Business/Financial Analyst

Job purpose: This role delivers accurate, insightful financial reporting and analysis that supports effective decision-making across the organisation, by partnering with finance and leadership teams to ensure timely month-end close, robust forecasting and planning, and the provision of high-quality management information, while driving consistency, continuous improvement, and value across group financial processes.

Job Context: This role provides financial insight, reporting, and business partnering to support informed decision-making across the organisation. It is responsible for ensuring the timely and accurate month-end close in line with group policies, delivering detailed analysis of financial results, and producing insightful reporting packs. The role also lead analysis of forecasts and budgets to identify key drivers and improve financial models, while supporting the development of the five-year plan. Working closely with finance, leadership, and group reporting teams, it delivers meaningful management information, enhances reporting systems, and supports business initiatives such as acquisitions, while maintaining flexibility and occasional travel requirements.

Job Dimensions: The role will be based in Oxford at Lucy Groups Head Office, with hybrid working option available. You will work closely with the Lucy Finance Team and various stakeholders and focus groups across Lucy Group.

Key Accountabilities:

Month End Reporting and Analysis

• Responsibility for business partnering with the relevant finance teams to ensure the accounts are closed in a timely efficient manner adhering to group accounting policies
• Responsible for in-depth analysis of entities’ monthly results and monthly commentaries
• Responsibility for business partnering with the relevant leaderships teams to help with any analysis and reporting requirements
• Responsible for assisting in the production of the monthly reporting packs with insights

Financial Planning

• Responsibility for in-depth analysis of the Forecasts and Budgets, to identify and assess all key issues and drivers of change to enable clarity when reviewing their financials.
• Help facilitate the improvement of the models used in the generation of the Forecasts and Budgets to ensure consistency across the group with accounting treatment.
• Facilitate the creation of the 5 year Medium Term plan

Business Partnering

• Collaborate with the relevant Finance and leadership teams, alongside Group Finance teams to provide financial information to support decision making
• Collaborate with Group Reporting team to ensure OneStream and CXO are used appropriately and identify any potential enhancements
• Develop financial and operating management information
• Assist where necessary in the integration of new acquisitions into the Lucy portfolio

Qualifications, Skills & Experience: 

• Education to Degree level
• Fully qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA or CIMA)
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills at all levels
• Ability to influence and direct people
• Must be able to work independently
• Ability to demonstrate effective team working across all disciplines within the company
• Able to prioritise workload effectively
• Ability to work to tight deadlines whilst maintaining quality and attention to detai
• Excellent excel modelling skills
• Working in a deadline orientated financial organisation.
• Ability to create and use complex financial models for development and analysis of the business.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities:
1) Business Case: Manage the delivery of feasibility and assessment work for proposed and current projects to contribute to the development and continuous review of business cases.
2) Economic Research: Work within established research systems to deliver prescribed outcomes for a designated part of an economic research program.
3) Financial Modeling: Provide basic financial modeling input into business cases, costs, and schedules to support growth in the business.
4) Insights and Reporting: Contribute to the preparation of various data and analytics reports.
5) Data Collection and Analysis: Collate and analyze data using preset tools, methods, and formats. Involves working independently.
6) Financial Policies, Guidelines, and Protocols: Contribute to the development and delivery of financial policies, guidelines, and protocols to ensure the company complies with regulations and good financial practice.
7) Recommendations: Advise managers how to apply a wide variety of existing procedures and precedents.
8) Data Management: Help others get the most out of data management systems by providing support and advice.
9) Information and Business Advice: Resolve queries from internal or external customers or suppliers by providing information on complex processes and the related policies, referring issues to others where necessary for interpretation of policy.
10) Personal Capability Building: Develop own capabilities by participating in assessment and development planning activities as well as formal and informal training and coaching; gain or maintain external professional accreditation, where relevant, to improve performance and fulfill personal potential. Maintain an understanding of relevant technology, external regulation, and industry best practices through ongoing education, attending conferences, and reading specialist media.

Qualifications

Educational Requirements: Bachelor's Degree or Equivalent Level
General Experience Requirement: Experienced practitioner able to work unsupervised (13 months to 3 years)
Managerial Experience Requirement: Basic experience of coordinating the work of others (4 to 6 months)