but not limited to CIPFA, ACCA, CIMA or qualified by experience can demonstrate substantial experience working in finance.

Experience

Desirable experience includes:

• Experience of working in local government (or public sector) finance;
• Experience of working as a Finance Business Partner

Skills and Attributes

• Communication: Communicates complex information to others effectively, is a clear and persuasive communicator, using influencing and negotiating skills when necessary.
• Customer Service: Acts as role model in own personal approach to customer focus, proactively seeks and effectively uses customer information to inform service delivery.
• Achieving Results: Evaluates and monitors performance, uses knowledge of social and political dynamics to achieve results, encourages organisational learning and continuous improvement.
• Planning & Implementing: Develops, monitors and adjust plans as necessary, leads projects and plans for resources required to deliver.
• Respecting Others: Develops a culture of Equality and Diversity, empowers people to achieve best practice in this area, adapts to different audiences.
• Driving Performance: Translates strategic visions into realistic plans to drive performance, takes an interest in why performance standards are not being met and develops plans to address the issues.
• Motivating Others: Talks to team members to understand how best to motivate them, understands feelings and views can be different and takes them into consideration.
• Operational Management: Thinks of creative ways of obtaining/using resources, gets things done and builds momentum, seeks to automate efficient processes.