Head of Financial Planning and Analysis - #1784921

Ready to turn spreadsheets into strategy? This is your opportunity to lead from the front—translating data into direction, forecasts into foresight, and budgets into business impact. As Head of Financial Planning and Analysis, you’ll be the strategic partner shaping our financial future, empowering leadership with insights that drive real results.

• Based in Manchester, an Office-based role with flexibility
• A competative salary depending on experience + bonus + benefits.
• 5-8 years of experience in a financial planning and analysis role with significant responsibility for end-to-end budgeting, forecasting, and reporting in a global or high-growth environment.
  
  

Purpose and summarised accountability

The Head of Financial Planning and Analysis is a business partner to the entire organization providing scenario planning and strategic recommendations to business units based on insights and financial findings. They are responsible for financial planning, budgeting, and forecasting, as well as assisting leadership teams with financial reports that provide a basis for decision-making.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as a business partner to the leadership teams across all departments to align financial strategies with business goals and operational priorities.
• Prepare monthly and quarterly management reporting with actionable insights and context regarding financial variances.
• Prepare financial reporting for the board of directors and the private equity owners and liaise with other departments to ensure timely and accurate information.
• Drive the annual operational planning and budgeting process for the company.
• Provide forecasts and develop scenario analysis to help predict the company's future financial outcomes based on strategic decisions from the senior leadership team.
• Gather, compile, and analyse financial and operating data from various departments to provide reports that offer data-driven responses to managerial inquiries.
• Develop a centre of excellence in cost analysis and management, working with department heads to identify opportunities for efficiency gains.
  
  

Essential Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in finance, accounting or related field
• 5-8 years of experience in a financial planning and analysis role with significant responsibility for end-to-end budgeting, forecasting, and reporting in a global or high-growth environment.
  
  

Beneficial Qualifications

• CFA, CIMA or other relevant financial qualifications would be a benefit
• Experience in private equity companies or from private equity-backed companies is a plus.
  
  

Skills and Knowledge

• Demonstrated track-record of driving financial performance, business impact, and strategic initiatives such as revenue growth or cost optimization.
• Strong commercial mindset with experience engaging with senior stakeholders across departments to align financial strategies with business goals.
• Ability to synthesize large quantities of complex data into actionable insights for non-financial stakeholders.
• Strong strategic thinking and business judgment, with the ability to make data-driven decisions in a fast-paced environment.
• Proficiency in financial reporting systems and data analytics tools.
• Advanced proficiency in Excel (including financial modelling), and strong skills in PowerPoint and Word for preparing presentations and reports.
  
  

Scenario Planning and Strategic Recommendations

• Provide finance support and input in terms of developing business cases / proposals to ensure that the opportunities pursued are financially viable.
• Advise senior business leaders of risks and forecasts regarding various initiatives.
• Examine financial accounts to determine which product or service lines have the best profit margins or make the largest contributions to net profit.
• Participate in strategic data analysis, research, and modelling for senior leadership teams.
• Create a centres of excellence for cost analysis and management
  
  

Management Accounting and Reporting

• Performing financial analysis on a continuous basis to identify areas of development or improvement,
• Analyse revenue and expenditure variances relative to the approved budgets
• Prepares monthly management reports (a full set of financial statements including financial commentary/ narrative),
• Collaboration with other finance managers, to ensure that the integrity and quality of the management reports are of acceptable standards.
• Prepare quarterly reports to be submitted to leadership teams.
• Develop and provide necessary dashboards, to provide relevant information required for decision-making
• Overseeing and governing the preparation of consolidated financial statements and management accounts.
• Develop and/or enhance group accounting policies.
• Assist with the design and rollout of company-wide budgeting, forecasting and long-range planning processes.
• Ownership of KPI analysis, providing insights to drive business decision making.
• Ensure the organization is always compliant in relation to transfer pricing and that all relevant documentation is maintained and updated regularly.
• Establish, implement and document accounting processes in order to scale more efficiently and effectively.
• Work with CFO to develop a tax strategy for the group.
• Ensure group-wide compliance with tax requirements of jurisdictions the company operates in.
  
  

Develop, measure, and maintain key financial metrics.

• Management of cashflow forecasting across the group.
• Identify and suggest operational best practices in the area of finance.
• Comfortable working with multi currencies and preparing consolidated accounts.
• Create cash flow statements, variance reports that compare departmental budgets to actual spending, board reports, and profit and loss (P&L) statements.
  
  

Analyse, Insight, Risk Management and Value Add

• Identify risks and solutions through managing and analyzing financial data collections and provide analyses of requirements, modelling proposals of new business initiatives and research of market parameters.
• Collaborate with Regional Finance manager on various financial issues and unresolved queries and analyze annual budget process, associate financial reports and statements and evaluate financial results for all regions.
  
  

Budgeting

• Planning the budget in line with the prediction of the company’s future financial outcomes
• Analysing financial statistics to decide how to distribute funds.
• Creating financial models to ensure consideration of business-specific financial issues as well as Industry trends
  
  

Stakeholder Management

• Communicate with all the company departments regarding possible improvements and action plans to be taken for financial optimization.
• Create regular stakeholder reports outlining crisis management and risk factors.
• Provide feedback to global team.
• Ensure continuous communication with Stakeholders regarding issues and possible resolutions.