Senior Finance Business Partner

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About Network Rail
At Network Rail, our passengers and freight users are at the heart of everything we do. We help connect people to their friends and families and get goods to their destination safely and efficiently. We're an organisation where people matter. Watch our video to find out more!

Scotland's Railway is part of this large family, covering a large geographical area from the Borders to Thurso at the far tip of the North East of Scotland, accounting for almost 20 percent of the UK rail network. We provide rapid access along busy commuter routes to our seven cities, servicing the varied needs of our business and leisure commuter services, including cross-border services and rural services. We have up to 50 freight services operating every day and we are steadily building capacity for this to grow. Our ambition to be responsive to passengers and freight users drives us every day, and we're empowered to do the right thing for those who use the rail network. We actively challenge unsafe practices and take responsibility for addressing risks, resolving issues, and protecting safety and wellbeing.

Our colleagues are encouraged to work flexibly as we know that busy lives don't always fit around a traditional working pattern. If you need flexibility to complete your role, just let us know and we will do our utmost to help you invest in your career with us while balancing other aspects of your life.

We're also a Disability Confident Leader employer and will do our best to adapt the process and offer a reasonable alternative to help support people with disabilities access, apply, and interview for roles.

We want to help deliver a railway that is safe, reliable, affordable, and provides great customer service to everyone. For more information about Network Rail, click here.

Brief Description
This is an exciting opportunity to help shape and be part of the future of Scotland's Railway. As we are just finishing the first year of our current five-year strategic planning period, we are looking for a finance professional with experience in business planning. This role is crucial in ensuring that the financial strategy team can effectively manage both current and future five-year funding cycles, aligning business plans with strategic objectives and maintaining financial stability.

If this sounds like the job for you, please apply with a covering letter (no more than two pages) and a CV. Interviews are likely to take place from 22 April.

About the role (External)
Here are some of the duties your role will include: -

1. Supporting Business Planning Activity: you will be instrumental in transitioning our strategic business plan into operational delivery by working closely with the finance team and senior managers within the business.
2. Roll-out Functional Business Plans: you will lead on the development and implementation of functional business plans linked to the strategic business plan, ensuring that aligned objectives ('golden thread') are cascaded across the business.
3. Controlled Financial Planning Regime: The role involves establishing a controlled financial planning regime ('macro-budgeting') for the current five-year business planning cycle linking funding to an affordable delivery programme while keeping enough contingency funding aside to handle unexpected events.
4. Cashflow Reporting: This role will lead the reporting of annual cashflow reporting each period, both internally and externally, and working closely with group finance colleagues.
5. Develop and maintain financial reporting solutions and improve systems and procedures deployed in financial analysis and decision-making to ensure they are fit for purpose and reduce the need for human intervention.
6. Provide high-priority ad hoc reports and analytical support as required.

The role requires experience in business and financial planning, which should be highlighted in your application.

What you will bring to the role: -

1. Membership (or working towards membership) of a relevant accounting body (CIMA/ACCA/ICAEW) or equivalent experience.
2. Excellent stakeholder engagement and communication skills at all levels, including customers, third-party representatives, other business & functional leaders, and key support personnel.
3. Successful relevant experience working in a complex financial environment, including demonstrable experience in managing business risks, professional financial control, and forward planning.
4. Demonstrable record of budget management, governance, and ability to understand and interpret commercial and financial landscapes (budgets, forecasts, actual status).
5. Significant experience in managing ambiguity in a financial environment with strong evaluation and decision-making skills.
6. Excellent technical financial and accounting knowledge and application of that knowledge in a complex and commercial environment.
7. Educated to degree level in a relevant discipline, for example, accounting and finance, business management, or equivalent demonstrable experience in finance.

It's desirable if you have it to help give you context to the role: -

1. Full membership of a relevant postgraduate professional body (CIMA/ACCA/ICAEW).
2. Experience of Oracle-based systems.
3. Substantial experience within multiple finance disciplines.
4. Knowledge and technical expertise of Government accounting and relevant financial governance.
5. Understanding of project management principles and experience of managing complex projects to successful conclusion.

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