Finance Business Partner

London South Bank University are partnering exclusively with Robertson Bell to recruit to a Finance Business Partner position on a permanent basis. London South Bank University (LSBU) is a modern, dynamic university with a long history of leading the way in applied education and practice-led earning. With over 17000 students and 2000 staff from over 130 countries, we work together to foster the development of graduates, ready to address business and societal challenges.

Are you ready to play a pivotal role in shaping financial decisions? As a Finance Business Partner, you will support key stakeholders through detailed reporting, insightful analysis, and actionable financial insights. In this role, you’ll provide strategic recommendations on critical financial decisions, ensuring that finance is central to decision-making at LSBU.

Key Responsibilities Include:

• Following the agreed process, conduct the annual budget setting process for the partnered units.
• Deliver finance business partnering services, including: budget setting, business case review, aiding comprehension of financial reports, financial approver maintenance, monthly forecasting, and providing advice and insight to budget holders.
• Provide ad hoc analysis to stakeholders in the partnered units.  This will often include a combination of financial and non-financial data to deliver information that improves decision making and planning.
• Following the agreed timetable, produce accurate monthly forecasts for the partnered units.  Follow consistent processes and templates, and engage constructively with efforts to improve the efficiency of those processes.
• For the partnered units, maintain an accurate record of financial approvers on the finance system.  This includes making any necessary changes, and regularly monitoring the financial approvers to ensure they are correct.
• Review, and seek regular feedback from stakeholders on, the usefulness of the suite of financial reports available to budget holders.  Pass feedback to the Head of Financial Planning & Business Partnering and the Head of Financial Reporting & Analysis.
• Using the suite of training materials developed by senior members of the team, deliver regular training to budget holders in the partnered units.

Our fantastic campus in central London is based around the historic, vibrant, and unique Elephant and Castle in the best student city in the world (QS World University Rankings, 2023). We also have specialist health campuses in Croydon and Havering.

We are highly commended as an Outstanding Entrepreneurial University (Times Higher Awards, 2022) and ranked third in the world for Reducing Inequality (Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, 2024). We are proud that our graduates are the highest paid amongst all London modern universities one year after completing their course (LEO, 2022).

The successful candidate will:

• In the final stages of becoming qualified with a professional accountancy body (ICAEW, ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA or equivalent).
• Finance business partnering to non-finance professionals.
• Working in close partnership with other professional functions (e.g. HR, IT), with a supportive and collegiate style.
• Closely following defined processes, including complex processes, requiring a keen eye for detail.

• Ability to conduct basic financial modelling, combining data from multiple sources to provide useful information for decision making purposes.
• Interpersonal skills, and the ability to put across financial information clearly to diverse audiences.
• Strong IT skills, including MS Excel.
• Good technical accounting knowledge and the ability to apply it to practical scenarios.
• Good time management skills.

The successful candidate will be based in their central London office and benefit from a hybrid working pattern.

Applications will be under constant review before the closing date so please submit your application to our exclusive agent Robertson Bell. Apply now to be considered!