Interim Senior Finance Business Partner

We’re proud to once again be working with King’s College London in recruiting an interim Senior Finance Business Partner, on a 12 month Fixed term maternity cover contract, with potential to be extended. This role offers you the chance to work within one of the world’s leading universities, with hybrid working (Mondays + one additional office day) generous annual leave allowance and a dynamic, welcoming environment.   This role will be to partner with senior Academic stakeholders across two large faculties and lead a small team. If you’re interested and available to start in the next few weeks – please apply.

Senior Finance Business Partners (Academic) provide strategic and financial management support to faculties; ensuring finance remains at the heart of decision making by providing expert advice and rigorous challenge and assurance.

The role will support the Faculty of Natural, Mathematical & engineering Sciences (NMES) and our Centre for International Education and Languages (CIEL) providing executive support to Faculty and executive leadership, resolving issues and representing Finance at senior committees. You will regularly liaise with senior stakeholders, building rapport, trust and demonstrating your ability to problem solve.

This role is expected to lead on the production of monthly management accounts, providing valuable insights and analysis to support senior decision making. Both areas are significant in size and scope requiring multi-disciplinary finance expertise in both finance business partnering and management accounting. Continuing focus on finance capability and strengthening the finance span within the areas you partner will be an important aspect of the role in delivering effective financial management. You will be expert, enthusiastic and an approachable finance professional with strong interpersonal skills.

Key responsibilities:

• Coordinate the FBP team supporting NMES and CIEL in relation to the regular forecasting and reporting cycle for faculty income and expenditure budgets; including tuition, research and operational expenditure
• Providing finance business partnering support across at both a senior and operational level; working closely with finance contacts for routine financial reporting
• Providing rigorous challenge and assurance to stakeholder across all financial aspects including business case development, financial controls and routine financial management
• Ensuring timely, accurate and insightful management information to budget holders; providing expert analysis to support decision making
• Evaluating risks and opportunities and developing a strong financial narrative through variance analysis and other financial modelling
• Developing budgeting, forecasting and costing models/tools at local level and integrating these into existing financial processes
• Support multi-year planning activities through our integrated planning processes, currently applicable to financial years 2024/25 – 2026/27
• Promote and encourage a better understanding of financial systems, processes and concepts within the faculties. Supporting wider initiatives to make financial processes and controls more efficient

The role holder will be based at Lavington Street in central London with the option of regular co-location with senior stakeholders situated on other KCL Campus’ in central London. The post holder will be expected to work a minimum of 2 days per week on-site with the remainder of time working remotely. This pattern could potentially change in future, so flexibility with regards to location of work will be required.