Finance Business Partner

Thames Water Utilities Limited; Reading; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading water utilities company is seeking a Finance Business Partner to join their Operations Finance team. This hybrid role involves partnering with senior leaders to deliver robust financial reporting and analysis, ensuring value for money across investments. Requires a qualified accountant with strong experience in business partnering and management accounting, offering a competitive salary and excellent benefits.

Benefits

26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with service

Performance-related pay plan

Generous Pension Scheme

Health and wellbeing benefits

Qualifications

• Qualified accountant (ACA/ACCA/CIMA or equivalent).
• Strong experience in business partnering, management accounting, and project/capital accounting.
• Excellent analytical and data manipulation skills.
• Confident communicator, able to influence and challenge stakeholders.
• Strong organizational and planning skills.
• Advanced Excel and Microsoft Office skills.
• Experience in large or complex organizations is an advantage.
• A Driving Licence is required.

Responsibilities

• Partnering with senior leaders to deliver financial reporting and analysis.
• Leading budgeting and forecasting processes.
• Producing timely and insightful performance reports.
• Challenging and supporting operational teams.
• Reviewing investment business cases.
• Maintaining and developing financial models.
• Supporting key business activities.

Skills

Business partnering

Management accounting

Project/capital accounting

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Organizational skills

Excel

Education

Qualified accountant (ACA/ACCA/CIMA)

Tools

SAP

HFM

Power BI

SAC

Job description

Job title Finance Business Partner Ref 42258 Division Finance & Commercial Location Hybrid - Clearwater Court - RG1 8DB Contract type Permanent Full/Part-time Full-time or part-time Salary Offering between £65,000 to £70,000 per annum, depending on experience Job grade B Closing date 14/10/2025

At Thames Water, our purpose is simple but vital: to deliver life’s essential service, so our customers, communities, and the environment can thrive. Every day, we supply clean, safe drinking water to over 10 million customers and treat the wastewater of 16 million more.

We’re looking for a Finance Business Partner to join our Operations Finance team, supporting the Waste and Bioresources division. This role will be pivotal in driving financial performance, providing insight, and ensuring value for money across operating and capital investments.

What you’ll be doing as a Finance Business Partner

• Partnering with senior leaders across Waste and Bioresources to deliver robust financial reporting, forecasting, and analysis.
• Leading budgeting and forecasting processes, ensuring plans align with business ambitions and financial constraints.
• Producing timely and insightful performance reports that link financial results with operational outcomes, supporting effective decision-making.
• Challenging and supporting operational teams to achieve efficiencies and identify risks and opportunities.
• Reviewing and supporting investment business cases, ensuring affordability, accuracy, and strategic alignment.
• Maintaining and developing financial models to support planning, forecasting, and scenario analysis.
• Supporting key business activities, including regulatory returns, project tracking, and pan-finance initiatives.

Base location: Hybrid (Reading – Clearwater Court, with site visits across South and West London)

Working hours: 36 hours, Monday to Friday

What you should bring to the role

To thrive in this role, the essential criteria you’ll need is:

• A qualified accountant (ACA/ACCA/CIMA or equivalent)
• Strong experience in business partnering, management accounting, and project/capital accounting
• Excellent analytical and data manipulation skills, with the ability to translate numbers into actionable insight.
• Confident communicator, able to influence and challenge stakeholders across all levels.
• Strong organisational and planning skills, comfortable working in complex environments.
• Advanced Excel and Microsoft Office skills; experience with SAP, HFM, Power BI or SAC is desirable.
• Experience in large or complex organisations is an advantage.
• A Driving Licence is required

What’s in it for you?

• Competitive salary from £65,000 to £70,000 per annum, depending on experience
• Annual Leave: 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service (plus bank holidays)
• Performance-related pay plan directly linked to both company and individual performance measures and targets
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON
• Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of you and your family’s health and wellbeing, and your finances – from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.

We’re the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive. It’s a big job and we’ve got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.

Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you’ll enjoy meaningful career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.

If you’re looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people’s lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region, and our planet.

Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family. Why choose us? Learn more.

We’re committed to being a great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and want to ensure you feel supported throughout the recruitment process . If you need any adjustments, whether that’s extra time, accessible formats, or anything else just let us know, we’re here to help and support .

When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business and meet colleagues.

Disclaimer: due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.