Expense Business Partner, Senior Analyst

Location: London (Hybrid Working, 3 days in office)

Role Type: 12 month FTC

Role Purpose: Partner with Functional areas across the Group and act as the subject matter expert informing, advising and influencing stakeholders on planning, reporting, and analysing the unallocated operating expense base. Specific focus on allocated expenses partnering with the Segments and Platforms.

Our Aspen Values are expected to be reflected in the delivery and performance of every role.

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategy and Planning: Responsible for monthly presentation of actual versus budget and prior year packs, business planning and reforecasting activities relating to specific functional areas, and presenting to ExCo stakeholders. Work collaboratively with cost centre managers, ExCo stakeholders and colleagues in the segment and platform teams, as well as with Group and Entity Finance functions, to develop business plans and improve the reporting of actuals relating to expenses. Responsible for ensuring allocations are updated by the business during the planning cycle and providing insightful post allocated MI to the segments and platforms on actuals, budget and prior year. Highlight trends and risks in expenses against budget and prior year and ensure that appropriate controls are in place to eliminate excessive, wasteful or inappropriate spending and challenge overruns by the business.
• Policy, Process and Procedures: Focus on continuous improvement to align and enhance global expense planning, processing and reporting to create consistency across the global business. Support cost centre managers and segment and platform leads with business planning and allocations and be responsible for ensuring the business collate and capture expense plans on the Anaplan tool and enter data into the system accurately and on time to provide relevant reports and analysis insights. Working with cost centre managers and segment and platform leads, monitor global actuals, including monthly variances against plan and prior year, to ensure accuracy of results reported and deliver reports and analysis in a timely manner.
• Environmental Awareness/Customer Focus: Build and establish strong credible relationships with business stakeholders in aligned client groups. Explain and provide advice and insight to business stakeholders on the expense results and support and influence as necessary to develop the client groups understanding in their expense management. Use trends and risks in expense analysis to advise and influence client stakeholders on expense management and where opportunities for more effective cost management of expenses can be achieved. Build and establish collaborative relationships across teams to contribute and support to Aspen’s organisational efficiency and effectiveness relating to expenses.
• Technical Performance: Act as the subject matter expert for Group function expenses. Accountable for reporting and analysis of global expenses and FTE positions for specific client groups, including budget, actual, prior year and reforecast commentary for management reports and other ad hoc reporting. Manage all aspects of the global expense business planning process for the client groups, working collaboratively with other workstreams, to update allocations model, manage the expense model and provide relevant reports and analysis insights. Continuous working towards improvement of expense reporting, offering opinions and being influential on expense saving opportunities. Focus on embedding Anaplan into the business by becoming an expert with the planning tool, including assisting with training of others & offering support to the business where needed.
• People Management: Act as an effective team member by supporting colleagues and contributing in the delivery and achievement of overall team performance and Aspen’s vision and objectives. Participate and undertake applicable professional and/or technical training when required. To act in accordance with and be an advocate of Aspen’s Principles & Values.

Requirements & Skills:

• Previous experience in the Insurance industry
• Expense accounting experience
• Business partnering experience working with senior stakeholders
• Excellent analytical and reporting skills with a strong attention to detail
• Ability to build strong business relationships across a global business
• Proven planning and organisation skills
• Ability to effectively manage workload and prioritise tasks to completion within a given time frame
• Advanced written and verbal communication skills
• Very strong Excel skills (Sumif, vlookup, Index Match)
• Very strong IT skills (reporting tools and Microsoft Office)
• Continuous improvement focus, enhancing processes and quality of output
• Ability to think and plan strategically to add value to the expense reporting process across a global business
• Detailed knowledge of the industry’s best practice process
• Sound knowledge of problem analysis and decision analysis
• Strong understanding of underlying needs of the business and how own role contributes to these

About us: Since Aspen was founded in 2002, we have become a leading, diversified specialty insurance and reinsurance company. We respond thoughtfully and creatively to find the best outcomes for our clients and business partners through carefully-tailored solutions. We believe the way we work is just as important as the work we do, and we are guided by our core values of respect, honesty, trust and professionalism. Aspen is a great place to develop your career offering an exciting and challenging environment where achievement is rewarded.