Finance Business Partner

Nerc - The Natural Environment Research Council; Swindon; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

30 days annual leave

Flexible working hours

Pension scheme

Job summary

Innovate UK, part of UKRI, is seeking a Finance Business Partner to provide dedicated finance expertise, insight, reporting and business partnering. Based in Swindon with hybrid working, you will work with internal and external stakeholders to inform decision-making and deliver outcomes aligned with priorities.

Reporting to the Senior Finance Partner, this 12-month fixed-term role requires qualified accounting and strong budgeting, forecasting and governance experience.

Qualifications

• Qualified Accountant with active status or willingness to attain
• Strong accounting and finance understanding with similar role experience
• Advanced Excel and financial modelling capabilities
• Experience presenting to senior stakeholders with credible written and oral advice

Responsibilities

• Provide dedicated finance expertise, insight and reporting to inform decision-making
• Support programme managers and senior leadership with timely financial information and challenge
• Deputise for Senior Finance Partner when required
• Manage annual and multi-year budget setting and forecasting cycles
• Ensure compliance with internal controls and governance across programmes
• Communicate finance importance to partners and link budgets to delivery plans

Skills

Accounting & Finance

Financial modelling

Stakeholder management

Communication skills

Education

Qualified Accountant (ACA/CIMA/ACCA/CIPFA)

Tools

Excel

Job description

Provide dedicated finance expertise, insight, reporting and business partnering to Innovate UK, working closely with internal and external stakeholders to inform decision-making, enhance financial awareness, and deliver outcomes aligned with Innovate UK and UKRI priorities.

*Please note this advert will close on the 11th October 2026 at 23:59pm.

Watch our video “Why Join Innovate UK?” here.

Title: Finance Business Partner

Band: UKRI Band E (UKRI Ts & Cs)

Reports to: Senior Finance Business Partner

Location: Swindon (Min 2-days per week in the office)

Contract: Fixed Term (12 Months)

Employees applying for any opportunity which may mean being away from your substantive role for a temporary period of time, please refer to the Recruitment Policy for further information in the first instance. If you are made an offer, please ensure you liaise with your Line Manager and the designated HR Team as soon as possible in order that implications of any move are clear and understood, prior to a move taking place.

Innovate UK works with businesses and stakeholders across every nation and region of the UK. As part of UKRI, our hybrid working approach is built around one simple principle: time should be spent where it delivers the greatest impact.

This means working across three settings: UKRI sites, time on the ground with businesses, partners and stakeholders and time working from home. It's an approach designed to support collaboration, connection and impact.

This role is in Tier 2, with 40-60% of working time typically spent either at a UKRI site or engaging with external businesses and stakeholders across the UK. Outside of this requirement, you can work from home. Whilst this role will be formally based at one of the following UKRI sites, it is externally facing, and we expect that there will be requirement to travel around the UK for 2/3 days each week on average.

Read the full UKRI Hybrid Working PolicyHybrid Working at UKRI

Innovate UK recognises the importance of work-life balance and we will be happy to discuss any requests for flexible working arrangements.

Context

The role holder will operate within the Innovate UK’s Finance Business Partnering Team which is part of the wider Innovate UK and UKRI Finance Teams.

Job Purpose

Provide dedicated finance expertise, insight, reporting and business partnering to Innovate UK, working closely with internal and external stakeholders to inform decision-making, enhance financial awareness, and deliver outcomes aligned with Innovate UK and UKRI priorities.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities

Leadership / teamwork / collaboration

• Build and maintain good working relationships with colleagues and partners and provide input and advice.
• Support Programme Managers and Senior Leadership Teams to effectively manage their programmes through the provision of timely, accurate and complete financial information, advice, and constructive challenge.
• To deputise for the Senior Finance Business Partner on a range of issues, if and when required.
• Understand the linkages and dependencies across UKRI Councils and UKRI's sponsor department, working collaboratively with Finance Business Partners and colleagues across UKRI to identify opportunities for improvement, transformation and efficiency within Finance. Support the strengthening of internal controls, financial reporting and analysis, and the effective management of programmes, while promoting a culture of collaboration and teamwork.
• Perform a range of reporting and control functions, positioning Finance to work with the business and link budgets to delivery plans and business cases.
• Communicate the importance of Finance to partners at all levels, and use strong business awareness to present insightful information and analysis to support effective longer-term decision making and deliver outcomes in line with Innovate UK and UKRI priorities.
• Manage annual and multi-year budget setting and forecasting cycles.
• Ensure compliance with internal financial, DSIT and HMG controls within assigned business areas.
• Manage applications for additional budget cover.

This is not an exhaustive list and you might be encouraged to undertake any other duties across the wider directorate, commensurate with the Band and level of responsibility of this post, for which the post holder has the key experience and/or training.

Shortlisting criteria

(S) – Assessed at shortlisting

(I) – Assessed at interview

(S&I) – Assessed at both shortlisting and interview

Person Specification

Experience & Qualifications

• Qualified Accountant (ACA/CIMA/ACCA/CIPFA), actively working or willing to work towards

qualification, or equivalent experience (QBE) (S).

• Strong understanding of accounting and finance and demonstrable experience of working in a similar role (S).
• Very good IT skills, including good knowledge of Microsoft Office, in particular Excel (S).
• Experience of financial modelling & controls (S&I).
• Demonstrable experience of month and year-end processes - accruals and prepayment calculations, variance analyses etc (S&I).
• Demonstrable experience of working as part of a wider-business, consulting with senior stakeholders, utilising an in-depth understanding of business priorities and effectively working with partners to meet organisational and financial objectives (S&I).
• Experience in provision of high quality written and oral advice suitable for senior level decision makers (I).
• Proven experience in the preparation of complex budgets, forecasts and financial plans (I).
• Understanding of the role of governance, risk management and assurance in project delivery (I).

Skills & abilities

• Ability to build relationships with senior partners and influence them with impact and professional credibility
• Strong experience of developing effective working partnerships and offering challenges where necessary to senior decision-making groups
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Personal resilience and a confident approach, willing to apply good judgement to solve issues and find solutions independently.
• Highly developed team working skills, able to form effective working relationships quickly
• Ability to respond calmly under pressure and to make impartial and well-considered judgments in complex situations
• Good organisational skills, able to manage and prioritise own and others’ workloads and meet deadlines in a very timely manner

All team members demonstrate compatibility with and capability against our Core Competencies such as:

Thinking and Problem Solving – Stakeholder management – Communication skills – Influencing – Self-awareness/self-management – Strategic awareness – Working with others– Project management

Some of the above competencies will be assessed at interview stage, in addition to the criteria’s listed in the person specification.

Travel Requirements

Swindon-based: There may be the occasional requirement for national travel.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Innovate UK is a diverse workforce of people. We believe that encouraging these differences and drawing the best from them will build a productive environment in which everyone feels valued, where talents are fully utilised and in which organisational goals are met. Underpinning this is a belief that it is a fundamental right for everyone to be treated equally, with fairness, respect and dignity. We will act directly and use our influence to ensure that this right is promoted and upheld; we encourage applications from all those who meet the criteria set-out in our role profiles.

We are an equal opportunities employer, committed to employing any person who meets the criteria for our roles. When undertaking recruitment we may require applicants to undertake certain tests or assessments, some of which may be online and others may be in-person. If you have a disability, heath condition or specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia then you may be entitled to support with undertaking this type of assessment exercise. Where you feel that reasonable adjustments are required to support you, we ask that you advise your recruitment point of contact in a timely fashion, providing further information. In confidence, Innovate UK will then review your application for adjustments and provide support as required.

UK Research and Innovation

Employee Benefits

We offer a benefits package crafted to provide an excellent work/life balance. This includes 30 days’ annual leave, public and privilege days, flexible working hours, an exceptional defined benefit pension scheme, and access to a variety of support networks and discount schemes.

Benefits of working at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

Flexible Working

We understand the importance of work-life balance, and are happy to discuss the possibility of flexible working with applicants.

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be rejected and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

Pre-employment Screening

To enable us to hire the very best people we will conduct a comprehensive pre-employment check on successful applicants as part of the recruitment process.

The role holder will be required to have the appropriate level of security screening/vetting required for the role. UKRI reserves the right to run or re-run security clearance as required during the course of employment.

UKRI supports research in areas that include animal health, agriculture and food security, and bioscience for health which includes research on animals, genetic modification and stem cell research. Whilst you may not have direct involvement in this type of research, you should consider how this aligns with your personal values or beliefs. To enable us to hire the very best people we will conduct a full and comprehensive pre-employment check as a crucial part of the recruitment process on all individuals that are offered a position with UKRI. This will include a security check and an extreme organisations affiliation check.