Finance Business Partner (Fixed-Term)

Job Purpose

This role is the Finance Business Partner for Group Functions, responsible for owning the end-to-end budget and forecasting cycle, delivering insightful management reporting, and acting as a trusted finance partner to divisional leadership. Working alongside the Senior Finance Business Partner, this position drives financial performance through rigorous analysis, variance investigation, and forward-looking financial planning across the Group. 

 

The role also ensures the accuracy of transactional postings, and works in partnership with the Shared Service Centre and Group Controllership to improve processes and strengthen controls. You will contribute to strategic projects such as M&A activity and three-year planning, making this a role that combines hands-on financial management with commercial and strategic exposure. 

 

About Group Finance

 

In joining RWS’s Finance team you will be a critical part of supporting a listed world-leading provider of technology-enabled language, content, and intellectual property services. RWS has growing revenues of over £750m through a combination of value accretive acquisitions and organic growth. Group finance, led by our Group CFO; Stephen Lamb, includes diverse teams across the globe operating in functions including business partnering, operational finance, specialist, and group functions. We cover a footprint of over 100 legal entities in 43 different countries worldwide.  

  

It’s a very exciting time to join RWS Finance for an individual who enjoys change and making an impact! As part of the overall RWS business strategy we are making a significant investment in upgrading our financial systems and processes to deliver enhanced reporting and control, more efficient processing enabling great value through enhanced business partnering and decision support. 

Job Overview

Key Responsibilities

 

Budget and Forecasting

• Own the end-to-end budget and forecast process for Group Functions, partnering with product and commercial stakeholders to build credible, well-evidenced financial plans 
• Prepare and maintain rolling forecasts, ensuring assumptions are clearly documented and regularly challenged against actuals 
• Coordinate divisional submissions into the Group planning cycle, including the annual budget, quarterly reforecasts, and three-year plan inputs 
• Build and maintain financial models across the Group to support scenario analysis, investment cases, and resource allocation decisions 
• Track forecast accuracy over time and implement improvements to the forecasting methodology where gaps are identified 

Reporting, Analysis, and Variance Investigation 

• Prepare monthly and quarterly management reporting packs for divisional leadership, with clear commentary on performance against forecast 
• Identify, investigate, and explain variances across revenue, cost, and margin lines, distinguishing between timing, mix, and underlying performance drivers 
• Develop and maintain KPI dashboards that give leadership a real-time view of commercial and financial performance 
• Support the preparation of Board and ELT materials, ensuring figures are accurate, internally consistent, and clearly presented 

Transactional Accuracy and Capitalised Projects

• Review transactional data posted by the SSC and Commercial Analyst, including revenue recognition entries, to ensure accuracy and completeness 
• Oversee the correct application of Capitalised projects against their business cases and budget.
• Liaise with Financial Controllers and the SSC on any queries arising during close, ensuring the division meets its close timetable obligations 
• Be the first point of contact for audit queries, coordinating responses and gathering supporting evidence as required 

Automation and Process Improvement

• Identify and drive opportunities to automate repetitive financial processes, reducing manual effort and error rates 
• Partner with the SSC, Group Controllership, and Master Data teams to improve data quality, reporting efficiency, and process standardisation 
• Document in-scope finance processes and maintain up-to-date records in the assigned shared location 
• Support Group-led initiatives such as system migrations, tool rollouts, or process redesign exercises.

Strategic Projects

• Provide ad-hoc financial analysis and modelling to support strategic projects.
• Contribute to the divisional three-year plan (3YP), building detailed product-level revenue and cost projections 
• Support commercial and investment decision-making with scenario analysis, sensitivity testing, and financial framing for leadership audiences 

 

 

Skills & Experience

• Professional accounting qualification (ACA / ACCA / CIMA or global equivalent) 
• 3+ years of post-qualification experience in an FP&A or finance business partnering role, with ownership of budget and forecast processes 
• Experience working within a software or SaaS business, or a multi-product technology division 
• Solid understanding of IFRS accounting standards
• Strong financial modelling skills and advanced proficiency in Excel 
• Highly organised with a methodical approach to managing deadlines and competing priorities 
• Clear and confident communicator, comfortable presenting to senior divisional stakeholders and Group leadership 
• Experience in preparing management reporting and executive-level financial packs 
• Experience driving process automation or finance transformation initiatives 
• Strong working knowledge of ERP systems and BI/reporting tools 
• Experience driving process automation or finance transformation initiatives 
• Experience working with a Shared Service Centre model and Group controllership functions  

Beneficial

• Leveraging and implementing AI for finance workflows 
• Conversant in an additional language beyond English