Senior IT Finance Business PartnerRole Overview
The Senior IT Finance Business Partner provides strategic financial leadership to an assigned technology function. Embedded within IT and reporting to the Head of IT Business Management, the role connects technology leadership with IT Business Management, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), and the Strategic Programme Management Office.
The successful candidate will ensure that technology priorities, approved investments, financial forecasts, and workforce plans remain closely aligned. Acting as a trusted advisor to senior stakeholders, they will provide clear analysis, constructive challenge, and practical recommendations that improve financial performance and support informed investment decisions.
Key ResponsibilitiesStrategic Finance Partnership
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Serve as the primary finance partner for an assigned IT business area, developing a strong understanding of its strategy, operating model, technology roadmap, and financial drivers.
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Translate technology plans into robust in-year forecasts, budgets, and multi-year financial outlooks.
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Support IT leadership in achieving accurate financial outcomes, with a target variance between forecast and actual expenditure of no more than 1%.
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Provide forward-looking advice on cost pressures, investment capacity, financial risks, and opportunities.
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Partner with Strategic Vendor Management, Enterprise Architecture, Software Asset Management, and other teams within IT Strategy and Governance.
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Assess the financial impact of vendor agreements, contract renewals, inflation, commercial renegotiations, and multi-year commitments.
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Identify opportunities to consolidate services, simplify the technology landscape, automate activities, and reduce recurring operating expenditure across aligned lines of business.
Workforce Planning
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Maintain an accurate, current view of the assigned area’s workforce, covering permanent employees, leased labour, contractors, and other contingent resources.
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Coordinate monthly workforce submissions and ensure that movements and variances are supported by clear explanations.
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Align workforce assumptions, FTE plans, and associated costs with the overall financial forecast.
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Work with technology leaders to reflect the future skills, capacity, sourcing, and organisational requirements of the business area in its strategic workforce plan.
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Challenge inconsistencies between hiring plans, resource demand, approved positions, and financial capacity.
Financial Planning and Analysis
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Lead the budgeting, forecasting, and planning cycle for the assigned IT area in partnership with IT leadership and FP&A.
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Analyse technology expenditure, commitments, and performance to identify trends, emerging risks, cost-saving opportunities, and potential efficiencies.
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Develop financial scenarios and run-rate models that illustrate the impact of current commitments and proposed initiatives.
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Assess whether sufficient financial and workforce capacity exists to support new projects, products, or programmes.
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Collaborate with other IT Business Management partners to prevent duplication and identify opportunities for convergence, shared services, and cross-functional synergies.
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Produce clear management information and decision-support materials for senior stakeholders.
Technology Investment and Portfolio Support
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Work with Product Managers and technology leads to understand product roadmaps, delivery dependencies, resource requirements, and investment priorities.
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Evaluate the financial implications of technology strategies, including cloud adoption, infrastructure modernisation, platform upgrades, and software development lifecycles.
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Support the prioritisation of technology investments by balancing operational resilience, regulatory or mandatory requirements, strategic value, affordability, and long-term cost.
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Ensure that proposed and approved investments are consistently reflected across financial forecasts, workforce plans, and portfolio reporting.
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Apply an understanding of Agile, DevOps, Waterfall, and product-based delivery models to anticipate cost drivers, funding requirements, and delivery risks.
Systems and Process Improvement
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Help ensure that financial and portfolio-management processes are reliable, scalable, well controlled, and appropriate for business needs.
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Improve the quality, consistency, and efficiency of planning, forecasting, reporting, and workforce-management activities.
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Identify opportunities to automate manual processes and strengthen data quality and transparency.
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Contribute to digital transformation and continuous improvement initiatives across IT Business Management.
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Promote effective use of enterprise financial and portfolio systems; experience with Oracle Fusion and ServiceNow Strategic Portfolio Management is advantageous.
Stakeholder Management
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Build effective working relationships across IT, Finance, FP&A, the SPMO, procurement, vendor management, architecture, and other corporate functions.
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Act as a credible and constructive advisor to senior technology and business leaders.
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Present complex financial and technology-related information in a concise, accessible manner.
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Influence decisions through evidence-based analysis, commercial judgement, and clear recommendations.
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Maintain a high standard of service and stakeholder satisfaction.
Requirements
Candidate ProfileEssential Experience and Capabilities
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Significant experience in finance business partnering, FP&A, IT finance, technology portfolio management, or a comparable commercial finance role.
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Demonstrated experience managing budgets, forecasts, multi-year plans, and financial performance in a complex organisation.
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Strong understanding of workforce planning and the relationship between FTE, external labour, organisational capacity, and financial forecasts.
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Experience analysing technology expenditure and developing scenarios, run-rate projections, and investment cases.
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Commercial understanding of vendor contracts, renewals, inflationary pressures, and long-term financial commitments.
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Ability to interpret technology strategies and translate them into financial implications and recommendations.
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Strong analytical skills, attention to detail, and confidence working with complex data.
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Excellent communication, influencing, and stakeholder-management capabilities.
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Ability to constructively challenge senior stakeholders while maintaining trusted relationships.
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A relevant degree or professional finance qualification, or equivalent practical experience.
Desirable Experience
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Experience working within a large, international, or highly regulated organisation.
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Familiarity with technology operating models, infrastructure services, software delivery, cloud economics, and product-based organisations.
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Knowledge of Agile, DevOps, and traditional project-delivery methodologies.
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Experience with major ERP and enterprise portfolio-management platforms.
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Working knowledge of Oracle Fusion and ServiceNow Strategic Portfolio Management.
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Experience delivering finance-process automation or transformation initiatives.
Measures of Success
Performance in the role will be assessed against outcomes such as:
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Forecast accuracy, with actual expenditure landing within 1% of forecast.
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Accurate alignment of workforce, FTE, and financial plans.
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Timely, well-supported monthly forecasts and workforce submissions.
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Improved visibility of cost drivers, financial risks, and investment capacity.
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Delivery of measurable efficiencies, cost avoidance, or recurring-cost reductions.
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Greater alignment between technology roadmaps, portfolio decisions, and financial plans.
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Reduced duplication and increased convergence across IT business areas.
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Stakeholder satisfaction and the quality of advice provided to senior leadership.
Working Arrangements
The role operates under an IT out-tasking delivery model and follows the organisation’s remote-working policy. While the position is primarily suited to remote delivery, attendance on site will be required for selected meetings and business activities.
Services are delivered during standard business hours, Monday to Friday, between 08:00 and 18:00 Central European Time. The role does not include 24/7 operational support or on-call responsibilities.
