Senior Finance Manager (FP&A)

THE ROLE

WiseEnergy is a trusted and established solar asset manager, offering all the services clients require to manage and optimise large-scale solar plants, from development and construction through to long-term operational asset management. We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced, passionate finance professional to support the delivery of finance asset management services to one of our most important clients in London.

We are looking for someone who genuinely cares about the people they work with, naturally seeks to collaborate and enjoys the buzz of good camaraderie. Although, as with all finance roles, you will need to have exceptional attention to detail. This role is directly client-facing and requires someone with confidence to report the portfolio's performance and to handle client queries as they arise. In other words, you will be a key member of the team who can build and maintain good working relationships across a broad spectrum of stakeholders.

The successful candidate will be a highly commercial and influential advisor to the clients, playing a pivotal role in ensuring timely reporting and analysis that drives future strategic decision making and value creation. The candidate will most likely have experience within previous FP&A roles and demonstrate strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a keen attention to detail and proficiency in financial modelling, combined with the ability to manage a team to support you in delivering an accurate and timely service.

There is an expectation of consistency and accuracy of outputs, as well as delivering and maintaining a high degree of customer service (internal stakeholders). In view of this, you will be expected to appropriately flag issues and support their resolution through to the end and proactively drive continuous improvement.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

The following responsibilities are applicable to the circa 100 SPVs and HoldCo's which are owned by our listed client.

Management Reporting

• Management of the monthly and quarterly portfolio reporting outputs, consisting of the Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet, Cashflow and supporting reconciliations
• Review of key reporting outputs to the internal client ensuring a high level of governance and accurate reporting
• Present and deliver comprehensive portfolio financial results to the internal client, inclusive of regular management reporting and portfolio information included within the Fund's Annual and Interim reports
• Responsible for the accounting of complex accounting entries, such as restructuring, acquisition, disposal and joint venture transactions
• Close collaboration with other departments on monthly portfolio performance to ensure alignment of cross-departmental information presented

Budgeting and Cost Management

• Lead the annual budgeting and quarterly reforecasting processes, including collaborating with other departments that contribute to the budgeted numbers
• Ensure appropriate levels of review and governance are in place
• Present and deliver the quarterly fund model to operating budget reconciliation to the internal client, and the budget presentation meeting to stakeholders
• Collaborate with Treasury and Debt Management departments to ensure alignment to short-term Cash Model and longer-term Lender Models
• Highlight and investigate trends and variances in performance, and flag issues to different departments and stakeholders where financial trends are impacting cash or expected to exceed budgeted projections

Ad-hoc Requests

• Performing additional analyses and reconciliations required following presentation of regular portfolio results
• Provision of financial information required for due diligence processes

Process Improvements

• Define and establish the risk matrix on all reporting outputs, ensuring adequate controls are in place to mitigate the risk of material errors
• Identify and implement improvements to processes to increase efficiency and accuracy of financial planning and analysis, and reporting tasks and client outputs
• Continuous improvement and enhancement to the efficiency and accuracy of the portfolio budget model and reporting outputs

Report Management and Training

• Managing and mentoring the Reporting Team.

SKILLS & COMPETENCIES

To be successful in this role, you will demonstrate:

• Time management & prioritization skills - things can get a little hectic, so the ability to effectively manage yourself and your workload is critical
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (in English and/or other European languages) - you must be able to organize your thoughts in a way that others find clear and compelling. You will be expected to together well-written, grammatically correct emails and other communications. When communicating verbally – whether over the phone, on video calls, in person or in meetings – you will need to be articulate, warm and engaging
• Flexibility - being an effective team player means being flexible in your approach and open to getting involved with new things, even if they are not spelled out in your job description

EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS 

• Qualified accountant (essential)
• 5+ years' experience in a similar role (essential)
• Financial modelling experience (essential)
• Excellent stakeholder management skills (essential)
• Proven track record of process improvement (essential)
• Experience of implementing automation tools / systems (desirable)
• Renewable energy experience (desirable)
• Fluent, advanced business level English (essential)
• The right to work in the UK.

WHAT WE OFFER (UK) 

• A busy role in a supportive team, with plenty of opportunities to learn
• International scope – we operate in over 8 countries
• Hybrid working – we will need you in the central London (Mayfair) office at least twice a week, but you will normally be able to work remotely for the remainder of the week
• 30 days’ holiday per year (3 of which are taken during the festive shutdown in December)

HOW TO APPLY

If you are interested in this opportunity, please follow the link to apply or send your application to careers@nextenergygroup.com. If you have been shortlisted for the next stage, we will be in contact within 14 days. 

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DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

Our approach to diversity and inclusion is a natural extension of our values. Our entrepreneurial culture inspires us to try new things, be open to different viewpoints and be bold. Our Group is committed to cultivating and preserving a culture of connectedness that values difference and gives space for individual expression. The collective sum of our individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, innovation, self-expression, and talent and hard work form the bedrock of who we are and who we aspire to be.

We are committed to equal employment and advancement opportunity irrespective of race, color, ancestry, social background, religion, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability and gender identity.

ABOUT US

NextEnergy Group was founded in 2007 to become a leading market participant in the international solar sector.  Since its inception, it has been active in the development, construction, and ownership of solar assets across multiple jurisdictions.  NextEnergy Group operates via its three business units: NextEnergy Capital (Investment Management), WiseEnergy (Operating Asset Management), and Starlight (Asset Development).

NextEnergy Capital manages the Group's investment activities and has invested in over 520 solar plants, exceeding 2GW in capacity across its institutional funds.

• NextEnergy Solar Fund (NESF): Listed on the London Stock Exchange, NESF manages 102 solar and energy storage assets in the UK and Italy, with a total installed capacity of 983MW and a gross asset value of £1,014m.
• NextPower II (NPII): A private fund of 105 solar plants (149MW) focused on Italy, successfully divested in January 2022, delivering net IRRs exceeding its 10-12% target.
• NextPower III ESG (NPIII ESG): A private fund targeting solar infrastructure in OECD countries (e.g., US, Spain, Italy), with $896m raised, exceeding its $750m target.
• NextPower UK ESG (NPUK ESG): A private fund dedicated to new-build solar plants in the UK, with ~£600m raised.
• NextPower V ESG (NPV ESG): A private OECD solar fund investing in solar and adjacent technologies like battery storage. To date, it has raised $745m, targeting $1.5bn ($2bn ceiling).

WiseEnergy® is NextEnergy Group’s operating asset manager.  WiseEnergy is a leading specialist operating asset manager in the solar sector.  Since its founding, WiseEnergy has provided solar asset management, monitoring, technical due diligence and under construction services to over 1,500 utility-scale solar power plants with an installed total capacity in excess of 3.4 GW.  WiseEnergy clients comprise leading banks and equity financiers in the energy and infrastructure sector. 

Starlight is NextEnergy Group’s development company that is active in the development phase of solar projects.  It has developed over 100 utility-scale projects internationally and continues to progress a large pipeline of c.10GW of both green and brownfield project developments across global geographies.

NextSTEP is the venture capital fund of NextEnergy Group, dedicated to investing in innovative startups in the field of environmental sustainability. The fund primarily focuses on investments in Italy and the United Kingdom but also extends its reach to the rest of Europe and the United States, targeting startups in the pre-seed and seed stages. NextSTEP pays particular attention to emerging entities from incubators, startup accelerators, universities, and research centers, supporting projects that address global challenges in crucial areas such as Climate Change, Energy Transition, CO2 Capture and Sequestration, Circular Economy, Sustainable Cities, Sustainable Mobility, Sustainable Fashion, Waste Management, Water and much more.

NextEnergy Foundation is a non-profit organisation founded in 2016 by the NextEnergy Group that operates internationally and whose mission is to proactively participate in the global effort to reduce carbon emissions by providing clean energy sources in regions where they are not yet available and thereby contributing to poverty reduction. As the main sponsor of this foundation, the NextEnergy Group donates at least 5% of its consolidated net profits each year. The NextEnergy Foundation has no overhead costs and therefore 100% of the funds raised go to donations for the various projects. Since 2016, in 8 years of operation the foundation has donated more than £1.2 million, supporting over 30 projects in 27 different countries around the world.