Interim Head of FP&A

Consult; England; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

We Do Group is seeking an interim Head of FP&A to own the budgeting and planning cycle from first cut to final plan. Based in Surrey, this 3-month assignment will bridge the gap before the permanent hire joins in December while overlapping with the incumbent to learn the models and the business.

You will own the budgeting and strategic planning process, lead the annual plan, manage risks and opportunities, and deliver a robust forecast with one analyst reporting to you.

Qualifications

• Strong FP&A experience owning budgeting, forecasting and planning end-to-end.
• Excellent Excel skills with credible models from diverse data.
• Robust and adaptable; comfortable juggling last-minute requests while detailing numbers.

Responsibilities

• Take a two-week handover from the outgoing Head of FP&A.
• Own the annual budget process from submission through sign-off.
• Lead the strategic planning cycle and medium-term plan.
• Manage the risks and opportunities process and quantify impacts.
• Build and improve forecast models from inconsistent data to land reliable numbers.
• Produce the monthly performance review pack and variance analysis.

Skills

FP&A leadership

Budgeting

Forecasting

Excel modelling

Tools

Excel

Job description

SURREY - 3 DAYS OFFICE / 2 DAYS FROM HOME - 3-MONTH INTERIM - OWN THE BUDGET AND PLANNING CYCLE THROUGH A KEY HANDOVER

Are you an interim FP&A lead who enjoys owning a budget cycle from first cut to final plan? Can you build forecasts people trust when the data is inconsistent and the requests keep changing?

We Do Group are supporting a multi-site food manufacturing and retail business, recruiting an interim Head of FP&A. The current Head of FP&A leaves at the end of October and the permanent successor joins in December. You'll bridge that gap, overlapping with the incumbent for a couple of weeks to learn the models and the business, then running budgeting and strategic planning through to year end.

The 9+3 forecast is done and the first cut of the budget is due at the end of October - that's when the debate between the top-down ask and the bottom-up view begins... you'll own that process. Once the permanent hire arrives, you'll stay on and work alongside them through year end and the final plan.

The data and systems are a work in progress and there's no single source of truth, so a lot of the job is pulling inconsistent data together in Excel and turning it into proper insight. Requests don't always follow a set rhythm either. You'll have one analyst reporting to you, so this suits an experienced FP&A lead who's happy to be in the models themselves and wants to own the numbers.

WISH LIST

• Strong FP&A experience owning budgeting, forecasting and planning end-to-end
• Excellent Excel skills, with the ability to build credible models from data that sits in several places and doesn't always agree
• Robust and adaptable, comfortable juggling competing and last-minute requests while getting stuck into the detail yourself

THE ROLE

• Take a two-week handover from the outgoing Head of FP&A, getting to grips with the models, files and business drivers
• Own the annual budget process from the first submission through challenge, rework and final sign-off
• Lead the strategic planning cycle and the medium-term plan
• Manage the risks and opportunities process, quantifying and tracking both
• Build and improve forecast models, working through inconsistent data to land numbers that hold up
• Produce the monthly performance review pack
• Deliver variance analysis and commentary, linking the forecast back to actuals
• Work with the Financial Controller and accounting team so the forecast is built on a proper understanding of the actuals
• Partner with budget holders across retail, operations, supply chain and marketing, gathering inputs and challenging assumptions
• Lead and develop one FP&A Analyst
• Hand over to the permanent Head of FP&A in December, then work alongside them through year end

YOUR PROFILE

• Advanced MS Excel
• Manufacturing experience advantageous, not essential
• Available to start by Monday 12th October

SALARY & BENEFITS

• 3 days in the office (Surrey), 2 from home
• Around 3 months, starting Monday 12th October and running through year end

Required Skills

fpa budgeting forecasting financial modelling excel planning