Finance Business Partner

Employee Benefits & Central Functions Isio is expanding its commercial finance capability, building out the Finance Business Partnering and FP&A teams that support the Group. This role carries two halves: commercial partnering to our Employee Benefits business unit, and ownership of the financial relationship with the Central Functions that support the whole Group. Employee Benefits is a key strategic growth area within the Group's diversification plan, and this role sits at the centre of how that growth is planned, priced and measured. Alongside it, you will partner central department heads on their cost base and take the financial lead on the Group's investment in technology and change, including the capital and non-recurring spend behind our platform programmes. It is a broad and unusually commercial brief, suited to someone who wants to shape decisions rather than report on them, with genuine Executive exposure in a private equity backed business. What does the role entail? Employee Benefits: Business Partnering

• Act as the finance partner to the Employee Benefits leadership team, building credible, trusted and challenging relationships.
• Own near-term business performance, supporting delivery of growth and profitability objectives.
• Own business unit budgets and forecasts, built on genuine drivers and agreed with the business.
• Lead the monthly business unit review: set the agenda, own the numbers, drive the actions and follow them through.
• Lead KPI reporting, analysis and performance insight, including fee income, utilisation, recovery and margin.
• Support pricing, rate card application, discounting governance, bid activity and margin improvement.
• Work with the Chief Growth Officer and business unit leadership on sales pipeline reporting and its conversion into forecast revenue.

Central Functions: Cost Base & Investment

• Partner central department heads to own and understand their cost base against budget, and to plan credibly for the year ahead.
• Own the budgeting, forecasting and reporting of central costs, including headcount, and drive the disciplines that keep them on track.
• Take the financial lead on IT and change investment: own the inputs and outputs of capital and non-recurring spend on the Group's platform programmes.
• Build and challenge business cases for investment and change, then track realised benefit against what was approved.
• Support spend governance and approval processes, including purchase order discipline and budget adherence.
• Provide clear analysis on cost allocation and cost-to-serve across the Group.

Reporting & Data

• Deliver succinct, accurate and timely reporting on your areas into Board and Executive level packs.
• Use and develop Power BI reporting for your business units and central cost base, contributing to the quality of the underlying data.
• Apply Group reporting standards and definitions consistently, so that your numbers hold up wherever they are used.
• Contribute to Group-wide improvements in reporting, automation and best practice.

What we’re looking for? Required Experience

• Fully qualified accountant (ACA / ACCA / CIMA or equivalent) with meaningful post-qualified experience in commercial finance, FP&A or business partnering.
• Demonstrable ownership of a budget and forecast cycle, covering both revenue-generating and overhead areas.
• Track record of partnering senior non-financial stakeholders directly, including challenge on cost.
• Experience of technology or change investment appraisal is strongly preferred, including capital and non-recurring spend and benefit tracking.
• Professional services or consulting economics (utilisation, rate realisation, recovery, WIP and lock-up) is an advantage.
• Experience in a private equity backed or fast-growing business is an advantage.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong variance analysis and commercial insight, with the instinct to explain drivers rather than movements.
• Able to hold two quite different stakeholder groups at once and give each the attention it needs.
• Advanced Excel; working knowledge of Power BI.
• Comfortable working at pace with imperfect data, and proactive about improving it.
• An enquiring mind, seeking to improve processes and automate reporting.

Why Join Isio Isio is a fast-growing professional services business, that offers career development through an evolving client base, diverse and meaningful work, nationwide opportunities, and a culture that rewards high performance and accountability. We hold ourselves to the highest standards and our values guide how we advise our clients, how we operate as a business and how we work together as a team.  We call it the Isio Attitude. We encourage our people to be bold, to communicate with conviction, and to deliver advice that matters. Here, growth brings opportunity - more responsibility, more clients, and work that stretches and develops you. We invest in training and development so you can expand your skills and explore different career paths across diverse markets to make your mark. Isio is a place to realise your potential and build a career with impact. You can find out more about Isio and the benefits we offer on our career's website Isio - Careers & Benefits . About Isio A progressive advisory firm, partnering with clients of all sizes to deliver expertise in pensions, employee benefits and wealth advisory services. Working with pension trustees, employers, individuals, families and their offices, we are supported by talented colleagues across 10 UK offices. With a Big 4 heritage we combine a strong focus on quality with a fresh perspective challenging traditional thinking. Our culture shapes our work; we foster a supportive environment where we develop our people to grow and fulfil their potential. We invest in our services, products and technology, and provide clear, expert solutions for our clients. This brings clarity, confidence, and better outcomes for everyone. At Isio, we are committed to fostering an inclusive, equitable and diverse workplace, in which our colleagues feel they belong, regardless of background or difference. We uphold the values of respect, fairness, and inclusion in our actions and decisions. We believe that by adhering to these principles, we will create a stronger, more innovative, and supportive environment for all, as well as ensuring that the advice and support we provide to our clients is more creative, more insightful and leaves a lasting impact. We can offer a hybrid, flexible approach to work, supporting a work-life balance that works for you. Isio Group is an equal opportunities employer, and we welcome applications from all suitably qualified candidates. If you think you may require a reasonable adjustment to be made for any reason at any stage of your recruitment process, please ask us hrrecruitment@ISIO.com