Lead Finance Business Partner

Irish Life Group Services Limited; Leinster; Hybrid; EUR 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary and bonuses

Defined Contribution pension

Learning & Development support

Wellbeing initiatives

Job summary

Irish Life Group Services Limited seeks a Lead Finance Partnering Senior Manager to drive strategic financial partnering across the business. You will liaise with senior leadership, deliver insightful reporting, and shape planning and budgeting processes in a hybrid Dublin city centre setting.

You will lead a small team, model financial scenarios, and work with MI hubs to optimise performance. A professional accounting qualification and 5+ years of FP&A experience are required.

Qualifications

• An excellent academic record - university degree in a numerate and relevant discipline, and holder of a professional accounting qualification.
• The ability to work in a fast-moving environment, and the interpersonal skills required to interact with all stakeholders.
• 5+ years of relevant Finance experience, ideally in a business partnering, FP&A or reporting role.
• A motivated self-starter who is keen to build, drive and improve financial reporting and processes.
• Excellent presentation, communication and MS Office skills, and the ability to demonstrate a strong track record in using key management information systems.
• A strong commercial mindset and awareness with proven technical knowledge.
• Have a proven track record demonstrating the ability to make sound decisions having analysed situations where issues have emerged.
• Be highly motivated with an ability to work on your own initiative and demonstrate flexibility.
• Strong communication and influencing skills with proven ability to break down complex issues, articulate them clearly to senior stakeholders and work collaboratively to create a focused action plan

Responsibilities

• Reporting to the Head of the Finance Business Partnering Team and working directly with the business and their Senior Leadership Team, you'll act as the single Finance point of contact for the business
• You'll work directly with the senior business leaders, to drive interpretation of key business and finance data (e.g. implementing financial models or business cases, providing critical financial insights with a focus on sales/revenue analysis, profit margins and cost reporting).
• This role sits within our Finance Business Partnering team and reports to the Head of Finance Business Partnering
• This team has oversight/responsibility for the Finance business partnering of all areas within the Irish Life Insurance Division.
• The team’s workstack includes regular management reporting, and actively supporting the business in achieving their strategic goals via the provision of timely and insightful financial analysis
• This role will hence involve intensive liaison with the IFS Finance MI Hub who support the Business Partnering Team by producing regular reporting and MI, together with financial modelling required for planning and forecasting
• As a Lead Business Partner and Senior Manager within Finance, this role will involve:
• Supporting the Head of Finance Business Partnering in delivering the team’s overall Finance and business objectives;
• Acting as a single Finance point of contact for the Business, liaising with SEO/MI Hub/Group Finance as necessary on their behalf;
• Ensuring that the business are provided with insightful, forward-looking reporting and analysis to facilitate strategic decision-making;
• Supporting the evaluation and preparation of business cases for strategic initiatives and wider business opportunities;
• Playing an important role in the annual financial planning and budgeting process from a business partnering perspective, reviewing and challenging the business as appropriate to add strategic value in setting appropriate business targets;
• Monitoring business area costs and challenges - liaise closely with SEO in terms of business cost savings, and assist the business in terms of generating new efficiency initiatives;
• Working with business Senior Management to prepare a monthly cost forecast reflecting all known headwinds/tailwinds to full year financial performance;
• Reviewing cost allocations with the business annually across teams, entities and products;
• Driving continuous improvement in all aspects financial reporting, deliverables and development – leverage Power BI/AI tools to maximise efficiency
• Leading, mentoring and motivating direct report(s) as required to achieve the desired Finance and business outcomes

Skills

Financial analysis

Power BI

MS Office

Communication

Influencing

Education

Bachelor's degree in a numerate discipline

Professional accounting qualification

Tools

Power BI

AI tools

Job description

Company: Irish Life Group Services Limited

• Full TimePermanentposition
• Hybrid role based in our City Centre offices

What we offer

We have embraced a hybrid working model for most of our positions, which means that you can enjoy a balanced approach of working from home for part of the week and working from the office for the remainder of the week.

We offer a comprehensive benefits package including competitive salaries and bonuses, robust Learning and Development support, excellent Defined Contribution pension and comprehensive Wellbeing initiatives and support to name but a few.

At Irish Life, our purpose is to help people build better futures. Our company values shape everything we do and underpin our vision of being the driving force behind Ireland’s financial, physical, and mental well-being.

We believe in doing the right thing—acting with integrity and making fair, responsible decisions. We aim high, setting ambitious goals and find better ways to innovate and improve. Our customers are at the heart of everything we do and we are dedicated to understanding their needs and exceeding their expectations. Achieving this is only possible when we work best together—in a supportive, collaborative environment where every idea and contribution is valued.

Role Overview

• Reporting to the Head of the Finance Business Partnering Team and working directly with the business and their Senior Leadership Team, you'll act as the single Finance point of contact for the business
• You'll work directly with the senior business leaders, to drive interpretation of key business and finance data (e.g. implementing financial models or business cases, providing critical financial insights with a focus on sales/revenue analysis, profit margins and cost reporting). You may also be required to manage and oversee direct reports in the future – the role at present has no direct reports

This role sits within our Finance Business Partnering team and reports to the Head of Finance Business Partnering

This team has oversight/responsibility for the Finance business partnering of all areas within the Irish Life Insurance Division. The team consists of a number of Lead Business Partners facing off to each Solutions Area

In addition, the team’s workstack includes regular management reporting, and actively supporting the business in achieving their strategic goals via the provision of timely and insightful financial analysis

This role will hence involve intensive liaison with the IFS Finance MI Hub who support the Business Partnering Team by producing regular reporting and MI, together with financial modelling required for planning and forecasting

What you will help us to achieve

As a Lead Business Partner and Senior Manager within Finance, this role will involve:

Supporting the Head of Finance Business Partnering in delivering the team’s overall Finance and business objectives;

Acting as a single Finance point of contact for the Business, liaising with SEO/MI Hub/Group Finance as necessary on their behalf;

Ensuring that the business are provided with insightful, forward-looking reporting and analysis to facilitate strategic decision-making;

Supporting the evaluation and preparation of business cases for strategic initiatives and wider business opportunities;

Playing an important role in the annual financial planning and budgeting process from a business partnering perspective, reviewing and challenging the business as appropriate to add strategic value in setting appropriate business targets;

Monitoring business area costs and challenges - liaise closely with SEO in terms of business cost savings, and assist the business in terms of generating new efficiency initiatives;

Working with business Senior Management to prepare a monthly cost forecast reflecting all known headwinds/tailwinds to full year financial performance;

Reviewing cost allocations with the business annually across teams, entities and products;

Driving continuous improvement in all aspects financial reporting, deliverables and development – leverage Power BI/AI tools to maximise efficiency

Leading, mentoring and motivating direct report(s) as required to achieve the desired Finance and business outcomes

What you will need to be successful in the role

An excellent academic record - university degree in a numerate and relevant discipline, and holder of a professional accounting qualification;

The ability to work in a fast-moving environment, and the interpersonal skills required to interact with all stakeholders;

5+ years of relevant Finance experience, ideally in a business partnering, FP&A or reporting role;

A motivated self-starter who is keen to build, drive and improve financial reporting and processes;

Excellent presentation, communication and MS Office skills, and the ability to demonstrate a strong track record in using key management information systems;

A strong commercial mindset and awareness with proven technical knowledge;

Have a proven track record demonstrating the ability to make sound decisions having analysed situations where issues have emerged;

Be highly motivated with an ability to work on your own initiative and demonstrate flexibility;

Strong communication and influencing skills with proven ability to break down complex issues, articulate them clearly to senior stakeholders and work collaboratively to create a focused action plan

About us

Irish Life is one of Ireland’s largest financial institutions with a presence across a range of financial services markets. We are one of Ireland’s leading financial services groups with over 1.5 million customers. For over 80 years, we’ve been helping people to look after their life insurance, pension and investment needs, and more recently their health insurance.

It is a subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco and a member of the Power Financial Corporation group of companies.

We are proud of our culture of developing and supporting the growth and professional development of our people. The focus has resulted in a team of top talent with high standards, positioning us at the forefront of our industry.

Irish Life is proud to be an Equal Opportunities employer. We have created an environment of inclusion and growth to help people achieve their potential, to ensure they can bring their whole selves to work and to feel valued. We celebrate diversity of thought and perspective and want all of our employees to feel valued, respected and supported. We have built a culture that promotes equality and inclusion for all of our current and future employees and strive to ensure that our behaviours, processes and practices are aligned to this culture.

If you require any accommodations during the recruitment process please contact [e-mail] and we will be delighted to ensure you are fully supported to be your best

The company reserves the right to draw up a shortlist as part of the selection process. The selection process employed will be at the discretion of the Group.