Head of Finance Business Partnering

Allen Lane has been retained by the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) as their recruitment partner in the recruitment of a new Head of Finance Business Partnering.

About SOAS

SOAS is part of the University of London and is the leading Higher Education institution in Europe specialising in the study of Asia, Africa and the Near and Middle East. SOAS courses are taught by highly respected academics engaged in research that influences government policy and the lives of individuals across the globe, with 5200 undergraduate and postgraduate students studying on campus and a further 3000 registered on distance and online programmes.

About the role

The Head of Finance Business Partnering reports to the Director of Finance and Planning and leads a team of four Finance Business Partners. The team aims to collaborate closely with budget holders, often Heads of Department, academic leaders and Directors of Professional Services, in communicating financial information to aid in business planning and reporting.

You will provide leadership, management and support to the team in ensuring that the needs of budget holders and that of the senior management team are being met and broadly speaking ensure continuous improvement of the business partnering function. You will be tasked with preparing SOAS’ annual budget and forecast, managing the preparation of monthly management accounts and commentaries as well as monthly income and expenditure reports.

In addition, you will provide strategic and operational advice to the Director of Finance and Planning, Executive Board and other committees and support the strategic development of SOAS as a whole.

About you

You will be a fully qualified (CCAB) accountant with a demonstrable track record in leading and developing a team of Finance Business Partners previously. You don’t need prior experience of operating in a higher education environment (although that would be advantageous), but you do need to demonstrate an ability to quickly grasp the context of operating at this level within higher education. An ability to simply present financial information to non-finance stakeholders is key, as is a clear and effective communication style.

You must be free to interview in the third week of December.

Applications will be reviewed prior to closing date and as such immediate application is recommended. For further information, contact Andy Thomas (andythomas@allenlane.co.uk) or Ed Stroud (edstroud@allenlane.co.uk) at Allen Lane.