The Senior Finance Business Partner provides strategic and practical financial support to the organisation by working closely with country teams, global functions, and partners to inform planning, decision-making, and performance management. The role translates financial information into meaningful insights, enabling stakeholders at different levels of the organisation to understand financial implications and make informed choices aligned with organisational priorities.
The role is responsible for providing forward-looking financial guidance, including budgeting, forecasting, and scenario analysis, and for ensuring that financial considerations are embedded in operational, tactical, and strategic discussions
In doing so, the role acts as a key interface between Finance and the wider organisation, ensuring that financial insight is applied consistently across assigned portfolios, and that financial discipline is maintained without limiting operational effectiveness or assuming direct responsibility for non-financial functions.
The role is responsible for providing forward-looking financial guidance, including budgeting, forecasting, and scenario analysis, and for ensuring that financial considerations are embedded in operational, tactical, and strategic discussions
In doing so, the role acts as a key interface between Finance and the wider organisation, ensuring that financial insight is applied consistently across assigned portfolios, and that financial discipline is maintained without limiting operational effectiveness or assuming direct responsibility for non-financial functions.
What you will do:
The role sits in the Finance and Operations function and engages with budget holders and relevant stakeholders to support financial management in practice, while maintaining alignment with organisational policies and funding requirements, and providing financial oversight and guidance on key operational areas, including procurement, logistics, and broader supply chain activities, with a focus on planning, internal controls, financial risks, systems effectiveness, value for money, and adherence to organisational policies, procedures, and donor requirements.
- Act as the primary finance partner to assigned countries, global functions, and partners,working closely with budget holders and stakeholders to support planning, decision-making, and performance management.
- Provide financial guidance and support across operational, tactical, and strategic levels,ensuring financial considerations are appropriately reflected in day-to-day activities as well as longer-term planning.
- Support the development and review of budgets and forecasts,working with stakeholders to ensure assumptions are robust, aligned with operational plans, and consistent withorganisationalpriorities.
- Contribute to the annualplanning cycle,ensuring that financial inputsfrom assigned portfolios are aligned with operational realities,strategic priorities, andfunding context,andthat key assumptions, risks, and variances are clearly understood and articulated.
- Support monthly and quarterly close processes, year-end activities, and internal and external audits,ensuring that financial inputs from assigned portfolios are complete,accurate, and well-supported. Contribute to the preparation of financial statements and underlying schedules and disclosures by providing analysis, reconciliations, and clear explanations of financial performance and position.
- Engage withleadership and senior management at global and country levels,andrelevant stakeholders,to supportplanning, resource allocation, and operational delivery decisions, including procurement andlogisticsconsiderations, ensuringalignment withorganisationalpriorities, approved budgets, and donor requirements.
- Monitor financial performance across assigned portfolios,using management reports and analysis toidentifytrends, risks, and opportunities, and supporting stakeholders in understanding and responding to these.
- Maintain oversight of the financial integrity of assigned portfolios,ensuringaccuracy, completeness, and reliability of financial information used for management and decision-making.
- Maintainaclearunderstandingofthe financial position of assigned portfolios,including key balance sheet elements, ensuring financial implications are understood and reflected in planning and decision-making.
- Translate financial information into practical insights,enabling stakeholders to make informeddecisionsand takeappropriate actionto manage financial performance.
- Support decision-making processes by providingclear financial input and recommendations,ensuring implications, trade-offs, and risks are well understoodand appropriately considered.
- Provide forward-looking financial input,including scenario analysis and financial modelling, to support planning, funding decisions, and operational adjustments.
- Provide financial oversight and guidance on operational areas,including procurement,logistics, and broader supply chain activities, focusing on planning, internal controls, financial risks, system effectiveness, value for money, and compliance withorganisationalpolicies, procedures, and donor requirements.
- Ensure that financial governance expectations are clearly communicated andconsistentlyupheld across assigned portfolios,reinforcing accountability for compliance withorganisationalstandardsand donor requirements.
- Engage with operational functions,includinglogisticsand procurement,to reinforce the application of financial standards, internal controls, andorganisationalpolicies, and ensure risks and control weaknesses areidentified, addressed, and escalated whererequired.
- Promote soundfinancial managementpractices across assigned portfolios,supporting stakeholders in applyingorganisationalpolicies, procedures, and standards consistentlyin day-to-day operations.
- Identify,escalate, and follow through onfinancial risks and issues,working with stakeholders toensureappropriatemitigationactions are defined and implemented.
- Ensure alignment between financial planning, funding availability, and operational delivery,highlighting funding gaps, constraints, and financial implications for decision-making.
- Work closely with Finance Operations, FP&A, and Finance Systems functions,ensuring financial information isaccurate, relevant, and effectively used to supportorganisationalneeds.
- Support the consistent application of financial frameworks, tools, and processes,contributing to continuous improvement infinancial managementpractices across theorganisation.
ROLE-SPECIFIC OR CONTEXT RESPONSIBILITIES
- The role may be assigned to support different portfolios, including countryprogrammes, global functions, or partnership arrangements, and is expected tooperateflexibly across these contexts asorganisationalneeds evolve.
- Provide financial and operational support in varying contexts, including environments with differing levels of financial and operational maturity, and adapt approach accordingly to ensureappropriate levelsof oversight, guidance, and control.
- Where required, take onadditionalresponsibilities across finance and operational areas (including procurement,logistics, and systems) to supportorganisationalpriorities, strengthen controls, and address capacity gaps.
- Contribute toorganisationalinitiatives, transformation projects, and process improvements across finance and operations, asrequired.
- Provide short-term or interim support to other portfolios, countries, or functions to ensure continuity offinancial managementand oversight.
