Senior Strategic Finance Business Partner (Academic Faculties) Ref: 41482

An exciting opportunity exists to join the University of Sussex to lead the Academic Faculties Finance Business Partnering team in the delivery of professional financial business partnering services to the Provost, Faculty Executive Deans and their Heads of School, and the Director of Strategic Planning and Performance.

You will manage services to budget holders, which support the development of financially sustainable strategic and operational plans for Academic Faculties, and at University level, that deliver value for money and meet the University’s objectives in all areas of responsibility. You will provide insightful advisory services to senior management in respect of Academic Faculties’ financial performance, financial forecasting, Five Year Financial Plans, and the financial inputs required for the annual academic planning process.

You will ensure that senior managers receive the support required to make effective financial decisions and build and improve excellent financial management literacy and practice across the University’s Academic Faculties. You will develop our reporting capability, ensuring the potential of reporting and analytics tools is realised fully.

If you have experience of delivering effective financial management and business partnering services, with highly effective leadership skills and the ability to think strategically and develop excellent service provision, then we want to hear from you.

The Finance Division is led by the Chief Financial Officer who reports directly to the Vice Chancellor. We employ some 80 staff who provide high quality financial and commercial services which support both the day to day running of our schools, services, and the development and delivery of the University’s strategic aims. Our staff work in partnership with academic, professional service colleagues, and students to understand their priorities and needs.

We maintain efficient and effective services, systems, and processes, assist in identifying and exploiting commercial and strategic opportunities, manage financial risk and improve ‘spending power’ through negotiation of favourable commercial terms. We work hard to equip staff across the University with financial capability and confidence to ensure that the University makes the best use of resources for our students and research partners.

Our university is situated off the A27, next to the beautiful South Downs where you will enjoy everything that our 150-acre campus has to offer. We are accessible by public transport; Falmer train station is a five-minute walk to campus and several bus stops are located within campus. We also have dedicated cycling paths and encourage our staff to use these with our offering of a cycle to work scheme.

Sussex is a renowned, multi-accredited, research-led International University and this is only possible because of the people that work here. Whether you are a member of Faculty, part of a Professional Services team or a Student, it’s our people that make us great and we want you to be part of that.

Please contact Carey McLaughlin, Deputy Director of Finance (c.mclaughlin@sussex.ac.uk) for informal enquiries. The University of Sussex values the diversity of its staff and students, and we welcome applicants from all backgrounds. The University requires that work undertaken for the University is performed in the UK. This role may be eligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route.

If you are experiencing any issues using our application portal or if you require adjustments to be made to the selection process, please contact us on (01273) 873743 or recruitmentadministration@sussex.ac.uk to discuss your requirements.