Location
London Puddle Dock, Blackfriars

Hours
Part-time, 12 months fixed term contract

Salary
£55,596 - £67,813

About the Role
Join the Southern Region of Network Rail, covering Wessex, Sussex, and Kent, where your work truly matters. This is one of the busiest and most dynamic parts of the railway, supporting vital passenger and freight routes daily. You will be part of a collaborative, innovative, and resilient team, contributing directly to millions of journeys. As we integrate with train operating companies under one national leadership, exciting opportunities arise to shape the future of rail.

We are seeking a strategic thinker passionate about partnering, influencing, and shaping business success through data and insight. As a Senior Finance Business Partner, you will join our senior leadership community, providing high-quality financial insight, advanced analytical modelling, and robust business intelligence solutions. Your role will be central to decision making, helping leaders understand performance, risks, and opportunities.

You will build trusted relationships with senior leaders, translate complex financial and operational requirements into clear insight, and embed financial thinking into planning, forecasting, and delivery. If you are motivated by improving business performance, building scalable financial models, and enabling informed, future-focused decisions through high-quality data, this is the opportunity for you.

Key Responsibilities:
- Act as a strategic partner, working closely with business leaders to identify, plan, and meet financial needs using data-led insight and modelling to drive performance improvements.
- Provide technical financial and analytical insight by consolidating and critically reviewing periodic results and forecasts.
- Lead business intelligence and financial modelling, owning and maintaining core financial and BI models aligned to business needs.
- Ensure high-quality financial governance by providing guidance on accounting standards and financial controls.
- Lead preparation of business plans and budgets, ensuring outputs are supported by strong data quality and transparent assumptions.
- Influence key cost and income drivers by translating complex datasets into clear insight.
- Coach and challenge senior budget holders to strengthen financial capability and accountability.
- Drive efficiency and value for money by challenging submissions and modelling assumptions.
- Lead KPI delivery and insight, owning key functional metrics and dashboards.
- Champion strong financial leadership in discussions and forums.
- Support leaders in evaluating investment cases and assessing new opportunities with sound financial and analytical modelling.

Experience
- Membership (or working towards membership) of a relevant accounting body (CIMA, ACCA, ICAEW) or equivalent experience.
- Proven experience in a complex financial environment with strong financial control, governance, forward planning, and risk management.
- Demonstrable experience in budget management, forecasting, and performance reporting supported by robust analytical models and insight.
- Significant experience managing ambiguity using strong evaluation, analytical, and decision-making skills.
- Strong technical finance and accounting knowledge applied within a complex and commercial environment.
- Strong experience in financial modelling, data analysis, and interpretation of large, complex datasets.
- Excellent stakeholder engagement and communication skills across all levels.

About You
- Strategic thinker with a passion for partnering and influencing business success.
- Confident and collaborative with the ability to build trusted relationships with senior leaders.
- Motivated by improving business performance and enabling informed decisions through data.
- Able to translate complex financial and operational requirements into clear insight.
- Strong coach and challenger, supporting financial capability and accountability.
- Proactive in driving efficiency and value for money.

Qualifications
- Degree level education in a relevant discipline (e.g., accounting, finance, business management) or equivalent experience.
- Desirable: Full membership of a relevant professional accounting body (CIMA, ACCA, ICAEW).
- Desirable: Experience with Oracle-based finance systems.
- Desirable: Experience across multiple finance disciplines.
- Desirable: Knowledge of government accounting and financial governance frameworks.
- Desirable: Understanding of project management principles and experience supporting complex projects.
- Desirable: Experience with business intelligence tools (e.g., Power BI), advanced Excel, and data-led financial reporting.