Financial Business Partner - Technology in Cardiff

A career with the IB is not just a job; it’s an opportunity to work with an innovative world leader in education services where we empower our employees to thrive and make a difference.

The FP&A function plays a critical role in enabling disciplined, forward-looking decision-making across the organisation. As IB continues to expand and modernise its Digital & Data capabilities, the scale, complexity, and investment profile of multiyear programmes within the Digital & Data Office (DDO) require dedicated, high-quality financial partnership.

The FP&A Manager will serve as the primary finance business partner to the DDO senior/leadership team, including Chief Digital & Data Officer, providing strategic financial oversight, planning, and performance management for a portfolio of large, multiyear projects and digital transformation initiatives. This role ensures that investment decisions, funding allocations, and programme outcomes are supported by robust financial analysis, sound forecasting, and clear commercial insight.

Operating as a front-office finance business partner, the position combines financial stewardship with business advisory responsibilities. The role is accountable for strengthening financial visibility across programme lifecycles, enhancing cost discipline, and enabling proactive management of financial risks and opportunities associated with long-term digital and technology investments.

Working closely with mainly DDO stakeholders, domain leaders, and the broader Finance and HR functions, the FP&A Manager will help translate strategic priorities into credible financial plans, ensure alignment between budgets and delivery roadmaps, and support leadership in making informed trade-offs. The role requires strong analytical capability, confidence in navigating ambiguity, and the ability to influence senior stakeholders in a dynamic, project-driven environment.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide strategic financial partnership to the Digital & Data Office (DDO) to ensure investment decisions, business cases, and projects priorities are supported by robust financial analysis and aligned with organisational objectives.
• Own financial planning and forecasting for the DDO project portfolio, ensuring multiyear large project budgets, funding requirements, and resource assumptions are credible, transparent, and enable effective long-term decision-making.
• Deliver financial oversight of large, multiyear projects and initiatives to ensure cost trajectories, financial risks, and value realisation remain visible and actively managed throughout programme lifecycles.
• Reporting to Head FP&A and CFO monthly on project and financial updates of large projects.
• Partner with domain and project leaders to ensure financial implications of delivery plans, scope changes, and prioritisation decisions are clearly understood and reflected in forecasts and financial plans.
• Strengthen financial governance and discipline across DDO investments to ensure expenditures are controlled, deviations are identified early, and corrective actions are supported by reliable financial insight.
• Lead financial modelling and scenario analysis for strategic initiatives to enable leadership to evaluate trade-offs, funding options, and financial impacts of alternative delivery strategies.
• Support Head of FP&A/CFO, Board and FARM governance processes by preparing, validating, and presenting financial analyses, investment views, and performance updates to enable effective oversight and decision-making.
• Financial Accounting and detailed tracking – support analysis of project costs to determine capitalization as per IFRS as well as proper accounting processes set up to ensure cost accuracy and reporting.
• Working closely with DDO office and People team to track, analyze resourcing for DDO office and its projects.
• Support in providing financial insight and challenge in Board and FARM discussions to ensure risks, assumptions, funding implications, and value considerations are clearly articulated and understood.
• Translate financial data into clear decision-support insights for senior stakeholders, enabling the Executive Team and DDO leadership to make timely, informed, and commercially sound decisions.
• Ensure alignment between projects financials and organisational financial cycles, supporting annual planning, periodic forecasts, and long-range financial views.
• Drive continuous improvement in project financial management practices to enhance forecasting accuracy, cost visibility, and the overall quality of financial information supporting digital and technology investments.
• Provide leadership and guidance to FP&A analysts supporting DDO activities, ensuring consistency, accuracy, and relevance of financial outputs provided to business stakeholders.

Qualifications:

• Degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business, or related discipline.
• Professional finance qualification preferred (e.g. ACA, ACCA, CIMA, CPA or equivalent, FP&A qualification or MBA finance qualification).
• Significant experience in Financial Planning & Analysis, commercial finance, or business partnering roles.
• Proven experience supporting large, complex, or multiyear programmes/investments.
• Experience working with senior stakeholders.
• Experience operating in matrixed or global organisations preferred.
• Exposure to technology, digital, or transformation-driven environments advantageous (must have), such as IT services, software development, platform development, SAAS product development environments.
• Strong understanding of financial planning, budgeting, and forecasting principles.
• Solid commercial and investment analysis capability.
• Understanding of project/programme financial management concepts.
• Familiarity with financial governance, controls, and performance management practices.
• Ability to interpret financial outcomes in a strategic business context.
• Exposure to AI in financial processes, systems, workflows.
• Advanced financial modelling and scenario analysis capability.
• Strong analytical and quantitative skills.
• Ability to translate complex financial data into clear management insights.
• High proficiency in financial systems and planning tools (e.g. ERP, forecasting, Excel).
• Ability to work with large datasets and multiple financial drivers.

Benefits:

• UK Annual salary in the region of £49,815 - £71,296 negotiable dependent on experience.
• Flexible benefits allowance equivalent to 1.5% of Annual Salary to spend on benefits or as addition to salary.
• 10% employer pension contribution with a 3% employee contribution.
• Enhanced family friendly benefits.
• 25 Days Annual Leave plus public holidays. The opportunity to purchase up to 5 days of leave each year.
• Life assurance 4x annual salary.
• Flexible working hours (core hours are 10am-12pm and 2pm-3pm), 37.5 hours per week.
• Paid volunteering leave.
• Excellent continuous professional development.

Netherlands Annual salary in the region of €76,033 - €114,049, negotiable dependent on experience.

• Relocation support and work permit sponsorship available.
• Flexible benefits allowance equivalent to 1.5% of Annual Salary to spend on benefits or as addition to salary.
• Flexible working (core hours are 10am-3.30pm), 40 hours per week.
• 25 days annual leave plus public holidays, plus opportunity to purchase up to 5 days of leave each year.
• Bicycle scheme.
• IB Pension.
• Life insurance 2x annual salary.
• Travel and work from home allowance.
• Health insurance allowance.
• Disability insurance.
• Excellent continuous professional development.

Opportunity & Belonging:

We are committed to building a working environment that values respect, diversity, and compassion. The International Baccalaureate is proud to be an equal opportunities employer, and we welcome applications from all qualified applicants. As a global employer, we adhere to all relevant employment legislation in the countries in which we operate, and we’re happy to provide any reasonable support or adjustments as needed to ensure applicants can fully participate in our recruitment process.