Head of Group FP&A

Ambition; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid pattern - 3 days in the office

Job summary

Ambition is partnered with a leading global professional services firm to appoint a Head of Group FP&A. This senior finance role will shape and influence performance across a complex global business, reporting to the finance leadership team and partnering with ExCo.

You will own budgeting, forecasting, long-range planning and strategic initiatives, delivering insightful analyses, robust business cases and KPI dashboards to drive profitability and efficiency.

Qualifications

• Qualified accountant with ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent.
• Significant FP&A, commercial finance or business partnering leadership in a large, global professional services environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Group FP&A function and develop the team with a culture of continuous improvement and commercial awareness.
• Own budgeting, quarterly forecasting and long-range planning across the business.
• Provide financial analysis and decision support to ExCo and senior leadership.
• Deliver high-quality MI, dashboards and commentary on results, risks and opportunities.
• Develop financial models and scenario analyses for strategic decisions and investments.

Skills

Leadership

Financial analysis

Stakeholder mgmt

Budgeting & forecasting

Strategic planning

ExCo partnering

Education

ACA/ACCA/CIMA qualification

Job description

We have partnered with one of our large global law firm clients to appoint a Head of Group FP&A. This is a high-profile leadership opportunity for an experienced finance professional looking to shape and influence business performance across a complex global business.

Working as part of the senior finance leadership team, you'll lead the FP&A function, providing strategic insight, commercial challenge, and decision support to senior stakeholders across the organisation. The role combines ownership of core planning cycles, including budgeting, forecasting and long-term investment planning, with involvement in strategic initiatives, business transformation projects, and executive-level decision making.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the Group FP&A function, managing and developing a team of finance professionals while fostering a culture of continuous improvement, accountability, and commercial awareness.
• Own and drive the annual budgeting, quarterly forecasting, and long-range strategic planning processes across the business, ensuring alignment between financial targets and wider organisational objectives.
• Partner closely with ExCo and senior leadership teams to provide insightful financial analysis, strategic recommendations, and robust decision support on key business initiatives.
• Deliver high-quality management information, dashboards, and performance reporting, providing clear commentary on financial results, trends, risks, opportunities, and key business drivers.
• Develop sophisticated financial models and scenario analyses to support strategic decision-making, investment appraisals, growth initiatives, business cases, and resource allocation decisions.
• Challenge and influence stakeholders across the organisation, acting as a trusted business partner to improve financial performance, profitability, and operational efficiency.
• Lead the consolidation of financial plans and forecasts across multiple business units, ensuring consistency, accuracy, and transparency of reporting.
• Work closely with Finance, HR, Operations, and Business Leadership teams to understand headcount, productivity, utilisation, and profitability drivers across the organisation.
• Support the evaluation of new business opportunities, strategic projects, acquisitions, integrations, and transformation initiatives through detailed commercial and financial analysis.
• Drive continual enhancement of FP&A processes, reporting capabilities, planning methodologies, and systems to improve the quality and efficiency of financial insight.
• Develop and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs), ensuring the business has meaningful measures in place to track progress against strategic and financial objectives.
• Present financial performance, forecasts, and strategic recommendations to senior leadership and executive committees, translating complex financial data into clear and actionable insights.
• Play a key role in shaping the organisation's financial strategy, helping to identify risks, opportunities, and areas for investment to support sustainable long-term growth.

About You

• Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent).
• Must have a significant background working in a large, complex global professional services environment, law firm background preferred but wider professional services will also be considered
• Significant post-qualification experience within FP&A, commercial finance or business partnering leadership roles.
• Strong commercial acumen and the ability to influence senior stakeholders.
• Experience operating within a large, complex, international organisation.
• Professional services experience is highly desirable, with legal sector experience advantageous.
• Passion for developing teams, improving processes and driving business performance.

The Opportunity

This is a rare opportunity to join a highly respected global organisation in a strategically important leadership role, offering significant exposure to senior decision makers and the opportunity to influence the direction of the business while building and leading a best-in-class FP&A function

Additional:

• Hybrid pattern - 3 days in the office

If this job isn't quite right for you, but you know someone who would be great at this role, why not take advantage of our referral scheme? We offer £200 in shopping vouchers for every referred candidate who we place in a role. Terms & Conditions Apply. https://www.ambition.co.uk/refer-a-friend