Duration: Fixed Term for 12 months (Maternity Cover) 

Salary: £56,000 per annum  

Job Level: 3 

Hours: 35 hours per week. Other flexible arrangements will be considered. 

Disclosure Level: Basic. This role involves no direct or indirect work with children.  

Reports to: Head of Finance Business Partnering 

Location: Working from home and at 1 Westfield Avenue, London E20 1HZ 

At the UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK), we pull together to achieve the best possible results for children in danger around the world.  We believe in an inclusive workplace and in the power of fulfilled colleagues who share the same values and goals, enjoy their work and are motivated to do their utmost for children.   

Our work is guided by the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which recognise the universality of children’s rights. 

ABOUT THE TEAM  

The Finance Business Partnering Team works directly with teams across the organisation, supporting financial planning and performance reporting, and providing insightful information to support key management decisions. 

The team is part of the Finance Team, which incorporates a range of functions including Financial Control and Reporting, Donations Processing, Finance Business Partnering and Procurement. The Finance Team is part of a wider Directorate, which includes the Legal and Information Teams. 

The Finance Team contributes to UNICEF UK’s positive impact for children by working with the wider organisation to maximise the value of our supporters’ donations and to safeguard our funds and assets.  

ABOUT THE ROLE 

This role provides the main Finance point of contact across relevant teams and senior stakeholders and is expected to support various teams and cost centres, including the Marketing Team that generates a significant portion of UNICEF UK’s income, and the Information and People Teams. 

Reporting to the Head of Finance Business Partnering, and acting as a cover for the postholder who will be off for 12 months on early moments leave (maternity leave), you will work directly with budget holders in your dedicated teams, supporting financial planning and performance reporting with analysis, insight and constructive challenge to support decision making and strategic financial planning, driving positive outcomes for UNICEF UK. 

What we will expect you to achieve 

• Develop and maintain the financial ownership of marketing expenditure and income, supporting on performance and commercial analysis of digital marketing, including the acquisition strategy, media spend cost management, marketing return on investment, the marketing procurement process and other key processes in the Marketing team. 

• Develop and maintain an in-depth knowledge of relevant teams, their plans and financial/performance drivers, and build strong working relationships with key stakeholders. 

• Work with budget holders to produce accurate budgets and forecasts, review monthly financial reports, and provide insightful commentary for use in Board and Senior Management reports. 

• Lead monthly accounts meetings with budget holders and key senior stakeholders, to discuss variances to budget/forecast, update monthly rolling reforecast, and identify risks and opportunities.  

• Identify areas of operations that are inefficient and/or deliver low return on investment (both in terms of financial and non-financial outcomes), and work with teams to develop solutions and actions and develop cost management/reduction initiatives wherever needed.  

• Maintain an early warning system that alerts senior management and budget holders of potential overspends and other key sensitive financial and commercial information. 

• Share strategic and operational knowledge of business areas with the wider Finance Team and other enabling functions (e.g., People, Information) to support the development of internal services/processes, and the delivery of the overall organisational and individual team plans. 

• Work with teams to prepare and review robust commercial business models and analysis to support business cases for new activities or investment.  

• Work with the Senior Financial Analyst to provide accurate reports, analysis and narrative for the international reporting requirements of UNICEF headquarters in line with deadlines. 

• Keep up to date with external trends and best practice in areas of expertise. Use networks and personal learning to help innovate and advance our work. 

• Clearly and concisely present and explain the implications of financial analysis and reports to the organisation or stakeholders via the most appropriate communication tools.    

• Demonstrate and model a commitment to our shared values, behaviours and inclusive practices (known as Our Shared Commitment) in all aspects of your work. 

BEHAVIOURS, EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS 

This section contains the essential behaviours, experience, knowledge and skills needed in order to be effective and successful in this role. All criteria in this section are essential. 

Effective Behaviours 

Analytical 

• Analyses available information to make logical and sound judgments.  

• Questions assumptions and seeks further insight to inform decision making. 

• Generates new ideas and self-motivated to streamline processes. 

• Highly numerate.  

• Balances strategic and ‘big picture’ mindset with strong attention to detail. 

• Identifies key and ‘true’ performance and financial drivers from complex operations and streams. 

 Efficiency and effectiveness 

• Manage conflicting priorities to ensure that objectives are achieved, and deadlines met. 

• Anticipates risks and puts plans in place to minimise their impact. 

• Suggests simplifications to overly complex ways of working to improve results. 

Communication 

• Anticipates and responds to the needs of an audience, adapting content, style, language and use of channel to deliver maximum clarity. 

• Conveys complex ideas and financial information using a variety of methods to engage an audience including non-finance stakeholders and win understanding, influence and support.  

• Engages effectively with senior stakeholders to constructively challenge assumptions.  

Collaboration 

• Values diversity, respecting and drawing on colleagues’ different perspectives, skills, experience and knowledge. 

• Supports and challenges stakeholders while maintaining strong working relationships with them and able to establish trust and credibility.  

• Driven to build rapport and trust with various stakeholders. 

 Relevant experience 

• Working in a Finance Team, in finance business partnering or FP&A with extensive relationship building across various stakeholders. 

• Specific experience in digital marketing/media programmes is highly desirable. 

• Driving strategic investment decisions through profit/efficiency measures such as return on investment. 

• Driving decisions in cost reduction initiatives. 

 Specific knowledge and skills 

• Strong commercial acumen. 

• Advanced Excel and data manipulation skills (preferably including use of Power BI). 

• Accounting standards.  

• ACCA, ACA or CIMA qualified (or international equivalent) or can demonstrate equivalent experience.