Senior Finance Business Partner Cultural Engagement

We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide.

We work directly with individuals to help them gain the skills, confidence and connections to transform their lives and shape a better world in partnership with the UK. We support them to build networks and explore creative ideas, to learn English, to get a high-quality education and to gain internationally recognised qualifications.

Working with people in over 200 countries and territories, we are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2021-22 we reached 650 million people.

Senior Finance Business Partner Cultural Engagement

Role Purpose:

Reporting to the Director of FP&A Cultural Engagement, the role will focus on partnering with the business to deliver high quality financial planning and analysis to the SBU. There is a strong emphasis on partnering with directors and managers of the business areas globally to provide consistent, timely, accurate and relevant financial information, interpretation of results and decision support aligned to strategic business objectives.

You will be one of a number of peers and analysts within the UK Finance team and Regional finance teams who have a similar skill-set and responsibilities. The sharing of knowledge and innovation between the "FP&A" team is key to helping the Council embrace the matrix of SBU / Region management and becoming more commercially effective. This team will support and develop team members and be mutually supportive in terms of developing the "talent-pool" to become more knowledgeable about British Council strategy.

You will have strong knowledge of large international organisations with multiple product / service / geographic business channels and the demands of an organisation that is changing in terms of building a larger proportion of income from commercial trading. You will help British Council business leaders focus on cost management, business development, efficiency improvements, investments, service and process quality and provide advice on how to reinvest surpluses in support of its purpose. You will integrate their activities with and support the aims of the Global Continuous Improvement plan and contribute to achieving successful outcomes.

Role Specific Knowledge and Experience:

• Qualified accountant (Chartered Accountant, ACCA or CIMA) with proven experience of successfully managing and delivering similar roles
• Operating in international and multi-cultural organisations
• Demonstrable understanding of financial planning, monitoring and reporting process
• Interpersonal, communication and influencing skills
• Identification and delivery of performance improvements
• Business partnering
• Shared Services Operations
• Building relationships at all levels of the organisation
• Excellent analytical skills along with strong planning and organisational skills are required
• Flexibility, independence and initiative to perform successfully in a rapidly changing environment
• Ability to operate effectively and prioritise in a busy global facing role

Desirable experience:

• International or Multicultural Environment
• Experiencing working through Transformation

Further Information:

Payband: SMP
Remuneration Gross: £70,000 - £75,000 per annum
Benefits include but are not limited to:

• 32 days annual leave, in addition to public holidays
• 3 days volunteering leave
• Career average defined benefit pension scheme
• An unrivalled opportunity for you to get to use all the experience you've built up working in and/or leading global organisations to support us in building trust across the world.

Contract type: Indefinite (permanent)

Location: London, UK

You must have the legal right to work in the UK at the time of application.

Please note if you have applied and been declined for this role in the last 6 months, your application will be ineligible.

British Council supports working in new ways such as hybrid working, subject to full approval by line management and conditional upon our ability to provide the appropriate level of service. This may not be appropriate for all roles but can be explored at interview.

Closing Date: Wednesday 8 January 2025 (23:59 South Africa time)

A connected and trusted UK in a more connected and trusted world.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion(EDI) Statement

The British Council is committed to policies and practices of equality, diversity and inclusion across everything we do. We support all staff to make sure their behaviour is consistent with this commitment. We want to address under representation and encourage applicants from under-represented groups, in particular, but not exclusively, on grounds of ethnicity and disability. All disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria are guaranteed an interview and we have Disability Confident Employer Status. We welcome discussions about specific requirements or adjustments to enable participation and engagement in our work and activities.

The British Council is committed to safeguarding children, young people and adults who we work with.

We believe that all children and adults everywhere in the world deserve to live in safe environments and have the right to be protected from all forms of abuse, maltreatment and exploitation as set out in article 19, UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child) 1989.

Appointment to positions where there is direct involvement with vulnerable groups will be dependent on thorough checks being completed; these will include qualification checks, reference checks, identity & criminal record checks in line with legal requirements and with the British Council's Safeguarding policies for Adults and Children.

If you have any problems with your application please email

Please note: Applications to this role can only be considered when made through the Apply section of our careers website. Our 'ASK HR' email is only to be used in case of a technical issue encountered when applying through the careers website. Emails with supporting statements and CV/Resumes sent to this email address will not be reviewed and will be deleted.