Finance Business Partner Bexley17*

i-Jobs; England; On-site; GBP 63,011; Full time

Job summary

A financial consultancy in the UK is seeking a Finance Business Partner to provide crucial financial and commercial support across transformation initiatives. The successful candidate will be responsible for developing and challenging business cases, constructing robust financial models, and presenting financial information to diverse stakeholders. Strong experience in local government finance, analytical skills, and advanced proficiency in Excel or similar tools are essential for this role. The position offers a pay rate of £45.74 per hour with a contract duration of over 6 months.

Qualifications

• CCAB qualified accountant (or equivalent) or significant senior finance/commercial experience.
• Evidence of continuing professional development.
• Proven experience developing and challenging business cases and financial models.

Responsibilities

• Provide proactive financial and commercial support across transformation.
• Act as finance lead for option appraisals and decisions.
• Develop and challenge business cases and financial appraisals.

Skills

CCAB qualified accountant or equivalent

Strong knowledge of local government finance

Advanced analytical skills

Hands-on modelling and reporting skills (advanced Excel)

Strong communication and influencing skills

Tools

Power BI or similar tools

Job description

Finance Business Partner

Location: Civic Offices, 2 Watling Street, Bexleyheath, DA6 7AT

Start Date: ASAP

Contract Duration: 6+ Months

Working Hours: Mon - Fri, 09:00 - 17:00, 36 hours per week

Pay Rate: £ 45.74 Per Hour

Job Ref: OR21651

Job Responsibilities

• Provide proactive financial and commercial support across the Council's transformation programme.
• Act as finance lead for option appraisals and commercial decisions, ensuring proposals are affordable, deliverable, and aligned with Council strategy.
• Translate service changes into quantified financial impacts, including revenue, capital, recurring, one-off, cashable, and non-cashable effects.
• Develop, review, and challenge business cases, financial appraisals, and investment proposals.
• Conduct cost‑benefit analysis, scenario testing, sensitivity analysis, and break‑even modelling.
• Analyse pricing, fees and charges, income projections, demand assumptions, and risk.
• Build and maintain robust financial models highlighting costs, savings, income, assumptions, and risks.
• Produce timely, accurate reporting on programme costs, savings, and benefits, including variance analysis and forecast outturn.
• Design and maintain processes to capture, reconcile, and evidence delivery costs, savings, and benefits realisation.
• Extract, validate, and analyse complex financial and non-financial data from multiple sources.
• Identify trends, drivers, and insights to inform commercial and financial decisions.
• Build strong stakeholder relationships across transformation, service, and corporate teams; act as a credible, constructive advisor.
• Present complex financial information clearly to non-finance audiences.
• Ensure financial models, reports, and processes meet internal control, audit, and governance standards.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of financial processes and data quality.

Person Specification

Must-Have Requirements

• CCAB qualified accountant (or equivalent) or significant senior finance/commercial experience.
• Evidence of continuing professional development.
• Strong knowledge of local government finance, including budgeting, forecasting, MTFS, and public sector constraints.
• Proven experience developing and challenging business cases and financial models.
• Commercial acumen, including evaluation of income generation, pricing, commercial models, and contracts.
• Advanced analytical skills with the ability to interpret complex datasets.
• Hands‑on modelling and reporting skills (advanced Excel; experience with Power BI or similar tools desirable).
• Strong communication and influencing skills; able to explain finance to non-finance colleagues and challenge assumptions constructively.
• Ability to find, cleanse, reconcile, and combine data from disconnected or inconsistent sources.
• Experience working independently and delivering high‑quality outputs to deadlines.

Nice-to-Have Requirements

• Experience supporting transformation programmes (cost reduction, service redesign, operating model change, digital transformation).
• Experience in commercial projects such as fees and charges reviews, traded services, or income optimisation.
• Experience presenting finance content in governance reports (boards, committees, cabinet‑style).
• Familiarity with local authority finance systems and data environments (ERP, general ledger, purchasing/AP, HR/payroll, contract registers).