Finance Business Partner

Athwal Resourcing Limited; West Midlands; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Car allowance

Home-based work

Flexible working

Autonomy

Job summary

Athwal Resourcing Limited is recruiting an experienced Finance Manager to act as a true finance business partner to Operations. You’ll influence decision-making, shape reporting, and build processes to support rapid growth as the group expands through acquisition.

Reporting to the Finance Director, you’ll work with the Operations Director and travel to sites across the UK to understand challenges and drive performance with credible data and strategic insight.

Qualifications

• Qualified accountant (ACA/ACCA/CIMA) or equivalent by experience.
• Experience in logistics, distribution or foodservice.
• Strong Excel and financial modelling skills with high accuracy.
• Commercial mindset with ability to challenge senior operations.
• Willingness to travel to sites across the UK.

Responsibilities

• Partner the Operations Director and senior ops team to drive performance.
• Own weekly and monthly operational reporting, KPIs and variance analysis.
• Contribute to rolling forecasts, reforecasts and annual budget.
• Build business cases for fleet, site and equipment investment.
• Create margin models for new business quotes and reviews.
• Support integration of acquired sites and new onboarding.
• Engage in commercial reviews and cross-functional projects.

Skills

Excel

Financial modelling

Power BI

Commercial awareness

Travel ability

Education

ACA/ACCA/CIMA

Tools

Power BI

Job description

Are you a commercially minded finance partner who enjoys influencing decisions rather than simply reporting numbers?

The Opportunity

Athwal Resourcing is delighted to be supporting a national foodservice and distribution group to recruit an experienced Finance Manager to join its team as a true finance business partner supporting Operations. The business is part of a wider group turning over c.£300 million and growing fast through acquisition.

This is a genuinely pivotal moment to join. The business is growing rapidly through acquisition and investing heavily in systems, people and infrastructure to support its next phase of growth. This isn’t about maintaining an established finance business partnering function. It’s about helping to build one. You’ll have the opportunity to shape reporting, influence decision-making and create processes that will support the business for years to come.

Reporting to the Finance Director, you’ll work alongside the Operations Director as their trusted finance partner, providing insight, challenge and commercial support across the national operation.

You’ll spend time with the people behind the numbers, visiting sites, understanding operational challenges and building trusted relationships that help improve performance.

The customer base is broad and resilient, giving real stability alongside the pace of change.

This is an operational finance role with significant visibility and influence from day one.

The Role

As Finance Business Partner your key responsibilities include:

• Business Partnering: Partner the Operations Director and senior operational team, providing insight, support and constructive challenge that drives performance across multiple distribution sites.
• Performance Reporting: Own weekly and monthly operational reporting, KPIs, variance analysis and commentary. Take the numbers produced by the Management Accounts team down to site level for challenge and insight.
• Budgeting & Forecasting: Contribute to rolling forecasts, quarterly reforecasts and the annual budget, working closely with operational teams using key operational metrics.
• Capital & Business Cases: Build business cases within a capital approval process, covering fleet, site and equipment investment from the ground up.
• New Business & Margin: Build a proper margin and standard cost model for new business quotes.
• Commercial Review: Getting involved in commercial customer reviews.
• Change & Integration: Support the integration of newly acquired and newly onboarded sites, helping build a repeatable approach as the business scales through acquisition.

About You

You’ll be a qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA or CIMA), or exceptionally qualified by experience with the right background. This should be gained in logistics, distribution or foodservice, ideally within a fast-paced FMCG or parcels-sector environment.

You’ll enjoy operating close to the operational front line and be confident challenging experienced, long-serving operators, earning trust through data and credibility rather than job title.

You’ll also bring:

• Experience gained in a closed-book operational environment;
• A track record of building business cases;
• Strong Excel and financial modelling skills (Power BI desirable), and a high level of accuracy and attention to detail;
• A high level of commercial awareness and genuine comfort with fast-paced change;
• Good problem-solving skills and a genuine desire to simplify, not just report on, how things are done;
• The ability to travel to the sites and work independently, wherever in the UK you’re based.

Why Apply?

It’s an opportunity to join a fast-growing, values-led business at a genuinely pivotal point in its growth, where your contribution will be immediately visible and where you’ll have real influence.

• A competitive salary of £55,000 - £65,000 plus car allowance + Benefits.
• Home-based, flexible working, with autonomy over how you manage your time on the road.
• A national role, spending real time on site with the people running the operation rather than sitting behind a desk in Head Office;
• Autonomy to shape how the finance-operations relationship works, rather than following an existing playbook;
• A seat at the table with senior operational leadership and direct exposure to the people making the decisions;
• A standalone role today, with genuine scope for growth. Both the role and the wider finance team will scale as the business continues to grow through acquisition;