Senior Financial Modelling Analyst

PoloWorks; Cheltenham; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Discretionary annual bonus

Hybrid working

Private health insurance

Pension contributions

Job summary

PoloWorks in Cheltenham seeks a Senior Financial Modelling Analyst to rebuild and maintain the core financial model, ensuring transparent data structures, allocations and reporting. The role combines advanced Excel modelling, management accounting knowledge and practical use of Copilot and approved AI tools to automate processes and improve accuracy.

You will coordinate with Corporate Finance, GL, Operations and SFBPs to implement a robust model for the new financial year, including cost

Qualifications

• Exceptional Excel and financial modelling skills with rebuilds of complex models.
• Experience importing, cleaning, mapping and validating multiple data sources.
• Practical use of Copilot or similar AI tools with independent validation.
• Strong management accounting knowledge including P&Ls, GL structures and costs.
• Ability to collaborate with Finance, Operations and system owners.

Responsibilities

• Model assessment, design and rebuild with clear source data mappings.
• Establish controlled cost allocations and reporting classifications.
• Load actual costs from the general ledger and reconcile allocations.
• Provide forecasts for vacancies, staffing and SOWs with baseline transparency.
• Produce contract- and SOW-level P&Ls including margins and FTE.

Skills

Excel modelling

Data mapping

AI tools usage

Management accounting

Cost allocation

Education

Financial modelling knowledge

Tools

Sage Intacct

Copilot / AI tools

Job description

The Senior Financial Modelling Analyst is a hands-on technical finance role responsible for rebuilding, controlling and maintaining PoloWorks’ core financial model and supporting data processes. The role combines exceptional Excel and financial modelling capability with strong management accounting knowledge, the ability to incorporate data from multiple sources, and practical use of Microsoft Copilot and other approved AI tools.

Department: Corporate Finance

Location: Cheltenham

The role will rebuild and roll forward the Excel model for the new financial year, creating reliable processes for cost allocation, forecasting, vacancies, budget inputs and contract-level reporting. It will make routine updates straightforward for Senior Finance Business Partners (SFBPs), while providing a robust solution until the business moves to a dedicated financial planning platform. Clear data structures, mappings and documentation will support that transition.

This role is offered as a 12 month Fixed Term Contract

Key Responsibilities

Model assessment, design and rebuild

• Assess and document the existing model, including its source data, dependencies, allocation logic, outputs and control weaknesses.
• Agree the target design and migration approach with Corporate Finance, the GL team, Operations and relevant system owners.
• Rebuild and roll forward the model using transparent, maintainable structures that distinguish source data, controlled inputs, approved planning versions, calculations and controls.
• Establish controlled mappings for employees, contracts, Statements of Work (SOWs), clients and reporting classifications, identifying ambiguous, duplicate and unmatched records.
• Preserve agreed reporting requirements and accounting treatments, with Finance approval for material methodology changes.
• Diagnose and correct broken references, formula errors and data-quality issues rather than masking unresolved problems.

Actual costs and time allocations

• Establish a repeatable process to extract and load actual time allocations from Sage Intacct timesheets, working with Finance, IT and system owners to select an appropriate method.
• Use approved timesheet data to allocate staff costs to contracts and SOWs under an agreed, documented methodology.
• Load actual costs from the general ledger and supporting schedules, reconciling source costs to allocated costs and showing unallocated balances separately.
• Maintain transparent treatment of direct and indirect costs, non-project time, overheads, new business, starters, leavers, contractors and other agreed exceptions.
• Operate validation and exception controls covering missing or incomplete data, invalid mappings, duplicate records and potential cost omissions or duplication.

Forecast allocations, vacancies and planning inputs

• Use historical actual allocations to prepare transparent baseline estimates for future quarters, clearly identifying the period and methodology used.
• Provide simple, controlled inputs for SFBPs to refine future allocations with Operations, while retaining visibility of baseline assumptions and overrides.
• Maintain the logic that translates approved allocations, staffing assumptions and cost schedules into forecasts, protecting actual periods and approved versions.
• Load and cost signed-off vacancies and approved additional FTE roles, enabling SFBPs to allocate them to SOWs and avoiding double counting as roles are filled.
• Import approved schedules supplied by the GL team and SFBPs, validating completeness, mappings, periods, units and phasing.

Contract-level reporting and analysis

• Produce reliable contract- and SOW-level P&Ls covering revenue, allocated costs, bonus, gross margin, gross margin excluding bonus, margin percentages and FTE.
• Maintain consistent actual, budget and forecast reporting by client, division, vertical and sub-vertical, including SOWs appearing in only one reporting version.
• Maintain agreed financial definitions, sign conventions and units, distinguishing new, continuing and ended contracts and percentage changes from percentage-point movements.
• Produce variance and exception reporting for SFBPs to investigate with the business, keeping technical and data exceptions separate from commercial performance issues.
• Maintain configurable, Finance-approved materiality thresholds and traceable exclusions.

Controls, governance and ongoing maintenance

• Maintain reconciliations to the general ledger, timesheet data and supporting schedules, together with an accessible summary of exceptions, owners and required actions.
• Document calculation logic, data sources, assumptions, mappings and operating procedures to support ongoing use and future migration to a dedicated planning platform.
• Maintain version control, change logs, testing evidence and approval of material changes, including controlled parallel runs against agreed existing outputs.
• Train SFBPs to use controlled inputs and outputs, provide cross-training and protect confidential employee, salary and commercial information.

AI, automation and continuous improvement

• Use Microsoft Copilot and other approved AI tools to support model development, review, testing, documentation and process improvement, independently validating outputs before use.
• Use appropriate Excel functionality and approved tools to create repeatable processes for importing, mapping, validating and reporting data, prioritising transparent and maintainable solutions.

Essential

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• Exceptional Excel and financial modelling skills, with evidence of rebuilding and maintaining complex financial models.
• Strong experience of importing, combining, cleaning, mapping and validating data from multiple sources within robust Excel models.
• Practical Microsoft Copilot or comparable approved AI experience, including independent validation of outputs.
• Strong management accounting knowledge, including P&Ls, GL structures, staff costs, FTE, cost allocation, budgets and forecasts.
• Experience designing reconciliations, financial controls and useful exception reporting.
• Ability to work collaboratively with Finance, Operations and system owners and challenge unclear requirements constructively.

Desirable

• Sage Intacct experience, particularly timesheet, project or dimensional data.
• Experience in a staff-intensive professional services or contract-based business.
• Experience taking a finance model rebuild through design, testing, implementation, parallel run and handover.

Demonstrates Behaviours Aligned To The PoloWorks PRIDE Values

• Pioneering - we don’t stand still.
• Responsible - we do the right thing.
• Inclusive - we all play a role.
• Delivery Focussed - we provide services we are proud of.
• Empowering - we equip people to be their best.

Benefits

• competitive salary
• discretionary annual bonus
• minimum 26 days of annual leave (with the option to buy more)
• flexible, hybrid working
• private health insurance
• life assurance
• income protection
• enhanced pension contributions
• occupational maternity and paternity pay
• company volunteering days
• Electric Vehicle (EV) leasing scheme
• employee assistance programme with retail discounts and savings
• generous employee referral scheme
• regular sports and social events
• free Cheltenham bus travel