Group Head of Planning and Forecasting

Job Type: Permanent

About the Role

The Head of Planning & Forecasting is responsible for leading the planning and forecasting capability within the Group FP&A Centre of Excellence.

The role defines and governs how financial planning and forecasting is delivered across the Group, ensuring outputs are consistent, robust, and support effective decision-making.

The job holder is accountable for establishing planning frameworks, improving forecast accuracy, and ensuring clear alignment between planning, forecasting, and performance management outputs.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead planning & forecasting across the Group
• Accountable for the delivery of the Group-wide annual business planning process, including governance, timelines, and coordination across business units
• Responsible for quarterly forecasting and rolling reforecast processes, ensuring outputs are consistent, accurate, and aligned to business performance
• Defines and embeds driver-based planning methodologies across the organisation
• Challenges assumptions with senior stakeholders to improve the quality and robustness of financial plans
• Ensures scenario analysis, stress testing, and sensitivity modelling are embedded within planning processes
• Supports long‑term planning, ensuring alignment with capital requirements, risk considerations, and actuarial assumptions
• Acts as Group process owner for planning and forecasting, setting standards, governance, and policies
• Drives standardisation and simplification of planning processes across business units
• Improves forecast accuracy and transparency through enhanced modelling, data, and assumptions
• Leverages systems and automation to improve efficiency and reduce manual activity
• Owns the integration between planning outputs and management information, ensuring consistency between plan and forecast outputs
• Partners with the Performance Management Team to align KPI definitions, assumptions and reporting structures
• Ensures MI outputs reflect key business drivers and provide a clear link to forecast assumptions
• Drives improvements in clarity, consistency and efficiency of MI processes, with a focus on forward‑looking insight and decision support
• Must Haves
• Strong FP&A leadership experience with deep expertise in financial modelling, planning and forecasting. Experience in insurance or financial services is preferred.
• Degree level education and professionally qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent).
• Strong understanding of finance processes within a complex organisational environment. Experience of off‑shoring processes is preferred.
• Excellent analytical capability, with the ability to interpret financial data and translate it into clear business insight.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence, challenge and build credibility with senior leaders.
• Experience of driving process improvement and supporting change within finance environments.
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to present complex information clearly and effectively.
• High level of attention to detail, sound judgement and strong commercial awareness.
• Experience of using financial systems, planning tools and data analytics to support decision‑making.
• Proactive and independent approach, with the ability to manage competing priorities and deliver to deadlines.
• Diversity and Flexible Working

We are committed to diversity and creating an inclusive culture that drives success.

Hybrid working model is set by the team to encourage a healthy work‑life balance.

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