Finance Business Partner in Milton Keynes

A little bit about us: East West Rail is a proposed new railway linking communities between Oxford and Cambridge. The area is currently let down by a lack of transport choices, and we have a once in a generation opportunity to fix that – improving prosperity for people and places along the way. East West Railway Company was created by the Department for Transport to oversee the delivery of East West Rail from construction through to wheels in motion, making sure the railway comes together in the right way.

Role Summary: To be the Finance Business Partner for a specific area of the business and assist this team in managing all areas of financial performance.

Team Dimensions: Reporting to the Senior Finance Business Partner, working alongside two other Finance Business Partners.

Key Responsibilities

• Assist the Senior Finance Business Partner with all aspects of Management Accounting within the business, including the period-end close (4-weekly) and the drafting of commentary explaining variances to budget or forecast.
• Develop and maintain a business partnering relationship with both the Director and the Directorates that are allocated to you.
• Lead on the resolution of any financial issues that arise in your area and ensure that a high standard of reporting and forecasting is achieved.
• Ensure, by detailed review and analysis, the budget and forecast figures supplied by the business are realistic.
• Assist the Senior Finance Business Partner with the annual cycle of financial planning; from setting the annual Budget to the Quarterly Forecasts.
• Assist the Senior Finance Business Partner with pulling together a medium term (3 – 5 years) financial plan for the company.
• Assist with the development of the company's financial reporting functionality both within and outside of the SAP system, to ensure that technology is fully utilised.
• Maintain the budget and forecasts within the SAP system.
• Prepare information for the annual audit, when required.
• Promote adherence to internal financial controls.
• Responsible for Headcount reporting and variance analysis.
• Provide the required information to assist others within the team to forecast cashflow.
• Oversee how cost is reported to the Balance Sheet, to ensure only appropriate cost is captured.

Skills, Knowledge And Expertise

As the Finance Business Partner for East West Rail Co, you must be a fully Qualified Accounting professional with similar experience in a Business Partnering role. Your skills and experience will include:

• Recognisable experience in the management of corporate finances and accounts.
• Strong analytical skills.
• Experience assisting in the preparation of financial and performance reports.
• Experience of planning, budgeting, and forecasting in a large organisation.
• Strong people skills with the ability to engage and manage stakeholders.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong presentation skills.
• An appreciation for and interest in driving innovation and change in an established industry or organisation.
• Experience and confidence in dealing with high levels of uncertainty and ambiguity in a constantly changing and challenging environment.
• Working knowledge of financial regulations, systems, and procedures.

Education and qualifications:

• Fully Qualified ACCA/CIMA.
• At least 2 years of post qualification experience in a similar role.

Benefits

What do we offer:

• Competitive base salary.
• Hybrid working.
• Up to 12% employer's pension contribution.
• 36 days holiday a year (including bank holidays) + up to 2 days to buy.
• Life assurance.
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• Perkbox platform with hundreds of discounts and freebies.
• On-the-spot and annual awards.
• Advanced learning and development programmes.
• Great work-life balance and flexible working opportunities.
• Enhanced family-friendly policies.
• Exceptional I.T. tools.

EWR Co strives to embrace a flexible working environment, where a degree of flexibility is maintained to accommodate both the needs and preferences of employees and what is required to achieve business objectives. EWR Co will always work with any individual to assess and accommodate an individual's work life balance and style.

Diversity and inclusion:

To discover the best solutions, it's important we embrace diversity of thought. That’s why we aim to ensure our colleagues feel included, engaged and valued. Inclusiveness is not a buzzword, but a way of being. Our approach to diversity is simple – a workplace where everyone is welcome and everyone is encouraged to be themselves. It helps fuel our innovation and connects us with the customers and communities we serve.

If you want to connect lives and unlock the future, then we’d love to hear from you.