Senior Finance Business Partner

Swindon, England, United Kingdom

12/13/2024

Job Summary

Job Purpose:

This role is part of the Innovate UK (IUK) Finance Business Partner team which perform a range of reporting and control functions, but fundamentally will be responsible for positioning finance to work with the business and link all activity to the delivery plan, communicating the importance of Finance to Innovate UK staff at all levels – presenting insightful information to stimulate longer-term thinking. This role will provide Finance support to the Products and Services Investment (Innovation Finance) Directorate and be specifically focused on Innovate UK’s Innovation Loans programme, Investor Partnerships and other Non-Grant Products. Therefore, we are seeking and individual with the skills and experience to help us achieve this balance of financial insight and analysis, strategic financial advice and statutory compliance in the context of an unregulated lending business.

Job Description

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities:

• Creation of Financial and Business Performance Information in conjunction with IUKL data and insights team to report to SLT, Committees and Board to inform decision making and ensure resources are managed within allocations.
• Develop, manage and maintain exceptional working partnerships with senior managers, Directors and stakeholders across Innovate UK providing strategic financial advice.
• Assisting in the development of Innovate UK Investment strategy and spending review process by evaluating financial options/scenarios, impacts, potential risks and solutions.
• Liaise with UKRI Central and DSIT to ensure reporting is submitted on time and the financial risks of managing a loan book are understood.
• Ensure compliance with HMT Loans Financial Framework, agree allocations across multiple budget categories and complete Supplementary Estimates.
• Support IUK Management reporting Team to ensure Innovation Finance forecasting, variance analysis and submission of risks and opportunities are aligned and understood.
• closely work with budget holders to advise on available funding across all budget categories (Financial Transactions, OpEx, RDEL (ringfence and non-ringfenced, AME)
• Support on budgeting and accounting treatment for the development of new innovation finance products
• Knowledge of technical accounting for financial Instruments and ability to work closely with colleagues in the financial reporting team to analyse future budget implications based on current levels of credit provisions and fair value adjustments.
• Keep up to date and familiar with the latest requirements in the Consolidated Budgeting Guidance and the relevant accounting standards to feed into the process
  
  
  

This is not an exhaustive list and you might be encouraged to undertake any other duties across the wider directorate, commensurate with the Band and level of responsibility of this post, for which the post holder has the key experience and/or training.

Person specification

Shortlisting criteria

(S) – Assessed at shortlisting

(I) – Assessed at interview

(S&I) – Assessed at both shortlisting and interview.

Person Specification:

Experience & Qualifications:

Essential –

• Qualified Accountant (ACA/CIMA/ACCA/CIPFA) or Qualified by Experience
• Competent IT skills, including knowledge of Microsoft Office, in particular Excel (S)
• Understanding of financial controls (S)
• Experience of month and year-end processes and reporting, such as accruals and prepayment calculations and variance analysis (S)
• Preparation of budgets, forecasts, and financial plans (S)
• Experience of working as part of a wider-business, consulting with many stakeholders, showing an understanding of business priorities and working with partners to meet organisational and financial objectives (S&I)
• Experience in provision of written and oral advice suitable for senior level decision makers (S&I)
• Understanding of Financial Instruments and IFRS 9 and 16. (S&I)
• Familiar with requirements in the Consolidated Budgeting Guidance for Financial Transactions. (S)
  
  
  

Skills & abilities:

• Ability to build relationships with a variety of stakeholders
• Line management skills
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with a proactive approach
• Personal resilience and a confident, willing to apply good judgement to find solutions independently
• Team working skills, able to form effective working relationships quickly
• Ability to respond calmly under pressure and to make well-considered judgments in different situations
• Good organisational skills, able to manage and prioritise own and others’ workloads and meet deadlines in a timely manner
• Ability to see the big picture, having an appreciation for the wider context
• Continuous improvement approach, with practical implementation of ideas
  
  
  

Interview Criteria:

• Qualified Accountant
• Experience in financial management and analysis of financial products
• Strong Management accounting, budgeting & forecasting experience, including month end processes
• Numeracy and analytical skills with the ability to interpret and present financial information
• Clear, demonstrable relationship management, with ability to instil confidence within stakeholders
• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Personal resilience approach to solve issues in short timescales
  
  
  

Competencies:

All team members demonstrate compatibility with and capability against our Core Competencies such as:

Thinking and Problem Solving – Stakeholder management – Communication skills – Influencing – Self-awareness/self-management – Strategic awareness – Working with others– Project management

Some of the above competencies will be assessed at interview stage, in addition to the criteria’s listed in the person specification.

Travel Requirements:

Swindon-based: There may be the occasional requirement for national travel.

Alongside your salary of £56,745, Innovate UK contributes £16,439 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
  
  
  

Selection process details

1st Interview incl presentation

Interviews will either take place remotely via Zoom/Teams or in person face to face.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window) . See our vetting charter (opens in a new window) .

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality Requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
  
  
  

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window) .

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Recruitment Team
• Email : recruitment@ukri.org
  
  
  

Recruitment team

• Email : recruitment@ukri.org