Head of Finance Business Partnering and Commercial Finance in London

The Metropolitan Police Service is one of the UK's most recognisable and important public service organisations. Every day, its officers and staff work to keep London safe, support communities and respond to some of the most complex challenges facing the capital.

Behind that frontline work sits a large, sophisticated and evolving corporate infrastructure. Finance plays a critical role in ensuring resources are planned, governed and directed where they can have the greatest impact. This is an outstanding opportunity for a senior finance professional to join an organisation with genuine purpose, scale and complexity.

As Head of Finance Business Partnering, you will help shape decisions that affect major operational priorities, long-term investment plans and the effective use of public funds across a portfolio of significant value. This role requires technical credibility, commercial judgement, strategic insight and the confidence to influence at senior levels.

This is a visible and influential finance leadership post. You will act as the strategic finance lead for a major business portfolio, influencing investment decisions, financial planning, risk management and performance improvement. You will work closely with executive leaders, budget holders, programme SROs, strategic finance colleagues and enabling services including Commercial, HR and Met Business Services.

This is a senior partnering role requiring commercial judgement, technical credibility and the ability to translate complex financial information into clear, actionable insight for non-finance leaders.

• Provide strategic financial insight on performance, risk and value for money, supporting decisions that improve outcomes and strengthen accountability.
• Embed financial expertise into business planning, ensuring medium and long-term plans align with organisational strategy, available funding and delivery priorities.
• Identify inefficiencies and lead the development of cost optimisation and income generation strategies.
• Commission, interpret and challenge financial analysis, turning data into practical recommendations that improve performance, mitigate risk and support better use of public funds.
• Advise on business cases and major programmes, ensuring robust financial scrutiny, commercial due diligence and compliance with governance requirements.
• Lead the financial assurance agenda across your portfolio, supporting internal control, compliance, audit outcomes and effective stewardship.
• Build trusted relationships with senior internal and external stakeholders.
• Act as an advocate for strong financial management, improving financial capability across senior leadership through coaching, challenge and clear communication.
• Support innovation in financial reporting and forecasting through digital tools and data-led insight.

You will be a qualified accountant, ideally CCAB, CIMA or equivalent, with significant experience in strategic financial management within a large, complex organisation. You will bring a strong understanding of financial governance, assurance frameworks and public sector funding arrangements, alongside the confidence to operate with senior stakeholders in a complex, matrix environment.

You will be able to demonstrate advanced analytical and commercial problem-solving skills, with the ability to simplify complexity and present clear recommendations. You will have credibility in providing professional challenge to senior leaders and experience driving organisational performance through financial leadership.

You will also bring experience of leading, mentoring or developing finance professionals. The ability to operate effectively with ambiguity, competing priorities and changing organisational demands will be important, as will a track record of shaping strategy and influencing executive-level decisions.

This role will suit someone who is collaborative, resilient and values-led. You will understand the importance of strong financial control, but you will also recognise that effective finance business partnering is about more than reporting numbers.

This is a rare opportunity to use your finance expertise in a role with tangible public value. The Met's work directly affects the safety, confidence and wellbeing of London's communities, and this role will help ensure that public resources are planned, governed and deployed effectively.

You will be joining an organisation operating at exceptional scale, with the complexity and challenge to match. The financial decisions you support will influence major programmes, operational capability and long-term investment across one of the UK's most significant public bodies.

For a senior finance leader who wants more than a conventional finance role, this is a chance to combine professional influence with civic purpose, shaping decisions that support frontline policing, public confidence and better outcomes for London.