Finance Partner

As a Finance Partner you will sit within Pharma R&D Development Finance and provide support to stakeholders across the Global Clinical Operations (GCO) group within One Development.

The role provides critical financial and strategic support to key leadership teams, helping them to manage and maximise their budgets. In addition, the role will play a significant role in the delivery of the financial aspects of key projects (past projects have included Future Ready, Vx/Rx integration, CRO interfaces / commercial governance, Make vs Buy analysis, contracting & procurement savings).

In this role, you will

• Provide financial and strategic advice to Clinical Operations groups to actively contribute to delivery of overall financial and functional performance, as well as optimizing resource allocation. This includes active finance partnering, financial planning and control (budget, forecasts, monthly actuals), decision support and analytics, governance & control, and project support for a range of initiatives (eg. CRO interfaces, contracting, procurement). This requires demonstration of business acumen, strategic and contextual insight, a broad perspective, rigorous analysis, proactive challenge and advice, effective communication, and exceptional execution.
• Support the forecasting/budgeting processes for Plan / Update 3 / Soft Landing. 
• Support and help drive month-end close & associated variance analysis, driving accuracy and integrity of reported actuals. Also participate in support of Capital allocation within Development R&D. 
• Work with the function to prepare and consolidate global budgets, plans, and forecasts for the function - including action plans to achieve required savings, understanding of variances, insightful commentary, and timely identification of risks and opportunities.
• Regular and proactive support to the Senior Finance Director and clinical Operations in delivery of key strategic projects, initiatives, and ad hoc requests as required, as well as delivering new insights/analytics proactively. 
• Help provide new insights for presentation to senior leadership.
• Establish strong business partnerships with functional senior management, budget owners, and project managers by understanding the business area, objectives, needs, and issues. 
• Educate customer groups on financial aspects of business decisions and resource allocations.
• Active involvement in EPE and FTE resource allocation with regards to Integrated Resource Management (IRM) expansion programme, partnering with SMEs and resource managers to drive better resource allocation.
• Good interpersonal skills demonstrated by creating and leveraging a network of key partners within finance and the business, and the ability to bridge communications gap between finance and non-finance, as well as between GSK and our CROs.
• Drive simplification in processes and communications, while operating in a time and resource-constrained environment. 
• Identify and support implementation of best practices.
• Help drive of project financial evaluations for ClinOps technical projects, assessing value to the organization, identifying savings, allowing prioritization of projects.
• Build strong relationships with the central R&D finance group. 
• Work proactively with Poznan finance hub to integrate and drive efficient processes in support of reporting & data analysis.
• The role supports multiple stakeholders globally; current preference is for US, but for the right candidate, the role could be based in London or Wavre.

Why you?

Qualifications & Skills:

We are looking for professionals with these required skills to achieve our goals:

• Bachelor’s degree in finance or business
• Significant experience in finance partnering
• Significant experience in forecasting

Preferred Qualifications & Skills:

If you have the following characteristics, it would be a plus:

• MBA and/or CPA / ACA / CIMA
• Strong preference for prior experience supporting R&D
• Experience working with senior client groups with ability to influence stakeholders at all levels. 
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, and ability to present information clearly, concisely, and effectively.
• Strong interpersonal skills demonstrated by creation of a network of key partners within Finance and the business and the ability to bridge communications gap between finance and non-finance.
• Ability to prioritize multiple projects with varying degrees of complexity and apply project management skills. Demonstrated ability to develop and successfully execute plans to achieve desired outcomes.
• Demonstrated experience in financial modelling and analysis, data analytics, budget and forecasting, strategic evaluation and planning, decision making & scenario generation/recommendation.
• Hyperion/Essbase/SmartView/PowerBI experience.
• High-level knowledge of the industry as a whole, GSK and its functions and the R&D organization and its core strategies (including understanding of the CRO industry).
• Track record of employing highly sound technical and business judgment in solving complex business problems with high risk & impact to the organization.
• Demonstrated business skills with integrity and independent judgment to understand and identify the underlying business drivers.
• Experience working in a global organization across a matrix environment and in cross-functional teams.

Closing Date for Applications: Tuesday 10th September 2024 (COB)

Please take a copy of the Job Description, as this will not be available post-closure of the advert.

When applying for this role, please use the ‘cover letter’ of the online application or your CV to describe how you meet the competencies for this role, as outlined in the job requirements above. The information that you have provided in your cover letter and CV will be used to assess your application.

During the course of your application, you will be requested to complete voluntary information which will be used in monitoring the effectiveness of our equality and diversity policies. Your information will be treated as confidential and will not be used in any part of the selection process. If you require a reasonable adjustment to the application/selection process to enable you to demonstrate your ability to perform the job requirements, please contact 0808 234 4391. This will help us to understand any modifications we may need to make to support you throughout our selection process.

For further information, and to apply, please visit our website via the “Apply” button below.