Senior Finance Business Partner

UCAS is at the heart of connecting people to higher education.

UCAS is the world’s leading shared admissions service for higher education. We provide application services for UK universities and colleges as well as delivering a wide range of research, consultancy and advisory services to schools, colleges, careers services, professional bodies and employers.

We’re a successful and fast-growing organisation, which helps hundreds of thousands of people every year. We're committed to delivering a first-class service to all of our customers — they're at the heart of everything we do.

Business Unit Description

Our Finance and Corporate Services business unit is a fusion of multiple functions — financial planning and accounting, facilities and building management, procurement, corporate governance and performance, legal and compliance. The Finance Team also defines UCAS' financial strategy.

About The Role Contractual Hours

35

About The Role

The Senior Finance Business Partner will provide a commercially focused finance business partnering service across UCAS’ business units, in support of delivering the UCAS strategy.

Key accountabilities:

• Business Partnering - ensure that the impact of decisions is understood, performance is tracked, and outcomes are explored.
• Influence decisions, shape strategy and the direction of the business to ensure the mission is delivered along with key operational, commercial, and financial targets.
• Support the business planning process such as forecasting, financial modelling, business cases, along with efficiency and reform measures, to inform decisions.
• Develop, embed and maintain the product profitability model to be more forward looking, automated and system driven.
• Partner with Product Managers with support from the Finance Business Partners, to help them understand product margins, profitability, and how this impacts the strategic direction of our products.
• Play a role in partnerships and acquisitions such as financial modelling, integration support, ongoing reporting.
• Understand the performance of new partnerships/acquisitions and liaise with the other Finance Business Partners on the business impact.
• Operate as a strategic change agent in relation to financial projects: gaining buy-in and engagement from a range of stakeholders at all levels
  
  

For Full Job Description, Please See Role Profile Attached.

Skills, qualifications, and experience

• Qualified accountant or able to demonstrate an equivalent level of work experience with excellent knowledge and understanding of financial accounting principles and processes.
• Demonstrable experience of successfully completing the implementation of a number of process or systems improvement projects. Ideally will have experience in a service-based business using timesheets and able to collaborate as part of a close-knit finance team
• Experience of partnerships and acquisitions
• Outgoing, persuasive, and a confident communicator with internal and external stakeholders at all levels
• Comfortable operating in the detail, but also with the ability to understand the big picture
• Ability to analyse and report at a strategic and operational level in a concise agile manner to suit the audience
• Confident and organised to lead projects in a structured way
• The workload is diverse and time pressured, so you will be a "right first time" type of person, comfortable keeping plates spinning whilst always delivering on time and to a high standard
• Curious and constantly striving for improvement; the ability to challenge the status quo and look for innovative and creative ways to solve problems and improve processes
• Proven experience of financial performance reporting and planning, with a clear view on how to present the information and make recommendations
• Experience of partnerships and acquisitions
• Highly proficient in Excel, Word, and PowerPoint
  
  

Package

Salary - up to £60,000

• 30 days annual leave (plus 3 concessionary days over Christmas and your bank holidays!)
• Flexibility – UCAS positively supports Hybrid working for its employees, meaning you can work between home and the office in a way that suits you and the business and also has a comprehensive Flexible Working Policy
• A generous pension scheme
• Hundreds of high street discounts and offers with Perkbox
• Internal training and development
• Subsidised gym and café
• Be rewarded for going above and beyond with our ex-gratia bonus scheme and Celebrating U, our quarterly employee recognition scheme
• Dedicated volunteer employee networks promoting wellbeing, awareness and inclusion
  
  

Working Arrangements Is fully remote working an option?

No