Lead Finance Business Partner
c£100,000 per annum
Bedford
Permanent
Hybrid Working
We are seeking a dynamic and inspirational leader to deliver effective and professional Finance Business Partnering for our organisation. The ideal candidate will support us in placing finance at the heart of decision-making through high-quality business partner support, professional change delivery, and strategic and operational planning. You will demonstrate inclusive leadership, collaborate with diverse stakeholders, and bring technical expertise to drive transformation and high performance. Join us to foster a culture of trust, champion diversity, and lead with a strategic mindset in a fast-moving environment.
Role Overview
The Lead Finance Business Partner will report directly to Corporate Director of Finance. In this role, you will be responsible for:
Leading the provision of consistent, robust, business partnering support to the business.
* Lead a team of Business Partners, focusing on capability building within the team and across the business.
* Provide subject matter expert advice, guidance, and support to all parts of the business.
* Engage in the planning, budgeting, and forecasting cycles, partnering with the business to ensure effective financial management.
* Review and challenge budget plans, providing constructive feedback to directors and business leads.
* Ensure the business comprehends the financial implications of decisions and the choices available.
* Ensure MaPS works within its levy constraints and sets these appropriately.
* Maintain and influence relationships with key stakeholders and budget holders, ensuring financial variances, forecasts, and planning assumptions are clearly communicated and understood.
* Foster a positive team culture within the finance business partnering function, emphasizing continuous improvement.
* Develop relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including regulatory bodies and business partners.
Skills and Experience Required
To excel in this role, you will need to demonstrate:
* Must hold CCAB (or internationally recognised equivalent) full professional qualification.
* Solid financial management and business partnering experience within a public sector environment.
* Sound and up-to-date knowledge of UKGAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
* Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to network and build relationships at all levels.
* Demonstrable track record of developing financial and commercial understanding and compliance across an organisation.
* Good systems skills, including Advanced Excel.
* Very strong in financial/business planning, project and cost accounting and analysis, and budgeting skills.
* Experience of playing a leadership role in annual budget setting and financial planning involving a range of internal and external stakeholders within government or a similarly highly regulated environment.
* Strong organisational and people management skills, including the ability to communicate complex financial analysis to non-financial people.
* Proven experience of influence and challenge at the most senior levels of an organisation to enable others and bring challenge to financial decision making.
* Good understanding of business strategic objectives.
* Good understanding of business processes and activities and the underlying cost drivers.
Desirable Criteria
* Experience of central government finance
* Experience of managing and developing teams in a business partnering function
About Us
The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) is based in Bedford, in a recently renovated modern office. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to become an integral part of a dynamic organisation, working to help people across the UK.
At the heart of the Money and Pensions Service are our values – caring, connecting, and transforming, which are the foundation of our success. They permeate every area of our work and define all our business relationships and the way we work with each other. We’re not only looking for the best people to come and work for us, but we need people who align themselves with our values:
* Caring
We care about our colleagues and the people whose lives we are here to transform.
* Connecting
We will transform lives through our ability to make positive connections.
* Transforming
We are committed to transforming lives and making a positive societal impact.
Our Inclusive Working Environment
By fostering our values, we are immensely proud of the inclusive working environment that we have created. The diversity of our people is a strength that we embrace and wish to build upon, so we are committed to attracting people of all backgrounds. We work hard to ensure that we have a progressive approach to inclusion, equity, and belonging. We really do want our colleagues to “bring their whole selves to work.”
Our colleague and ally networks encompass LGBTQ+, neurodiversity, women’s health, men’s health, ethnicity, and diversity.
What We Offer
* Generous Annual Leave – 30 days plus Bank Holidays
* Pension scheme – contributions matched 2 to 1 (up to 10% of your salary)
* Interest-free loan for season tickets for buses and trains
* Cycle to work Scheme
* Subsidised eye tests & flu jabs
* Life assurance scheme
* Give as you earn scheme
* Employee assistance programme (EAP)
* PAM Assist and PAM Life scheme (Wellbeing)
* Enhanced family and sick pay
* Paid volunteering (2 days a year)
* Recognition Scheme
* Discounts portal to numerous retailers
Flexible Working
At MaPS, we take pride in our flexible approach to work. As standard, we work on a hybrid basis with a minimum of 2 days in the office per week. Hybrid working is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and our headquarters in Bedford will be your contractual place of work. The number of days that anyone will be able to work at home will be determined primarily by business needs, but personal and other relevant circumstances will also be considered. If you are successful, any opportunities for hybrid working, including whether a hybrid working arrangement is suitable for you, will be discussed with you prior to you taking up your post.
Career Development
In MaPS, we take career development seriously. We actively encourage and support applications from our existing MaPS colleagues. However, we do follow the Civil Service Commissioner recruitment principles, which means that you will be required to participate in a full, open, and fair process.
Reserve List
If you are successful at interview, we operate a reserve list where your details will be held for up to 6 months. Should a vacancy come available in that time with the same essential criteria, reserve list candidates will be offered that position with no further assessment required.
Application Process
The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact the Money and Pensions Service via email: recruitment@maps.org.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website.
Selection Process:
Stage 1: A 30-minute informal conversation with a Reed recruiter
Stage 2: Hogen Wave Test : If you are shortlisted to the next stages, you will be invited to complete a Hogan Wave test.
Stage 3: Once you have completed the Hogan Wave Test, you will then be invited to complete a Staff Engagement Exercise with the team at MaPS.
Stage 4: A 1-hour competency-based interview with the MaPS panel. This interview will consist of competency-based questions that focus on the essential criteria of the role and your relevant experience.
Job Reference: MaPS00822
Close Date: 21st April 2025
Flexible Working
At MaPS, we take pride in our flexible approach to work. As standard, we work on a hybrid basis with a minimum of 2 days in the office per week. Hybrid working is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and our headquarters in Bedford will be your contractual place of work. The number of days that anyone will be able to work at home will be determined primarily by business needs, but personal and other relevant circumstances will also be considered. If you are successful, any opportunities for hybrid working, including whether a hybrid working arrangement is suitable for you, will be discussed with you prior to you taking up your post.
Career Development
In MaPS, we take career development seriously. We actively encourage and support applications from our existing MaPS colleagues. However, we do follow the Civil Service Commissioner recruitment principles, which means that you will be required to participate in a full, open, and fair process.
Reserve List
If you are successful at interview, we operate a reserve list where your details will be held for up to 6 months. Should a vacancy come available in that time with the same essential criteria, reserve list candidates will be offered that position with no further assessment required.
Application Process
The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact the Money and Pensions Service via email: recruitment@maps.org.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website.
Selection Process:
Stage 1: A 30-minute informal conversation with a Reed recruiter
Stage 2: Hogen Wave Test : If you are shortlisted to the next stages, you will be invited to complete a Hogan Wave test.
Stage 3: Once you have completed the Hogan Wave Test, you will then be invited to complete a Staff Engagement Exercise with the team at MaPS.
Stage 4: A 1-hour competency-based interview with the MaPS panel. This interview will consist of competency-based questions that focus on the essential criteria of the role and your relevant experience.
Job Reference: MaPS00822
Close Date: 21st April 2025
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident .