Finance Business Partner

This is a key role within a central finance and business partnering function, providing high-quality financial support and insight to senior leaders and multiple operational sites. The postholder will lead on budgeting, forecasting, management reporting, analysis, payroll reconciliation support and value-for-money activity, moving beyond transactional reporting to deliver forward-looking financial insight and constructive challenge.

You will support consistent compliance with internal financial controls and procedures, aligning with relevant sector guidance, accounting standards and public funding requirements. The role also contributes to onboarding new sites into the organisation, including finance-process induction, budget set-up and financial modelling.

Regular travel across multiple sites is required.

Core responsibilities

1) Financial partnering to sites

Work with site leaders and local teams to develop robust annual budgets and multi-year financial plans.
Produce monthly management accounts, forecasts, variance analysis and narrative commentary.
Maintain and update multi-year forecasts as assumptions change.
Build and model financial scenarios (e.g., staffing, funding, volume assumptions, inflation/cost pressures) to support decision-making.
Use budgeting/forecasting tools to test assumptions, assess affordability and present recommendations clearly to non-finance stakeholders.
Provide costings for options and advise on financial implications and trade-offs.
Escalate emerging risks, pressures or material variances to the senior finance lead in a timely way.
Support additional/auxiliary budgets (e.g., wraparound provision, catering, facilities income) where applicable.
Attend stakeholder/governance meetings occasionally to help present complex information in an accessible way.
Support insurance claim processes as needed.
Complete/coordinate monthly payroll reconciliation activities and support salary projection maintenance.
Ensure secure handling of sensitive and confidential financial information.
Share best practice and contribute to finance training for local teams (in person and online).
Ensure correct and consistent indirect tax treatment of income where relevant.

2) Support to the central organisation

Support local teams in using finance systems and applying financial procedures.
Work with colleagues to review and improve policies, processes and controls.
Contribute to systems development, improvements and roll-outs (including reporting automation where appropriate).
Produce reports and summaries to support internal/external audit activity.
Support month-end/year-end processes as required.
Assist with contract/SLA assessment and recording.
Contribute to procurement activity and value-for-money work (from small tenders to larger projects).
Provide guidance on compliant financial behaviours and escalation routes for probity concerns.
Maintain up-to-date awareness of relevant sector policy, compliance and legislation and reflect implications in day-to-day work.

3) Onboarding new sites (when applicable)

Support financial due diligence for incoming sites.
Develop initial staffing and financial budgets/models for onboarding.
Coordinate finance onboarding checklists, including payroll and pension set-up support.
Induct new staff into finance systems and processes.

Line management / accountability

Staff:
Indirect day-to-day influence over local finance/administration activity; direct line management remains with local site leadership.
Budgets:
Budget ownership sits with site leaders; the postholder provides significant support and constructive challenge and helps hold budget holders to account.
Resources:
Responsibility for own equipment and appropriate use of organisational resources.

General requirements

Promote and support organisational ethos, objectives, policies and procedures, including safeguarding responsibilities.
Flexibility to work outside normal hours occasionally for meetings or urgent issues.
Ability to communicate clearly in spoken English (where legally required).

Person specification (anonymised)

Essential

Qualifications

Part-qualified accountant (or equivalent) and/or AAT Level 4 (or equivalent)