Finance Manager – FP&A & Business Partner (Media)

The Spectator; Greater London; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension 5%

Private medical insurance

Staff discounts at restaurant

Free breakfast

Cycle to work

Season ticket loan

Job summary

OQS Media, owner of The Spectator, seeks a qualified FP&A professional to lead FP&A activities and act as a finance business partner across the group.

You will develop financial models, drive budgeting and forecasting, analyse performance, and support group-wide projects including AI initiatives. The role is office-based five days a week with potential to work from home on Fridays in the future.

Qualifications

• Qualified Accountant (ACA/CIMA/ACCA or equivalent).
• 3–5 years' post-qualified experience in a relevant Finance / Audit environment.
• Demonstrable experience of FP&A, including budgeting, forecasting and variance analysis.
• Ability to communicate financial information clearly to non-Finance stakeholders.
• End to end month end reporting including balance sheet reconciliation.
• Ability to work independently and take ownership of areas of responsibility with limited supervision.
• Strong commercial awareness and ability to understand the financial implications of business decisions.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong Excel/financial modelling skills.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to accuracy.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and work to deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Lead FP&A activities for designated areas of the business.
• Analyse actual performance against budget and prior periods, identifying key trends, risks and opportunities.
• Provide meaningful financial commentary to support business decision-making.
• Assist in developing financial models to assess strategic and operational decisions including scenario analysis.
• Identify potential areas of financial risk and work with stakeholders to develop appropriate actions.
• Support the annual budgeting process and the production of forecasts including cash flow.
• Act as a Finance business partner to designated departments across the business.
• Build effective working relationships with department heads.
• Provide regular financial reporting and insight to non-Finance stakeholders.
• Challenge assumptions and expenditure where appropriate and support department heads to identify opportunities to improve financial performance while managing costs.
• Develop a strong understanding of the operational drivers of the areas supported.
• Work with the Commercial team to ensure timely debt collection.
• Take ownership of monthly reporting for designated areas of the business including balance sheet reconciliations.
• Ensure that financial information is accurate, timely and clearly presented.
• Investigate significant variances, provide clear explanations and make recommendations.
• Support the preparation of Group and management reporting.
• Raise invoices to Commercial advertisers and reconcile the Commercial billing system (AdPoint) with the accounting system (Xero).
• Provide regular updates and reports on aged debts and proactively chase overdue invoices.
• Be the first point of contact during the audit for designated areas.
• Take ownership of defined financial processes and ensure they operate effectively.
• Support the Financial Controller in implementing financial processes and systems.
• Identify opportunities to improve financial processes, controls and reporting.
• Work with other Finance team members to ensure alignment of financial processes and controls across the group.
• Support the Financial Controller, Senior Finance Manager and CFO with ad hoc financial projects, in particular AI implementation.
• Assist with Group-wide financial projects and initiatives.

Skills

Financial modelling

Excel proficiency

Analytical thinking

Communication with stakeholders

Month-end reporting

Education

ACA/CIMA/ACCA or equivalent

Tools

Xero

AdPoint

Job description

OQS Media, owner of The Spectator, seeks a qualified FP&A professional to lead FP&A activities and act as a finance business partner across the group.

You will develop financial models, drive budgeting and forecasting, analyse performance, and support group-wide projects including AI initiatives. The role is office-based five days a week with potential to work from home on Fridays in the future.