Finance Business Partner - Water

Southern Water group; Worthing; On-site; GBP 39,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Southern Water in the United Kingdom is seeking a Finance Business Partner (Water) to support and advise the water business unit. The role is hybrid (2 days per week) with locations in Durrington or Falmer, and a permanent contract.

Salary up to £65,000 depending on skills and experience. You will perform complex financial analyses, build stakeholder relationships, and drive performance and value across the business while working autonomously and with senior management.

Qualifications

• Strong business acumen and excellent communication and presentation skills for credibility with senior management.
• Integrity, organisational and analytical skills.
• Ability to cope with challenging projects, high pressure, short timings and full autonomy.

Responsibilities

• Perform complex financial analyses including trend analysis and financial modelling to provide cost visibility.
• Report on KPIs to drive cost reductions and identify risks and improvement opportunities.
• Collect budget, quarterly and midyear forecasts and other financial information.
• Advise on key business planning assumptions, trade-offs and opportunities.
• Provide sign off and approval on annual plans and forecasts.
• Lead the monthly financial business review process and prepare presentations with recommendations to senior management.

Skills

Business acumen

Communication skills

Stakeholder management

Analytical skills

Autonomy

Leadership

Education

Fully qualified (or final stages)

Job description

Closing Date 2026-09-11

Job Title: Finance Business Partner (Water)

Location: Durrington (West Sussex) or Falmer (East Sussex) -Hybrid (2 days p/w)

Contract Type: Permanent

Hours: 37, Monday to Friday

Salary: up to £65,000, depending on skills and experience

There has never been a more important time to join Southern Water. As we move through AMP8, we are delivering one of the most ambitious capital investment programmes in the industry, focused on improving environmental performance, service resilience and long-term affordability for customers.

About the role

As Finance Business Partner you will work alongside our water business, supporting and advising on their strategic and operational decision making through value adding insights that drive better business performance. You will perform complex financial analysis to interpret, explain and drive performance within this business unit. You will need to build strong stakeholder relationships and be confident in driving business insight and adding value to the business. You will be both self-sufficient and able to work autonomously.

What you will be responsible for

• Perform complex financial analyses including trend analysis and financial modelling, providing cost visibility and ownership.
• Report on key performance indicators to drive cost reductions across the business, thereby identifying risks, errors, problems and improvement opportunities.
• Collect budget, quarterly and midyear forecasts and other financial information.
• Advice on key business planning assumptions, trade-offs and opportunities.
• Provide sign off and approval on annual plans and forecasts.
• Lead the financial monthly business review process and prepare presentations with recommendations to senior management and corporate office.
• Use the services of Corporate, provide financial governance and management of change initiatives.
• Provide budget assistance to multiple projects or large programs; assess circumstances and recommend appropriate course of action.
• Develop financial controls and forecasting techniques to evaluate contract/program status and ensure compliance with government and customer requirements.
• Forecast accurate and timely cash flow projections, sales projections, budget projections, and expense projections to ensure that business needs are met.

What you’ll bring to the role

• Able to demonstrate strong business acumen and excellent communication and presentation skills to ensure credibility with senior management.
• You will have strong integrity, organisational and analytical skills.
• You will be an overachiever, used to coping with challenging projects, adapting to changing environment, under high pressure, short timings and in full autonomy.
• Proven ability to work with the business to understand and interpret the practical business implications of financial data and the ability to drive change and build vision based on this.
• Able to demonstrate strong leadership skills, in particular: (i) relationship-building, (ii) ability to influence, and (iii) judgement.

Be fully qualified (or at final stages) Southern Water is at the forefront of transforming Britain’s water industry, investing significantly to enhance resilience, sustainability, and service excellence. With £7.8bn planned investment for 2025-30, this is an unparalleled opportunity to join a business committed to delivering a generational shift in the way water services are managed. You will be joining at a time of significant change, working alongside a highly skilled leadership team with a clear vision for the future. We offer an environment where senior professionals can make a meaningful impact, influence major strategic decisions, and drive long-term value creation.

At Southern Water, we believe diverse perspectives drive innovation. If you’re passionate about making a positive impact and think you can bring value to our team, we’d love to hear from you—even if you don’t tick every box. Your unique skills and experiences could be exactly what we need.

Our Commitment to Diversity

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, identities, and experiences.

We do not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, or any other protected characteristic.

If you need reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know.

Additional information

In line with Southern Water’s security requirements, successful candidates will be required to provide evidence of their identity, eligibility to work in the UK, criminal record check (DBS) and verification of their employment and/or education history for the past three years. Appointment to this role is subject to the successful completion of all preemployment checks, including security vetting. Please note that if a candidate does not meet the required security standards or fails to pass the vetting process, Southern Water reserves the right to withdraw the offer of employment. Some positions may also require higher levels of security vetting, which may involve providing additional documentation.

Our purpose is big. Our impact is huge. And we know that every single one of us has the power, through our actions, to positively change society and the environment for good. It’s why careers with us have real meaning. Because, if you’re driven and ambitious, we can offer you huge opportunities for personal growth, professional development and constant innovation. Forever evolving. Forever focused on doing the right thing, we empower and encourage everyone to play to their strengths and to help us shape a fair and positive future for all. We believe in Water for Life. If you do too, Dive Right In. Our customers are at the heart of everything we do, because delivering water for life is our core purpose. To achieve this, we need 24/7 support in place to resolve incidents quickly and efficiently. All our employees understand the importance of out-of-hours incident support – because when problems appear, fixing them is our top priority. That’s why our people join together and support when and however needed to make sure our customers get the service they deserve. Joining the Southern Water family means you’ll become part of our incident support team. During your interview, your manager will speak to you about any incident support rotas that apply to your position. Does this opportunity excite you but you’re not 100% sure if you meet all the requirements for the role? Or are you concerned that ‘normal’ office hours aren’t possible given your personal circumstances? Whilst we can’t accommodate every flexible working request, we’ll try to find a practical solution. So why not engage with us and find out more about this role?