Head of Group FP&A in London

We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide. For 90 years we have shaped brighter futures through education, arts, culture, language, and creativity. Working with people in over 200 countries and territories, we are on the ground in more than 100 countries.

Location: London, UK

Right to Work Requirements: Right to Work in the UK. The British Council is not able to support or sponsor work visa applications.

Closing Date: advert will close on Sunday, June 7th, 2026 at 21:59 UK Time

Benefits: Include, but are not limited to:

• 32 days annual leave, in addition to public holidays
• 3 days volunteering leave
• Career average defined benefit pension scheme

About the Role

The British Council is seeking an exceptional Head of Group Financial Planning and Analysis to play a pivotal leadership role in enabling Group reporting and continuous improvement. This is a high-impact position that sits at the heart of the Group and Global Finance, with visibility across the senior leadership team (SLT) and the wider finance community.

As a Head of FP&A you will be responsible for:

• Leading Group management information and reporting.
• Setting the framework and assumptions for planning and forecasting across the organisation.
• Overseeing cash and balance sheet forecasting of the group and subsidiaries.
• Ensuring accurate and timely reporting to our key external stakeholder, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), including compliance with all financial loan covenants.

As the Group's expert in Finance Planning and Reporting, you will report into the Director of FP&A and collaborate closely with colleagues across Shared Service Centre, Centres of Excellence, and regional financial planning teams to ensure that financial strategies are aligned with our organisational objectives.

The role requires a proactive, commercially minded, and strategically focused finance professional who will build trusted relationships and influence across a global, matrixed organisation. You will bring on board a broad base of finance experience, including international exposure and experience working with multi-location operational teams.

You will also play a central role in shaping and embedding a unified finance culture and service model, contributing to the delivery of new planning tools and processes as part of the Finance Transformation Programme.

Key Responsibilities (but not limited to the following):

• Lead a comprehensive Group Financial Planning and Management Reporting service to identified recipients of financial information including key stakeholders at the FCDO.
• Ensure accurate reporting against all financial loan covenants.
• Ensure that Group FP&A processes are consistent with the British Council's strategy, objectives, and operating environment.
• Drive continuous improvement and leverage technology to achieve best practice in Group FP&A processes.
• Act as a champion for compliance, organising monitoring compliance and ensuring that non-compliance is addressed.
• Provide high quality, insightful management information (MI) for the Group, making improvements where possible; continue to develop and improve balance sheet and cash forecasting for the group to meet the needs of internal stakeholders and His Majesty's Government (HMG).
• Develop Group forecasting of I&E and cash for all subsidiaries and ensure this feeds into the broader work on cash management and provides an important data set for decision making.
• Support Director FP&A in coordinating and delivering 5-year financial plans (3 statements), establishing guidance/targets and core assumptions.
• Provide analysis and insights as required.
• Ensure that year 1 of the plan aligns with the budget.
• Support treasury in the forecasting of trapped and restricted cash forecasts.
• Provide guidance to the FP&A community, role model British Council values and EDI in day-to-day interactions with colleagues at all levels.
• Ensure high levels of professionalism are demonstrated by the Group FP&A team, and that client and customer needs are reflected in ways of working.
• Develop strong partnerships and working relationships with key stakeholders in the UK and globally, to ensure that Group FP&A activities support the delivery of business strategy.
• Build strong relations with the Shared Service Centre (SSC) / Centres of Excellence and Managed Service Provider (MSP) as required.
• Work closely with the Director FP&A, the Corporate Planning team, Global Networks Group and Strategic Business Units to align and develop annual planning targets and guidance.
• Provide high quality, concise analysis to SLT/Finance Committee and Board of Trustees to improve the making of business decisions and the achievement of business strategy.
• Complete ad hoc requirements and analysis as required.
• Champion the development of leaner and more effective financial planning and forecasting processes.
• Drive a step change in cash and balance sheet forecasting at a group and entity level.
• Champion the development and implementation of Global Finance Planning and Analysis (FP&A) Processes and Reporting Tools, ensuring all Group requirements are fully met.

About You

• Operating in international and multi-cultural organisations.
• Strong commercial finance experience gained in an organisation undergoing change and driving for growth.
• Leadership of change projects/initiatives.
• Managing and developing teams.
• Financial Planning & monitoring including management information reporting.
• Qualified accountant with significant post qualification experience in relevant senior finance roles.
• Excellent analytical skills along with strong planning and organisational skills are required.
• Flexibility, independence, and initiative to perform successfully in a rapidly changing environment.
• Ability to operate effectively and prioritise in a busy global facing role.

Desirable:

• Development and optimisation of SAP accounting and planning applications.
• What constitutes best practice in the upper quartile of finance functions.
• Working with an FP&A Centre of Excellence.
• Implementing new EPM tools in particular Anaplan.

About the British Council and role context:

The British Council connects people and organizations around the world through arts, culture, education, and the English language. With a presence in over 100 countries, the Council reaches millions every year, making a positive global impact.

The role-holder will be a forward looking and strategic thinking finance professional, who will build a team that is both mutually supportive and cross-skilled to help the Council manage the changing emphasis in its commercial business model and all that is required in terms of providing support to the Regions, English and Exams and Cultural Engagement.

The role-holder will need to be comfortable in this visible senior role, during a period of significant organisational change, including within Finance. He/she must develop an innovative service that anticipates planning and reporting demand such that customer colleagues have access to and benefit from a set of commercially focused reports and performance indicators.

How to apply:

Applications should be made via our career site – before Sunday, June 7th, 2026 at 21:59 UK Time.

A connected and trusted UK in a more connected and trusted world.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Statement

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and welcome applications from all sections of the community as we believe that a diverse workforce gives added depth to our work. The British Council is a Disability Confident Employer. The Disability Confident scheme helps challenge attitudes, increase understanding of disability and ensure staff are drawn from the widest possible pool of talent. We guarantee an interview for disabled applicants who meet the minimum role requirements. We welcome discussions about specific requirements or adjustments to enable participation and engagement in our work and activities.

Safeguarding Statement

The British Council is committed to safeguarding children, young people and adults who we work with. We believe that all children and adults everywhere in the world deserve to live in safe environments and have the right to be protected from all forms of abuse, maltreatment and exploitation as set out in article 19, UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child) 1989. Appointment to positions where there is direct involvement with vulnerable groups will be dependent on thorough checks being completed in line with legal requirements and with the British Council's Safeguarding policies for Adults and Children.