Lead Finance Business Partner

HFG; City Of London; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A global financial services organisation is seeking a Lead Business Partner to optimize expense management strategies and enhance financial performance. You will lead a finance team and partner with senior management to provide strategic insights that align with organizational goals. The ideal candidate will be a qualified accountant with expertise in financial planning, governance, and strong leadership skills. This role offers an opportunity to influence key business decisions within a dynamic environment.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in business partnering roles within large, complex organisations, preferably in financial services.
• Strong understanding of expense management, financial planning, and forecasting processes.
• Demonstrated leadership and coaching skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of finance professionals.
• Partner closely with executive management and support functions.
• Design and implement comprehensive expense management strategies.
• Analyse spending patterns and forecast trends.
• Lead the annual and medium-term expense planning process.
• Champion digital transformation across finance.
• Represent Finance across committees and forums.

Skills

Financial analysis

Leadership

Communication

Team development

Education

Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent)

Tools

Digital tools

Financial performance dashboards

Job description

Are you a strategic finance leader ready to make a measurable impact on cost efficiency and financial performance? We're looking for a Lead Business Partner to shape and drive expense management strategy across a global financial services organisation.

This is a high-profile role within the Financial Performance team, responsible for optimising investment and cost alignment with strategic goals. You'll lead a talented team, partner with senior executives, and influence key business decisions across multiple divisions.

As the Lead Business Partner - Expenses, you will:

• Lead and develop a team of finance professionals, fostering a culture of empowerment, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Partner closely with executive management, underwriting teams, and support functions to provide strategic financial insight.
• Design and implement comprehensive expense management strategies that improve efficiency and drive cost savings.
• Analyse spending patterns, forecast trends, and identify opportunities for operational improvement.
• Lead the annual and medium-term expense planning process, ensuring alignment with wider financial and strategic objectives.
• Champion digital transformation by enhancing decision-support tools and leveraging technology to deliver actionable insights.
• Represent Finance across committees and forums, communicating performance and strategy through compelling storytelling and visualisation.

You'll bring strong financial and leadership skills, along with the ability to influence at all levels of a complex organisation.

Essential qualifications and experience:

• Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent).
• Proven experience in business partnering roles within large, complex organisations, namely banking or other complex financial service organisations.
• Strong understanding of expense management, financial planning, revenue cycles and forecasting processes.
• Exceptional communication and presentation skills with the ability to turn data into actionable business insight.
• Strong technology literacy, with the ability to champion digital tools and performance dashboards.
• Demonstrated leadership and coaching skills, with a commitment to developing others.