Finance Business Partner

UK Research and Innovation; Swindon; Hybrid; GBP 47,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent research organization based in Swindon is seeking a qualified accountant to provide financial expertise and business partnering. The role involves supporting senior leadership and managing budgets to ensure alignment with organizational priorities. Ideal candidates will have strong accounting knowledge and excellent communication skills, with a focus on developing stakeholder relationships. This full-time position offers hybrid working options and an attractive benefits package including pension and annual leave.

Benefits

Outstanding defined benefit pension scheme

30 days' annual leave plus public holidays

Employee discounts on retail and leisure

Employee assistance programme

Flexible working options

Qualifications

• Actively working towards qualification or equivalent experience.
• Demonstrable experience of working in a similar role.
• Able to prepare complex budgets, forecasts, and financial plans.

Responsibilities

• Provide dedicated finance expertise and insight to stakeholders.
• Manage annual and multi-year budget setting and forecasting cycles.
• Deputise for the Senior Finance Business Partner when required.

Skills

Qualified Accountant (ACA/CIMA/ACCA/CIPFA)

Strong understanding of accounting and finance

Very good IT skills, including Microsoft Office

Experience in financial modelling & controls

Experience of month and year-end processes

Ability to build relationships with senior partners

Excellent written and oral communication skills

Education

Qualified Accountant

Tools

Microsoft Office (Excel)

Job description

UK Research & Innovation

Salary: £46,743 per annum

Band: UKRI Band E

Contract Type: Open ended

Hours: Full-time (flexible working available)

Location: Polaris House, Swindon, Wiltshire – Minimum 2 days per week in the office (Hybrid working available)

Closing Date: 4th January 2026

About the role

Provide dedicated finance expertise, insight and business partnering to AHRC and ESRC, working closely with stakeholders to add financial awareness to decision making, and deliver outcomes that are in line with Council and UKRI Core priorities and Managed Programmes.

Your responsibilities

• Leadership / teamwork / collaboration
• Build & maintain good working relationships with colleagues & 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.
• Understand the linkages and dependencies between the different Councils within UKRI by actively working with other Finance Business Partners and colleagues across UKRI to seek opportunities for improvement, change and efficiency within Finance, strengthening internal controls, financial analysis, and effective management of programmes and promoting a culture of teamwork.
• Deputise for the Senior Finance Business Partner on a range of issues, if and when required.

Role deliverables

• 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 Council/UKRI priorities.
• Manage annual and multi-year budget setting and forecasting cycles.
• Develop the finance case within business cases.
• Manage applications for additional budget cover.
• Ensure compliance with internal financial, BEIS and HMG controls within assigned business areas.

Personal Specification

The below criteria will be scored during Shortlisting (S), Interview (I) or both (S&I).

Essential

• Qualified Accountant (ACA/CIMA/ACCA/CIPFA), actively working towards qualification, or equivalent experience (QBE) (S).

Experience & knowledge

• 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.
• Line management and leadership skills.
• 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.

Benefits

We recognise and value our employees as individuals and aim to provide a favourable pay and rewards package. We are committed to supporting employees' development and promote a culture of continuous learning!

A list of benefits below:

• An outstanding defined benefit pension scheme.
• 30 days' annual leave in addition to 10.5 public and privilege days (full time equivalent).
• Employee discounts and offers on retail and leisure activities.
• Employee assistance programme, providing confidential help and advice.
• Flexible working options.

Plus, many more benefits and wellbeing initiatives that enable our employees to have a great work life balance!

For further information on our benefits please see: Benefits of working at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

Please apply online, if you experience any issue applying, please contact [e-mail].

Please note, if you will require sponsorship to work in the UK, as part of your sponsorship application, you and any dependants travelling with you, will be required to pay costs directly to The Home Office for the application before you start your role with us. UKRI is normally able to reimburse some, or all of these fees after you have become an employee and this can be discussed with the Hiring Manager. For more information, please visit https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/how-much-it-costs or contact [e-mail].