Finance Business Partner

Join our journey to create a new experience for the National Lottery and help us to power change for the greater good.

We are the new operators of the UK’s National Lottery. Join us as over the next year we embark on a largescale transformation journey to build a National Lottery that delivers more even more money to Good Causes.  
Allwyn is part of the Allwyn Entertainment Group – a multi-national lottery operator with a market-leading presence in Austria, the Czech Republic, Greece, Cyprus and Italy. 

Purpose of Role:

●        To be an effective and trusted business partner primarily to the People (HR) function. Providing value-adding decision support, insight and challenge where appropriate.  Comfortable working with senior execs.      

●        Own reporting of the Central area, which includes non-function specific costs, clearly understanding numbers and drivers. 

●        To provide financial leadership on strategically important business initiatives and clear insight into the progress made towards achieving business and financial targets

●        Deliver the annual budget and re-forecasts for the People and Central functions

●        Monitoring financial impact of risks and opportunities on a continuous basis

●        Robustly analyse expenditure on a monthly basis and provide clear management summaries for senior stakeholders within the People area

●        To provide financial support and guidance to your business partners on a wide range of ad hoc queries

●        To work closely with Financial Accounts to ensure month end processes are understood and postings are accurate

●        To support and drive the business change agenda, continually seeking to improve processes

●        To work closely with the People team to significantly improve our visibility of the overall headcount/resource levels of the business and provide clear reporting to senior management

●        Finance owner of the Resource Approval Board meeting, working with the Chief People Officer and Chief Financial Officer to bring forward headcount/resourcing requests for approval. 

●        Ad-hoc analysis as required and support of business partnering across all cost areas

Department Description:

●        The wider finance department ensures the business is financially sound, has robust accounting and reporting processes, and delivers financial targets including profitability and returns to Good Causes

●        Key responsibilities are:

o   Management accounts, including budgeting and forecasting

o   Statutory accounts

o   Licence and Trust reporting and compliance

o   Tax and VAT reporting, compliance and advice

o   Management of the cash position and relationship with our banking provider

o   Delivering value and ROI

Team Description:

●        The Commercial Finance team provides all aspects of financial support in order to achieve our business goals and objectives, analysis of our financial performance and support for all financial decision making in the business, including:

o   Budgeting and forecasting of Sales, Good Causes, Gross Margin, Operating costs and Cash flow

o   Decision support, particularly through the development of financial business cases to support our commercial proposals

o   Safeguarding our financial assets through control processes and ensuring that scarce resources are spent wisely

o   Publication of our Financial results to our Executive team and the Board

o   Day to day cost control / Management accounts reporting

o   Ad hoc financial analysis, driving the business change agenda

Key Accountabilities or Duties:

●        Be an effective and trusted business partner primarily for the People (HR) business area. Providing financial analysis, advice and proactive support

●        Provide holistic understanding of costs within Central area. 

●        Responsibility for the management reporting of these areas, which primarily includes:

o   Monthly analysis of overheads, challenging the status quo and identifying opportunities to improve financial performance

o   Reviewing team structures and vacancies, approving new heads that the teams wish to recruit and ensuring managers remain within approved budgets

o   Ensuring costs are accurately reported at month end

●        Preparing the annual budget and re-forecasts for these areas, working closely with team managers to understand team structures, headcount/resource requirements and other overhead  plans

●        Work closely with the People team on overall headcount reporting, ensuring that we present an accurate picture to senior management and that we can report on and forecast costs relating to headcount across the whole business. 

●        Provide financial leadership on key business projects, ensuring that the business remains within financial governance and preparing business cases for senior management that robustly analyse the financial and non-financial KPIs

●        Drive improvements in reporting, processes and use of systems

●        Provide quality ad-hoc and regular analysis to influence management decisions

●        Proactively come up with new ideas to challenge current processes and assumptions

●        Build strong relationships across the finance team and wider business

●        Be a key driver and implementer of the business change agenda – simplification and agile working – sharing best practice across the organisation

●        Support Senior Finance Business Partner with ad hoc projects

Requirements

Skills & Experience:

●        Qualified accountant, advanced Excel / system skills, SAP, BPC and SAC is preferable but not essential

●        Proactive self-starter, able to work in a high-paced environment

●        Customer Focus – Maximises personal contribution to the business to deliver on time and right first time

●        Personal Integrity – Matches words with actions to build trust and respect

●        Drive – Strives to achieve results through determination and commitment. Keeps going when things are difficult

●        Team Working – Builds and maintains positive relationships across teams.

●        Developing Self/ others – Creates or contributes to an environment in which self and others are motivated to learn and develop

●        Analysing and Decision Making – Analyses problems thoroughly and makes good timely decisions. Supports others’ decision making through insightful analysis

●        Managing Performance – Proactively takes responsibility for personal development Supports and challenges peers to achieve their full potential. Sets stretching objectives and measures progress against them. Manages resources effectively

●        Managing Change – Champions, supports and delivers change to improve things. Helps others by overcoming barriers. Is a role model for the leadership agenda within the finance department

●        Gaining Commitment – Energises and influences others to get the job done and uses relationships to deliver great results

●        Excellent stakeholder management skills

●        Strong communication skills, verbal and written. The ability to present complex issues in a simple way

●        Proven business partnering skills

●        Commercial focus

●        Passionate business partner who is result-orientated, analytical and has the ability to drive improvements

●        A change agent who will contribute positively towards cultural change and ways of working and simplification

Benefits

• 34 days paid leave (This includes bank holidays)
• 2 x Life Days
• 4 x Salary of Life Insurance
• Pension: We’ll contribute 8.5%
• BUPA
• £500 wellness allowance
• Income Protection