Strategic Water Resources Programme Finance Business Partner

Pertemps; Old Warren; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading water utility company in the UK is seeking a Senior Finance Leader to enhance financial performance and governance. The role involves collaborating with senior stakeholders and managing financial commitments for strategic projects. The ideal candidate will be a qualified accountant with strong communication skills and a proven track record in financial clarity and control. This position offers a competitive salary, bonuses, and comprehensive benefits, making it a great opportunity for impactful work in a vital sector.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Annual Leave

Car Allowance

Annual Bonus

Private Medical Health Care

Contributory pension

Personal Medical Assessments

Qualifications

• Proven ability to drive financial clarity and control.
• Experience in navigating complex financial and regulatory environments.
• Expertise in building influential working relationships.

Responsibilities

• Drive financial performance and manage financial commitments.
• Engage with senior stakeholders for decision support.
• Develop insights and KPIs for financial governance.

Skills

Financial clarity

Influencing relationships

Communication skills

Problem solving

Education

Qualified Accountant

Tools

Business intelligence tools

Project planning systems

Job description

We are looking for a Senior finance leader to drive financial performance through actively influencing senior stakeholders.

You will be responsible for leading the day-to-day support and challenge of the Strategic Water Resources Director and their leadership team to monitor risks and manage delivery of financial commitments on behalf of Thames as well as SESRO external Project co-sponsors.

Through focussed engagement the role will deliver strengthened financial clarity, ownership and insight; ensuring robust financial governance of key programme decisions which will be clearly communicated and managed through both internal and external stakeholder groups and financial governance forums.

The role will also build effective relationships with third party sponsors of SESRO (Affinity Water and Southern Water) underpinned by assured internal processes within Thames to ensure timely billing and receipt of co‑sponsor funding.

What you will be doing as a Strategic Resources Finance Business Partner

• Leadership: The successful applicant will motivate, develop, empower and deliver not only through their team (2FTE); but through influencing, negotiating with and challenging Executive and Directors.
• Problem Solving: The business are navigating a complex, imperfect environment, with competing pressures and priorities across an incredibly broad and diverse stakeholder group both internally and externally.
• Job Functional Knowledge and Business Expertise: The role requires a highly commercial and financially astute leader. Strong understanding of capital investments, accounting judgements, investment delivery and contractual change and management will form the bedrock of the successful applicant skill set. Working collaboratively across the Business to connect the dots, ensure we remain in control and drive performance.
• Responsible for partnering the financial performance outcomes of our SRO Programme – working alongside the Programme Sponsors and Delivery teams, creating a “single version of the truth” high‑quality insight and KPIs, to review, challenge and drive improved financial governance, performance and forecasting capability.
• To provide holistic financial guidance, consolidating internal priorities and performance metrics alongside wider external and regulatory financial frameworks, to ensure the financial integrity of strategic choices and recommendations at Executive and Board decision making forums.

What you should bring to the role?

Essential

• Proven ability to drive financial clarity, control and process improvements.
• Proven ability to build effective and influential working relationships with non‑financial leadership.
• Ability to navigate complex financial and regulatory environments to deliver clarity of decision support and financial insight.
• A Qualified Accountant.
• Highly effective communication skills – both listening and written and oral presentation of ideas.

Desirable

• Business partnering, Project / Capital / regulated infrastructure accounting experience (including experience of working with large projects).
• Experience with project planning systems and reporting technology.
• Experience with business intelligence tools and developing data visualisations.

What's in it for you?

This is a fantastic opportunity to make an impact in a high‑profile role, working with senior stakeholders and shaping regulatory outcomes.

• Competitive salary £90,000 – £100,000 per annum, depending on experience.
• Annual Leave – 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service. (Plus bank holidays).
• Car Allowance – £5,800.
• Annual Bonus – up to 25% of base salary.
• Private Medical Health Care.
• Contributory pension – Defined Contribution, Maximum of 12% – 2x employee contribution.
• Personal Medical Assessments – Open to all once a year.
• Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of your and your family’s health and well‑being, and your finances – from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.

Find out more about our benefits and perks.

Who are we?

We’re the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people and the planet to thrive. It’s a big job and we’ve got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.

Working at Thames Water

Thames Water is a unique, rewarding and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you’ll enjoy meaningful career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.

If you’re looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people’s lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region and our planet.

Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family. Why choose us? Learn more.

We’re committed to being a great, diverse and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and want to ensure you feel supported throughout the recruitment process. If you need any adjustments, whether that’s extra time, accessible formats or anything else, just let us know – we’re here to help and support.

When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business and meet colleagues.

Disclaimer: due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.