Finance Business Partner

About Network Rail About Network Rail and the Department Network Rail are on a mission. The mission is to become one of Britain's best employers and believe that starts with our colleagues and customers who we put at the heart of everything we do!

We're passionate about great service, and ask ourselves; what can we do to put our passengers and freight users at the centre of everything we do? We pull together as one industry because we care about people and teamwork is key. View our short video on our Putting Passengers and Freight First (PPFF) programme that outlines some key things we are working on as a business.

The Eastern region operates some of the busiest and most congested rail lines in the country, transporting large numbers of commuters to and from busy cities including Newcastle, Leeds, Sheffield, Derby, Norwich, Cambridge and London.

Brief Description Eastern Region in numbers:

• More than a billion annual passenger journeys
• 3 managed stations: Leeds, King's Cross and Liverpool Street
• 6,042 route miles (31.2% of national)
• 3,400 passenger services every day and 15 train operators
• 1,057,462 tonnes of freight moved a week with 1,742 freight movements - the highest of all regions
• 2,614 level crossings
• 9,278 bridges
• 9,262 signals

The Eastern Region is a business with 10,000 staff, £10bn capital expenditure, £4bn operating expenditure and £2.5bn of income over our 5-year funding period. The region is comparable to many FTSE 350 companies.

The Eastern Region is a business with 10,000 staff, £10bn capital expenditure, £4bn operating expenditure and £2.5bn of income over our 5-year funding period. The region is comparable to many FTSE 350 companies.

As part of Network Rail's transformation to put the passengers at the heart of what we do, there are several exciting new roles being created within the Eastern Region as part of the devolution process.

These roles vary from management accounting, analysis and reporting to managing our income, capital projects and driving cost savings throughout the business.

About the role (External) Key Accountabilities

Lead and provide financial advice and guidance to senior budget holders in understanding the impact of the period results and forecasts against budges so they can understand their business better.

Be the specialist in the function on accounting practices and advise on financial results and forecasts for budget holders, including preparing period accruals, transfers and adjustments to validate accounts are reflective, relevant.

Manage corporate governance throughout the cost centres they manage, conducting deep dives and reviewing compliance with financial regulations to protect the business from legal or negative consequences.

Deliver expert and accurate business review information and reporting, and highlight any significant issues with financial and other business results to enable informed decision making by the business area.

Engage and influence senior members of the team to help them understand their financial position and use professional expertise to guide in initiatives to improve business performance

Build bottom up, detailed plans to manage and develop the production of business plans and budgets to enable good corporate governance and value add analysis for senior leaders

Identify and proactively lead commercial risks, including the financial suitability of new customers or suppliers reducing the potential risk impact on the business area and influencing decision makers.

Manage the performance of central accounting functions to deliver for the cost centre area to enable an efficiently and effective accounting service.

Collate, investigate and make recommendation for investment appraisals and business case analysis to aid business decisions.

Model and analyse cost base and identify and drive opportunities and efficiencies to achieve area targets

It is imperative you have...

• Demonstrate strong understanding of business needs and relevant application of accounting standards
• Membership (Or working towards a membership) of a relevant accounting body (CIMA/ACCA) or equivalent experience
• Expert knowledge and experience of maintaining accounts and annual budget
• Significant experience within relevant finance disciplines
• Strong excel skills and use of data manipulation
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to interpret technical accounting regulations into everyday language
• Demonstrable effective influencing skills at a senior level
• Significant understanding of financial control and risk
• Excellent technical finance and accounting knowledge

It is advantageous if you have...

• Understanding of project management principles and experience of leading sophisticated projects
• Membership of a relevant accounting body
• Extensive experience of Oracle based systems
• Degree or equivalent qualification in finance and accounting or business management or experience

How to apply (External)

External how to apply: -