Team Manager, Financial Reporting, Planning and Analysis in Belfast

This role aligns to the following industry titles - FP&A Manager and Finance Manager (FP&A).

At Pearson, we believe learning opens up opportunities, creating fulfilling careers and better lives. We’re looking for a dynamic and experienced FP&A Manager to lead our Higher Education FP&A Team. This is a key leadership role within Pearson Finance Services, responsible for driving financial performance, strategic insight, and operational excellence across our global support functions.

As Team Manager, you will lead financial planning and analysis for Pearson’s Higher Education Business. You’ll manage a high-performing team of 17 finance professionals, fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.

Key responsibilities

• Financial Planning, Reporting and Analysis: Lead month-end reporting, budgeting, forecasting and planning processes for Higher Education, ensuring outputs are accurate, timely and actionable. Review financial performance, challenge assumptions and translate variances, risks and opportunities into clear insight for stakeholders. Prepare, review and approve reporting packs, consolidated analysis, ad hoc outputs and scenario support for business management, senior stakeholders and business partner review.
• Business Partnering and Stakeholder Management: Partner with finance business partners, business leaders and colleagues to understand performance drivers, support strategic priorities and solve cross-functional problems. Communicate financial information clearly to finance and non-finance audiences, tailoring messages to stakeholder needs.
• Project Finance, Balance Sheet and Governance: Oversee balance sheet, investment, CIP, hosting cost, capitalisation and amortisation activities. Support business cases and governance activity with robust financial cost, benefit and control inputs.
• Team Leadership and Continuous Improvement: Set clear team objectives, manage priorities and foster a collaborative, inclusive and improvement-focused culture. Coach, motivate and develop direct reports, supporting performance, capability and career development. Lead AI-enabled change by embedding automation, improved processes and responsible AI use in day-to-day FP&A activity.

Skills and Experience

• Skills and Competencies: Leadership, delivery and communication: Team Leadership, Stakeholder management, project management, problem solving, clear communication and ability to deliver through others. Insight and judgement: Strategic thinking, predictive analytics, analytical skills and business acumen to connect performance with decisions, risks and opportunities. Change and improvement: Adaptability, learning to learn and practical use of AI and automation to improve finance insight, productivity and control. Finance and systems: Accounting, budgeting, financial analysis, financial systems, Microsoft Excel and Oracle E-Business Suite.
• Qualifications and Experience: Extensive experience in Finance Management or BPM roles. Recognised professional accountancy qualification preferred or clearly demonstrate qualification by experience. Strong accounting knowledge and understanding of financial control and performance management. Experience with finance ERP systems, with Oracle preferred. Advanced Excel skills, including pivot tables, v-lookups and sum-ifs. Proven people management experience. High attention to detail and commitment to quality. Experience working in a multinational, matrixed organization. Exposure to shared services or delivery centre environments. Experience of managing change and championing improvement preferred. Understanding of specialist finance areas, such as tax, treasury, M&A and compliance.

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