Financial Planning and Analysis Manager

Job title: Financial Planning and Analysis Manager
Contract type: 16-month fixed-term contract
Location: Manchester
Salary: £60,000 to £65,000
Working arrangements: Hybrid working, with at least two days each week in the Manchester office. Monday is the team anchor day.

At AQA, we’re committed to advancing education and we’re committed to our people. As the largest provider of academic qualifications in the UK, we mark over 10 million exam papers each year and it’s our people who make this happen.

Lead financial planning and analysis in a growing and increasingly complex group environment.

This is an opportunity tohelp AQA ensure that every pound we invest delivers the greatest possible impact for education, while leading FP&A through an exciting period of growth and change. We're looking for someone with FP&A expertise alongside a structured, supportive and accountable approach to leadership. As Financial Planning and Analysis Manager, you’ll maintain a clear and accurate view of AQA’s financial position, risks and opportunities.

You’ll turn complex financial information into clear recommendations, helping senior leaders make informed decisions about spending and investment.

You’ll report to AQA’s Group Financial Controller and work closely with the Head of Commercial Finance
, with regular exposure to the Chief Operating Officer and other senior and executive stakeholders. You’ll also help embed new ways of working, improve financial processes and progress the effective use of Workday and Adaptive Planning, supported by specialists within the team.

AQA is a charity, so effective financial planning helps ensure that every pound is used wisely and that any surplus can be reinvested in education.

Success in this role will mean delivering accurate planning and management information to agreed deadlines, strengthening the team’s operating rhythm and progressing the effective use of Adaptive Planning.

In this role, you'll be responsible for:

• Leading medium-term financial planning, budgeting and forecasting across a group with a number of entities and group turnover exceeding £300m
• Producing accurate and insightful monthly management accounts and presenting a clear view of financial performance, risks and opportunities
• Delivering group-level consolidation, including the effective treatment and elimination of intercompany transactions
• Translating financial information into clear analysis and recommendations for finance and non-finance stakeholders
• Leading and developing a specialist FP&A and finance systems team, with three direct reports and wider responsibility across the team structure
• Working collaboratively with Finance Business Partners, Financial Control and senior stakeholders to deliver consistent reporting and financial messaging
• Improving planning, reporting and systems processes, including the continuing development of Workday and Adaptive Planning models

You’ll thrive in this role if you have:

• You’ll bring technical financial expertise alongside a structured, supportive and accountable approach to leadership.
• A full professional accounting qualification, such as ACA, ACCA, CIMA or an equivalent qualification
• Demonstrable FP&A experience in a group finance environment, including group consolidation and intercompany eliminations
• Experience of leading, coaching and developing people, including managing performance and supporting different development needs
• The ability to translate complex financial information into clear analysis and recommendations for senior and non-finance stakeholders
• Demonstrable planning and organisational skills, with experience of coordinating complex financial cycles and delivering to fixed deadlines
• Experience of Workday, Adaptive…