Senior Finance Business Partner

CBT Clinics Ltd; St Albans; Hybrid; GBP 47,000 - 51,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

30.5 days annual leave

Flexible working options

Reimbursement of professional fees

Development and training

Discounted membership at local centres

Online discounts and benefits platform

Job summary

St Albans City and District Council is seeking a Senior Finance Business Partner to act as a trusted financial adviser to designated Council services. You will bridge finance and operations, delivering robust planning, reporting, variance analysis and forecasting to inform decisions and drive service improvements.

You will support revenue budgets and capital programmes, develop financial models, conduct option appraisals, and contribute to the annual budget, MTFP and monthly forecasting cycles.

Qualifications

• Experience in financial planning and budgeting.
• Experience with financial modelling and option appraisals.
• Proven ability to build trusted relationships with operational managers.
• Ability to organise and prioritise competing workloads.

Responsibilities

• Provide robust financial planning, reporting, variance analysis and forecasting to inform decisions and service improvements.
• Support revenue budgets and capital programmes; model scenarios and business cases.
• Contribute to annual budget process, medium-term financial planning and monthly forecasts.
• Support Councillors, Service Committees and budget holders with professional financial guidance.

Skills

Financial modelling

Option appraisals

Relationship management

Team leadership

Job description

£46,871 to £50,998 inclusive annual salary + Local Government Pension Scheme

Flexible working options (including hybrid)

Job Ref: P2218

About the role

As a Senior Finance Business Partner, you will act as a trusted financial advisor to designated Council service areas.You will bridge the gap between finance and operations, delivering robust financial planning, reporting, variance analysis and forecasting to drive effective decision-making, service improvements, and the achievement of Council priorities.

You will support a diverse portfolio of Council services, providing financial advice on both revenue budgets and capital programmes. The role includes financial modelling, business case development, cost allocation, grant monitoring and reporting, and supporting the effective allocation and utilisation of government funding to deliver key Council priorities.

You will play a key role in the Council’s annual budget process, medium term financial planning, capital programme management and monthly reporting and forecasting cycles.

You will support the Principal Finance Business Partners in the provision of a full range of professional support services to Councillors, Service Committees, senior managers and budget holders.

This is an exciting time to join the Council’s Finance team. Local Government is undergoing significant change through Local Government Reorganisation, with plans to establish a new West Hertfordshire authority. As part of this transition, you will have the opportunity to contribute to major transformation programmes, help shape the future financial arrangements and gain valuable experience within a changing local government landscape.

About you

We are looking for an experienced suitably qualified Finance Business Partner to join the Council's Finance Business Partnering team. You will have worked in a financial planning and budgeting environment undertaking financial modelling and option appraisals. You should be able to demonstrate an ability to build strong, trusted, influential working relationships with operational managers. You will be an excellent team player and ideally have experience of managing others and be able to show you can organise and prioritise competing workloads effectively.

Join us to make a positive impact in our community by putting sustainability at the heart of everything we do, while living our values of trust, care, collaboration, confidence and customer focus.

St Albans is a unique English Cathedral City with a colourful history which can be seen in the Roman remains and variety of beautiful architecture, heritage sites and conservation areas.Set within green belt, off the M25, A1M and M1 the District includes a cathedral, vibrant city centre and thriving villages. Our centrally located offices in the city are near to the station (London St Pancras 20 minutes), shops and restaurants. In short it isa great place to live and work .

In addition to working within a great team and a comprehensive salary you will have access to:

• 30.5days basic annual leave (increasing with service) + bank holidays.
• Flexible working options
• Reimbursement of professional fees
• Comprehensive development and training
• Discounted membership at selected local sports and fitness centres
• Access to discounts and benefits via online platform

A detailed job description and person specification are published on the advert for this role. The person specification sets out the criteria we use to assess applicants. The Council reserves the right to reject applicants at the shortlisting stage, where the application process has not been completed correctly.

Closing date for applications:21 September 2026

Interviews will take place in October 2026

NOTE: Interviews are conducted throughout the application process. We reserve the right to close the vacancy at an earlier date and we strongly encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible.

Additional Information

• Disability Confident
  We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and guarantee an interview to anyone disclosing a disability whose application meets all the essential criteria for the post.
• Safeguarding
  This post is subject to a Basic Disclosure Check.
• English Fluency
  The ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post (for those whose language is a signed language the provision of a sign language interpreter who speaks English to the necessary standard of fluency will be required). Further information about the legal requirement can be found here.

We are changing

St Albans City and District Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). If you are employed by St Albans City and District Council on 1 April 2028, it is expected that the majority of roles will transfer to the newly‑created unitary councils on existing terms and conditions under TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings – Protection of Employment) principles.

LGR is one of the biggest changes we will face in a generation. It will reshape how we work and how services are organised and gives us a real opportunity to build something better. We hope you will be part of that journey with us.

You may have experience in the following:

Finance Business Partner, Senior Finance Analyst, Management Accountant, Finance Manager, Budget Manager, Financial Planning Manager, Public Sector Finance Business Partner, Local Government Finance Officer, Corporate Finance Business Partner, Capital Programme Accountant, Financial Analyst, Strategic Finance Partner, etc.

Contract type

Permanent

£46,871 to £50,998 inclusive annual salary + Local Government Pension Scheme