Senior Finance Business Partner

UK Ministry of Defence; United Kingdom; Hybrid; GBP 51,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading government agency in the UK is seeking a Senior Finance Business Partner to provide financial guidance and support strategic planning across various programs. You'll work closely with senior management and lead a finance team while maintaining a robust control environment. Ideal candidates will be qualified accountants with experience in managing large projects and working in complex financial settings. The role offers a competitive salary and flexible work options.

Benefits

£50,311 base salary

Final salary defined benefit scheme with 21.5% employer pension contribution

25 days annual leave plus bank holidays

Flexible and hybrid working options

Qualifications

• Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA) or qualified by experience.
• Proven experience partnering with senior managers and leadership teams.
• Strong background managing multi-million-pound government or commercial projects.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the key Finance Partner for the programme or business unit.
• Work closely with senior management to support programme objectives.
• Ensure timely provision of accurate financial reports.

Skills

Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA)

Proven experience partnering with senior managers

Highly proficient in Excel

Experience with multi-million-pound projects

Strong background in costing and forecasting

Job description

Company Description

Fusion, the process that powers the sun and stars, is one of the most promising options for generating the cleaner, carbon-free energy that our world badly needs. UKAEA leads the way in realizing fusion energy, partnering with industry and research organisations to achieve ground breaking advancements. Our goal is to bring fusion electricity to the grid by developing the power stations of tomorrow and the skilled workforce to deliver them.

Job Description

As a Senior Finance Business Partner, you will support the delivery of major programme and/or Business Unit objectives. As part of the Senior Management Team, you will provide financial guidance across strategy, planning and analysis, accounting, reporting, bids and costing, and ad-hoc projects. Depending on the programme, you may manage a small finance team with line management responsibilities. You will contribute to strategic planning, business cases, and monthly account closures, ensuring accuracy, insight, and a focus on delivering sustainable financial performance.

Core responsibilities

• Serve as the key Finance Partner for the programme or business unit, acting as the main point of contact for all finance matters.
• Work closely with senior management to support programme objectives and challenge financial performance.
• Review and analyse performance, producing reports and commentary on budgets, variances, risks, and opportunities.
• Ensure timely provision of accurate financial reports, supporting major grants and management decision-making.
• Provide high-quality financial insight and advice to drive sustainable performance improvement.
• Lead and mentor a small finance team, including training, supervision, and performance management.
• Coach wider project team members on forecasting, monitoring, and control activities (e.g., timesheets, procurement).
• Support budgeting, forecasting, and strategic planning processes, ensuring accurate recognition of revenue and expenditure.
• Maintain a robust control environment, including reconciliations, audit preparation, and follow-up on audit actions.
• Contribute to finance initiatives, process improvements, and capability building within the team.

Qualifications

• Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA) or qualified by experience
• Proven experience partnering with senior managers and leadership teams
• Strong background managing multi-million-pound government or commercial projects, including costing, forecasting, and project controls
• Solid understanding of revenue recognition, grant funding, and auditing of major contracts or grants
• Experience working in multi-funded environments with complex financial reporting requirements
• Highly proficient in Excel (e.g. pivot tables, lookups, SUMIFs) with the ability to work accurately to challenging timescales

Additional Information

A full list of our benefits can be found here https://careers.ukaea.uk/life-at-ukaea/employee-benefits/ but highlights include:

• £50,311 base salary
• Final salary defined benefit scheme with an equivalent of 21.5% employer pension contribution
• 25 days annual leave, plus 3 days Christmas closure, 2.5 privilege day and 8 Bank holidays
• Flexible and hybrid working options

UKAEA's mission is clean energy for all, and we welcome talented people from all backgrounds to help us achieve this goal. We are committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion and strive to ensure fair representation across our workforce. We particularly encourage applications from groups currently underrepresented in STEM, including women and individuals from diverse ethnic backgrounds, while ensuring all appointments are made on merit. Further information can be found here.

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