Head of FP&A and Commercial Finance

LSL Property Services plc; Kettering; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading property services firm in Kettering is seeking a strategic finance business partner to support senior leaders and drive performance reporting and analysis. Candidates should have a strong background in FP&A, excellent communication skills, and experience with tools like Power BI. This role requires a qualified accountant who can influence business decisions through robust financial analysis. A commitment to accuracy and high-quality work is essential.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in FP&A and Commercial Finance.
• Expertise in tender support and pricing.
• Ability to communicate insights to non-finance audiences.

Responsibilities

• Lead performance reporting and scenario modelling.
• Create investment appraisals and business cases.
• Act as the strategic finance business partner.

Skills

Qualified Accountant (CIMA, ACCA, ACA)

Strong commercial acumen

Excellent communication and presentation skills

Financial modelling and scenario planning skills

Skilled in designing KPIs

Education

Experience in FP&A and Commercial Finance

Experience in large, corporate organisations

Tools

Power BI

Excel

Job description

UK-Kettering

UK-Kettering

About Us

e.surv Chartered Surveyors and Walker Fraser Steele are the UK's leading residential surveying brands, delivering property risk expertise and residential surveying services for over 35 years. Trusted by high street mortgage lenders, building societies, national landlords, and equity release brands, we complete a property inspection every 12 seconds across the UK and Northern Ireland.

Role Purpose

As a strategic finance business partner to the Finance Director, Managing Director, and Senior Management Team, you will ensure all business decisions are supported by thorough internal, competitor, and market analysis.

Key responsibilities include

• Performance Reporting Develop best-in-class business, market, and competitor performance reporting, including KPIs on revenue, productivity, and operational excellence, with actionable insights.
• Scenario Modelling Conduct market assumption modelling, competitor positioning, strategic initiatives, product and market entry/exit, and M&A to forecast business performance and support strategic planning.
• Investment Appraisal Create investment appraisals and business cases for evaluation by the Investment Committee and LSL Group management.
• Commercial Tenders Ensure tenders include top-quality revenue, profit, and efficiency metrics for pricing submissions.
• Planning Cycle Lead the planning cycle, including three-year plans, budgets, and forecasts, ensuring robust and clearly articulated plans with comprehensive commentary.
• Operational Planning Translate business performance and future trends into effective operational plans, optimising surveyor capacity.
  
  
  

Reporting

• Design and deliver daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly business performance reports with full KPIs and insights.
• Meet all LSL Group FP&A reporting needs, including QBR, monthly FDs calls, and performance reviews with the CEO/CFO.
• Partner with the Head of Financial Accounting and Control to review business performance against budget/forecast.
• Implement a balanced scorecard approach to business performance, providing insights across financial, customer, product, and internal processes.
• Manage the FP&A Operations Manager to ensure visibility of operating costs and identify efficiency opportunities.
• Collaborate with the Head of Finance Change, Technology, and MI to drive MI/BI solutions with dynamic, self-serve reporting and dashboards.
  
  
  

Business Partnering and Strategic Optimisation

• Act as the strategic finance business partner to the FD/MD, ensuring FP&A managers deliver top-notch business partnering and decision support.
• Lead discussions to drive business performance optimisation.
• Ensure all business decisions are supported by strategic, commercial, and financial analysis.
• Provide dynamic modelling for commercial tenders and support price and product positioning.
• Maintain an external market perspective, modelling market, customer, and competitor trends for SMT consideration.
• Deliver scenario planning outputs to support strategic planning.
• Evaluate potential business strategies, including market entry and exit, for strategic fit and ROI.
• Prepare robust investment appraisals and business cases for the Group investment committee.
• Support new business initiatives, ensuring alignment with business cases and identifying necessary amendments.
  
  
  

Team & Group Liaison

• Build and lead a high-performing FP&A team with the skills and tools to excel.
• Liaise effectively with Group and Divisional FP&A, fostering a community of practice.
• Promote continuous improvement, automating and enhancing processes and technology solutions in collaboration with the Head of Finance Change.
  
  
  

Knowledge, Expertise, And Qualifications

• Qualified Accountant (CIMA, ACCA, ACA) with extensive experience in FP&A and Commercial Finance.
• Strong commercial acumen and strategic mindset, with the ability to influence business direction.
• Proven track record in creating and presenting robust plans, budgets, and forecasts to senior leadership.
• Experienced strategic finance business partner with significant experience supporting senior leaders.
• Expertise in tender support, pricing, and new product propositions.
• Skilled in designing KPIs, scorecards, and business performance metrics with meaningful insights.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Proficient in technology tools (Power BI, planning tools, presentation software, Excel).
• Strong financial modelling and scenario planning skills.
• Ability to identify trends and communicate insights to non-finance audiences.
• Commitment to high-quality work and accuracy.
• Strong team player with excellent relationship-building skills.
• Experienced in developing and leading FP&A teams.
  
  
  

Desirable

• Experience in large, corporate organisations with matrix reporting.
• Professional services industry experience.
• Experience with tenders, pricing, and product propositions.
  
  
  

Apply

If you feel you match our requirements and are looking for your next career chapter, or for a confidential discussion on the full details of this role please contact Matthew Siddons; alternatively apply with your CV and covering letter for a quick response.

We're part of the LSL Property Services Group PLC, which includes household names Your Move and Reeds Rains as well as the mortgage network PRIMIS. LSL Property Services are dedicated to protecting your data - our Recruitment Private notice can be viewed HERE.

PRE EMPLOYMENT SCREENING - All of our employees have to pass a Criminal Records Disclosure and Credit Referencing Process in order to work with our lender clients, if you are unsure on this, ask the team and we'll be happy to explain the process.