Finance Business Partner

Location: Antrim

The Qualified Finance Business Partner will provide commercially focused financial insight and support to the business, acting as a trusted partner to senior stakeholders and operational teams. The role will be responsible for budgeting, forecasting, financial performance analysis and business partnering, helping stakeholders understand financial performance, identify risks and opportunities, and make informed commercial decisions. Budgeting & Forecasting Lead and coordinate the annual budgeting process across relevant areas of the business.

Prepare and maintain regular financial forecasts, working closely with budget holders and senior stakeholders. Support the development of annual budgets and longer-term financial plans. Work with stakeholders to understand key assumptions, financial drivers and anticipated changes to the business. Challenge budget and forecast assumptions where appropriate, ensuring plans are realistic and commercially achievable. Monitor performance against budget and forecast and provide clear explanations of key variances.

Identify emerging financial risks and opportunities and ensure these are communicated effectively to management. Support the business in taking appropriate action where performance is ahead of or behind expectations. Commercial Business Partnering Act as a trusted finance partner to senior managers and operational stakeholders. Build strong working relationships across the business and develop a clear understanding of operational and commercial priorities.

Provide financial insight to support day-to-day and longer-term business decisions. Challenge performance and assumptions constructively, ensuring financial considerations are appropriately understood. Help non-finance stakeholders understand financial performance and the implications of their decisions. Work collaboratively with stakeholders to identify opportunities to improve revenue, profitability and cost efficiency. Provide proactive financial support rather than simply reporting historical performance. Financial Performance & Reporting Lead and support regular reviews of financial performance with relevant budget holders.

Analyse actual performance against budget, forecast and prior year. Provide clear, concise and commercially focused commentary on financial performance. Identify the key drivers behind financial results and highlight areas requiring management attention. Monitor relevant financial and operational KPIs and provide insight into trends and performance. Ensure senior management has timely visibility of financial risks, opportunities and emerging trends. Prepare financial information and presentations for management meetings and performance reviews.

Commercial Decision Support Provide financial input into operational and commercial decisions. Support the assessment of new initiatives, expenditure and investment proposals. Provide financial insight into pricing, costs, margins and profitability where required. Assist stakeholders in understanding the financial impact of proposed decisions. Support the development of business cases where appropriate, with a focus on providing clear commercial conclusions rather than complex financial modelling.

Identify opportunities to improve financial performance and work with stakeholders to support delivery. Stakeholder Management Develop effective relationships with senior managers, budget holders and operational teams. Provide constructive challenge and act as an independent financial voice within the business. Communicate financial information clearly to non-finance stakeholders. Encourage greater financial awareness and accountability across the business. Work closely with the wider Finance team to ensure a consistent and commercially focused approach to financial management.

Key Deliverables Accurate and timely annual budgets and regular forecasts. High-quality financial and management reporting. Clear and insightful variance analysis and commentary. Effective financial business partnering across the organisation. Early identification and communication of financial risks and opportunities. Improved financial understanding and accountability among budget holders. Meaningful financial insight to support commercial and operational decision-making. Identification and delivery of opportunities to improve profitability, efficiency and business performance.

Qualifications & Experience Essential:
Fully qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent). Strong experience within a commercial finance or finance business partnering environment. Proven experience of budgeting, forecasting and financial planning. Strong understanding of P&L performance, financial drivers, costs, revenue and profitability.

Experience of working closely with senior stakeholders and budget holders. Ability to analyse financial performance and provide clear, commercially focused commentary. Strong Excel skills and experience using financial reporting/planning systems. Excellent…