Associate Director of Finance Operations (PowerBi specialist)

We are currently working with a prominent player within the Insurance industry to recruit an Associate Director, Finance Operations on a permanent basis. This London-based role sits at the heart of the Finance Operations team, responsible for the day-to-day accounting of all UK-managed businesses. The successful candidate will lead a small team, support monthly and annual financial processes, and act as a senior business partner to key stakeholders across the organisation.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and manage a team of finance analysts, including responsibility for delivery, training, delegation of new tasks, and upskilling—specifically through tools such as Power BI—ensuring both technical and professional development of junior staff.
• Deliver accurate and timely month-end accounting for UK-managed operations, coordinate with FP&A to support forecasts and budget processes for the firm’s cost base, and actively manage a zero-based forecast of non-staff costs.
• Ensure complete and accurate financial control through comprehensive balance sheet reconciliations, detailed financial reviews, and monthly reporting as required.
• Support broader finance initiatives by collaborating with internal teams such as external reporting during year-end, responding to tax team queries, and contributing to audit and tax engagements as needed.
• Serve as a senior business partner to all corporate and middle office functions, lead monthly or quarterly meetings with budget holders, and prepare financials for business cases, promoting financial transparency and literacy.
• Represent Finance on strategic boards and steering committees (e.g. Strategic Change Board) and assist in the development and management of Power BI self-service tools (with training provided if needed) to drive data-led decision-making.

The ideal candidate should have:

• A professional accounting qualification (preferably ACA) with at least 3 years of post-qualified experience.
• Strong understanding of financial control, forecasting, budgeting, and general accounting principles.
• Experience within a corporate finance environment, ideally in a leadership capacity.
• Excellent collaboration skills and a mindset focused on continuous improvement.
• Exposure to a wide range of finance processes and functions.
• Strong systems experience, ideally including Power BI, Blackline, Workday Adaptive Planning, or SUN GL (preferred but not essential).