Senior Finance Business Partner

In a nutshell

Are you a commercially astute finance leader who thrives on influencing decision‑making and driving performance?

We’re looking for a Senior Finance Business Partner to provide high‑quality financial and commercial insight to Finance Partners and senior stakeholders across the business. Reporting to the Chief Finance Officer, this role plays a critical part in enabling the firm to achieve its financial objectives through robust analysis, trusted advice and forward‑looking commercial support.

This is an opportunity to operate as a true business partner - shaping strategy, driving efficiency and supporting sustainable growth in a dynamic professional services environment.

What you’ll be doing day to day

• Acting as a trusted commercial partner to Finance Partners and budget holders, providing clear, timely and insightful financial information to support effective decision‑making.
• Delivering high‑quality financial analysis, forecasting, budgeting and performance reporting, including variance analysis and ad‑hoc business insights.
• Acting as a sounding board on new initiatives, identifying commercial risks and opportunities at an early stage.
• Establishing and embedding effective processes for regular performance reviews, offering the right balance of challenge and support.
• Collaborating with local and central teams to ensure an efficient, effective and joined‑up finance service.
• Researching market and competitor activity to inform commercial thinking and best practice.
• Designing and delivering training to the wider business to improve financial understanding and commercial performance.
• Building strong relationships with Partners, Directors and senior stakeholders, confidently leading stakeholder meetings and influencing change.
• Supporting and developing team members through coaching, feedback and performance management.
• Contributing to the development and delivery of the department’s operational strategy.
• Actively promoting the firm’s ESG, wellbeing, inclusion and diversity initiatives, and encouraging sustainable ways of working.

About you

• Professionally qualified (CIMA, ACA, ACCA or equivalent) with strong, relevant post‑qualification experience.
• Proven experience in financial planning, analysis, forecasting, budgeting and commercial decision support, ideally within a complex or professional services environment.
• Strong people management experience, with a track record of developing and coaching others.
• Advanced Microsoft skills, particularly Excel, with the ability to translate data into meaningful insights.
• Commercially minded, with a clear understanding of how finance adds value to a business.
• Confident communicator with the presence and credibility to influence at Partner and Director level.
• Highly organised, resilient and able to manage multiple workstreams in a fast‑paced environment.
• Proactive, solutions‑focused and comfortable driving change and improvement across the business.

Why work at PKF Francis Clark

As the largest firm of independent chartered accountants and business advisers in South West England, PKF Francis Clark offers a breadth of opportunities to develop your career in the way that’s right for you. 

Established in 1919, we’ve grown to a team of nearly 1,000 people, based across our offices in Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth, Poole, Salisbury, Southampton, Taunton, Torquay and Truro. This means we’re big enough to do challenging work for exciting clients, but small enough to maintain our friendly and supportive culture. 

We work hard to ensure you can belong, be yourself and be brilliant as part of a forward-thinking team. This includes a flexible approach to hybrid working. And our focus on wellbeing and learning and development has been recognised nationally. 

For the past three years, PKF Francis Clark has been certified as a Great Place to Work and ranked among the UK’s Best Workplaces. In 2025, we climbed four places to 20 out of 100 large organisations on this prestigious list. 

We’re also in the UK’s top 10 Best Workplaces for Women (6 out of 100 large organisations), as well as being ranked among the Best Workplaces for Wellbeing (35 out of 100), Best Workplaces for Development (24 out of 100) and Best Workplaces in Consulting and Professional Services. 

All these lists are compiled by workplace culture experts Great Place to Work. Our rankings are a direct result of feedback from our people in a confidential, independent annual survey. 

The success rates of our trainees mean we’re also ranked 33rd in The Sunday Times Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers 2025. 

While we’re proudly independent, we collaborate with colleagues around the world to enable our clients to succeed. PKF Francis Clark is a member of the PKF Global family of firms – together we’re the 12th largest provider of accountancy services in the UK. Being part of this international network provides opportunities to connect with like-minded accountants and business advisers in 150 countries. 

Your core benefits 

Financial benefits:
•    Pension
•    Group life assurance - up to four times your core salary
•    Group income protection
•    Health cash plan to help cover the costs of everyday healthcare 

Health & Wellbeing benefits:
•    Option to buy 5 extra days holiday*
•    Counselling and support for you and your immediate family
•    Virtual GP for you and your immediate family
•    Cycle to work*

Other benefits:
•    Medicash Extras providing you with shopping and gym discounts
•    Gifts for career and family milestones
•    One volunteering day per year to support local organisations
•    Emergency funding from the Francis Clark Charitable Foundation 

Please note
* These benefits are provided via a salary exchange and are subject to employee’s post exchange hourly rate remaining above the national minimum wage.

Additional information 

Please be aware that the job title used internally may not align exactly with the title displayed in this advert

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