Senior Finance Business Partner

• We offer generous maternity, paternity, and adoption leave to support our employees during significant life moments

• Flexible/hybrid working arrangements considered

• Generous annual leave up to 28 days plus statutory days (role dependant), with the option to buy/sell days

• Discounts at selected stations with your Network Rail pass

• Defined benefit pension scheme

• 75% off leisure train tickets for you and your dependents (subject to T&Cs)

• Interest-free travel loan for train and car park season tickets

• Volunteer leave to make a positive impact

Plus more...

Duration: Permanent.

Location: The Quadrant, Milton Keynes.

Band & Salary: Band 3C, £55,596 - £67,813 per annum.

You will be part of the Financial Planning, Performance & Analysis (FPP&A) team, which has five key areas: performance reporting, financial reporting, 2nd line assurance, internal efficiencies reporting and leading the Route Services business planning process. The team acts as a bridge between internal and external stakeholders, so strong business partnering and stakeholder management skills are essential. FPP&A acts as a critical friend to Route Services functions, providing constructive challenge and support to maintain a strong control environment and encourage continuous improvement across teams. The team's remit is flexible, covering both business-as-usual activity and emerging priorities, so adaptability, flexibility and a strong drive to remove blockers are pivotal.

The role will focus on leading the Route Services business planning process, working closely with functional leads to deliver a seamless end-to-end planning service. You may also be required to support the wider FPP&A team with 2nd line assurance, financial reporting and internal efficiencies tracking as and when required.

1. Co-ordinate the end-to-end business planning process for Route Services, setting out clear requirements and timelines and managing multiple stakeholders with potentially competing priorities through it, culminating in conveying the key messages of the forecasting cycle to various levels of internal and external stakeholders
2. Consolidate, critically review and provide technical advice and guidance on periodic financial results and forecasts to Identify and monitor risks, opportunities and efficiencies to minimise the financial and legal impact on the business area.
3. Provide robust professional recommendations and financial guidance on accounting guidelines and standards to enable the business to be financially and legally compliant.
4. Provide technical and professional oversight of the periodic accounts, relevant analysis and preparation of business plans and budgets to enable the business to make effective decisions.
5. Develop, understand and influence the cost and income drivers relevant to the business area to deliver the yearly business plan and manage to the overall settlement by effective decision making.
6. Influence, coach and challenge senior budget holders in understanding the impact of their period results and forecasts against budgets in order to manage their business more effectively and manage within budgeting limits. 
7. Proactively challenge budget holders plans and budget submissions to understand the overall plan, providing advice and new initiatives to save costs and be more efficient as an organisation.
8. Drive, adapt and deliver key KPI'S and deliverables for the function, highlighting any significant issues and trends with financial and other business results to aid decision makers to make efficiencies. 
9. Lead in budget holder key meetings on financial performance to provide professional financial advice and guidance to drive business decisions, minimise risk and deliver good corporate governance.