Assistant Finance Business Partner (Maternity Cover) (3116)

We are looking to recruit an Assistant Finance Business Partner on a fixed term (12 month) basis, within our Business Planning and Reporting Services team. You will use your strong technical skills and a sound understanding of the business area to provide advice and support to senior colleagues and will be central to the relationship between the business and the finance function. You will ensure that budgets are well constructed, managed and monitored and support senior managers in the production of plans to deliver improved performance, reduced risk and better value for money.

Typically, you will:

• Develop a deep knowledge of diverse business areas, their needs and priorities, making sure that the business understands the financial implications of decisions and available choices.
• Acting in an intelligent customer role to actively work with the business to understand cost drivers and performance priorities and interpret financial implications of decisions.
• Building, maintaining and influencing strong relationships with key stakeholders and budget holders, acting as the link with colleagues, ensuring that variances, forecasts and planning assumptions are reported and understood.

• Identify and analyse areas of costs to the business on a regular basis, providing options to Finance Business Partners for review.
• Supporting the financial analysis of business areas to prepare for the business planning processes.
• Identifying sustainable cost savings targets and initiatives as part of the business planning cycle, along with understanding and articulating the impact of reforms and their ultimate effect on the business.
• Supporting on the construction of business cases through financial challenge and the identification of commercial implications of options considered.
• Building financial and commercial awareness of non-finance staff within the business.

• Support the Finance Business Partner, attending meetings and forums as appropriate, providing practical and operational knowledge.

Ideal candidate:

• Considerable experience of working within an accounting, planning and reporting environment of a large organisation, including accurately interpreting complex financial data in order to produce comprehensive analysis.
• A high level of competence in budget management, planning, forecasting and risk identification combined with excellent problem-solving skills.
• Well-developed communication, presentation and relationship management skills including an ability to engage effectively with multidisciplinary teams.

• Stakeholder management, proven ability to articulate finance issues to key people within the business.
• ACA, ACCA or CIMA qualified.

About the team:

Supporting the university in a series of increasingly dynamic, demanding and competitive environments, our work sees us involved in a growing number of partnerships and communities, across the city but also nationally and internationally. Our financial professionals play a key role in helping shape our strategic direction, making a key contribution to the long-term financial sustainability of a great global university. The work is intellectually challenging, exciting and hugely rewarding.

If you would like to join our people and share our ambition, we would love to hear from you.

To apply, please submit your CV and covering letter (detailing your suitability for the role) via our application portal. For informal enquiries about this position, please contact Lara Drake (Finance Business Partner) at L.Drake@mmu.ac.uk

Manchester Metropolitan University is committed to supporting the rights, responsibilities, dignity, health and wellbeing of staff and students through our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.

We promote applications from all sections of the community, irrespective of background, belief or identity, recognising the benefits that a diverse organisation can bring and particularly encourage applications from groups which are underrepresented in the University workforce.

We recognise the benefits and importance of an environment that supports flexible working and are open to conversations about this throughout the application process.