Business Operations, Manager in London

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About Alvarez & Marsal

Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) is a global consulting firm with over 10,000 entrepreneurial, action and results-oriented professionals in over 40 countries. We take a hands-on approach to solving our clients' problems and assisting them in reaching their potential. Our culture celebrates independent thinkers and doers who positively impact our clients and shape our industry. The collaborative environment and engaging work—guided by A&M's core values of Integrity, Quality, Objectivity, Fun, Personal Reward, and Inclusive Diversity are why our people love working at A&M.

The Team

The Financial Services Industry Group in EMEA has undertaken substantial growth in the past 4 years. As we continue to grow, in size and in ambition, we are looking to hire a Senior Manager - Business Operations to support all aspects of the practice and ensure client facing staff and Senior Management get the support they need to help achieve their goals. The role will support FSIG EMEA and will be based in London. The successful candidate will need to work closely with established functions such as Finance, HR, Talent Acquisition, Legal and Resourcing, as well as SBU heads and all Senior Management.

The candidate will be leading or coordinating with the appropriate departments. The key reporting and support processes would be:

• Financial control to track financial progress and group level and engagement level pricing, pipeline, billing and cashflow compliance and reporting exceptions;
• Consolidated Financial reporting at a group and country level and analysis and ad hoc reviews to support leadership meetings and decision making;
• Financial planning and helping to optimise return on engagements and overall return of investment;
• Lead the rollout of the DealCloud software - the CRM system for Deals;

The candidate will work closely with well established functions to consolidate into management meetings and decision agendas, elements of:

• Talent acquisition - Tracking engagement demand and near-term pipeline against current recruitment priorities;
• People development - Tracking L&D adoption, compliance and course development;
• Legal & Risk compliance - Work alongside our Risk function to ensure work is delivered to the highest quality standards and engagement profitability is maintained while engagement and firm risk is minimised.

How you will contribute

• Financial Analyses & Reporting, including Management Information Packs
• Tracking the financial / cashflow progress and near-term expectations on group, MD and engagement level.
• Creating monthly financial reports, gathering explanations for variances and delivering consolidated reports on an accurate and timely basis.
• Working directly with engagement leaders to drive an efficient WIP & AR book to ensure cash collections are within acceptable norms / in accordance with engagement rules;
• Job contribution management: Be accountable for a focus on profitability by ensuring all engagements review job profitability, monitor project profitability reports and clarify variances/ flag issues in a timely manner;
• Provide financial support for key annual processes such as business planning and budget reviews;
• Review monthly P & L's and overheads for accuracy and follow-up and corrections which might need to be made;
• Be an advocate for all Financial systems (including Salesforce, Power BI dashboards, Prime, Agresso and Concur);
• Ad-hoc reporting and in-depth reviews (e.g. project profitability reviews).

Strategic planning, budgeting and forecasting and business oversight

• Practice, SBU and MD Business Plans: Ensures Business plans are created, validated and monitored. Throughout the year will monitor progress against both the overall plan and individual MD plans, providing insight / assistance to leadership on progress, required corrective actions & responsible for the monitoring of progress on agreed corrective actions;
• Driving the Corporate Agenda: Be accountable for the annual corporate calendar and ensure the annual budgeting agenda, the ongoing financial and talent agendas and the year-end close reporting and bonus agendas are optimised in terms of minimising the time required by MDs while achieving their individual objectives.

DealCloud Rollout

• Work with the Corporate Finance team to fully understand and become an expert in the use of DealCloud;
• Be an advocate for this software and roll it out to our Deals teams (PAG and FIG M&A);
• Maintain and enhance the system throughout the year to ensure accurate financial forecasts and reporting within the Deal space.

Qualifications

• Prior experience in a similar Professional Services organisation;
• Educated to Degree level likely, but not essential with the right experience;
• Must have experience in financial reporting and consolidating multiple financial sources into single views. A strong financial competency overall is essential;
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) & MS Outlook;
• Ability to understand and train others in systems and software;
• Fluency in written and spoken English;
• Previous experience in Salesforce (CRM systems);
• Capacity to thrive in a fast-paced, challenging, and changing environment;
• Passionate about perfect execution and detail-oriented;
• Objective, fact-based approach to problem solving;
• Strong organisational and communications skills;
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities;
• Self-starter; Let's Get it Done attitude - willing to pitch in where needed.

Your journey at A&M

We recognize that our people are the driving force behind our success, which is why we prioritize an employee experience that fosters each person's unique professional and personal development. Our robust performance development process promotes continuous learning, rewards your contributions, and fosters a culture of meritocracy. With top-notch training and on-the-job learning opportunities, you can acquire new skills and advance your career.

We prioritize your well-being, providing benefits and resources to support you on your personal journey. Our people consistently highlight the growth opportunities, our unique, entrepreneurial culture, and the fun we have together as their favorite aspects of working at A&M. The possibilities are endless for high-performing and passionate professionals.