About Us This is a new role within our Finance Department, required to support the continued growth of all our trading businesses and to enable them to achieve their strategic ambitions. The role, reporting directly to the Chief Financial Officer, will offer the successful candidate an opportunity to use their skills and experience as an experienced finance professional to contribute to a broad range of projects and growth initiatives across multiple businesses. It is a great opportunity for a candidate who is interested in learning the commercial operating model of a fast-growth professional services business and applying their financial and analytical expertise in an interesting, project-based environment. The first twelve months of this role will involve providing maternity cover for our Senior Financial Planning Analyst, and the responsibilities detailed within this job description are focused specifically on this initial period. This maternity cover is a very important assignment and will enable the candidate to gain significant experience of the commercial activities carried out across the 3173 Group, allowing them to add value in other areas following successful delivery. Following completion of the maternity-cover project, the successful candidate will continue to report directly to the Chief Financial Officer and will be assigned responsibilities in areas such as business performance measurement, profitability analysis and improvement, and investment analysis. The role may also include supporting the wider finance team with monthly reporting processes. These responsibilities will evolve in response to the changing needs of the 3173 Group as it continues its strong track record of growth. About the Role This role within our Finance Department will support our group of businesses across the UK. It will report directly to the Chief Financial Officer but will also involve close collaboration with the Group Financial Controller and the wider Finance Team to support routine finance processes. The candidate may also be required to work on a project basis with other senior personnel within the 3173 Group. As with all our group-supporting roles, you will be working in a fast-paced environment with multiple priorities and stakeholders. It is an exciting time to join our businesses as we are developing in several strategic areas. This role will play a key part in delivering our growth strategy for the 3173 Group. For the initial maternity-cover period, your responsibilities will include: Leading the preparation of both budgets and longer-term strategic financial plans across the 3173 Group, including gathering source data, developing financial models and presenting budgets to senior leadership and investors. Leading the preparation of rolling profit and cashflow forecasts across the Group, including developing financial models and presenting forecasts to senior leadership and investors. Leading the preparation of financial investment appraisals for significant strategic investments across the Group. Supporting the wider Finance Team in providing variance analysis and other routine financial reporting, including detailed analysis of group payroll expenditure. Supporting the preparation of financial performance and profitability monitoring, including contract profitability and staff utilisation metrics. Collaborating with the wider Finance Team to continually develop and innovate the financial reporting systems used across the Group. Supporting the Group Financial Controller, CFO and other Senior Management as required. Managing the Group recruitment process from a budgetary perspective, providing oversight and analysis of planned recruitment exercises. About You You will be a qualified accountant with a minimum of three years post-qualification experience gained within a busy commercial finance environment, and you will be looking for the opportunity to develop your commercial knowledge and financial analysis skills within 3173, a high-growth provider of financial services to the pensions industry. As the Senior Financial Performance Analyst, you will provide financial leadership and contribute proactively to the growth and development of 3173. You will be able to demonstrate experience supporting a commercial organisation through thoughtful and concise financial analysis, contributing to the financial planning process. To meet the initial requirements of the role, you will have significant practical experience in creating financial models to support budgets, rolling forecasts and longer-term strategic financial plans. You will be a confident and articulate communicator with the ability to work with senior leaders and use your influencing skills to achieve the best outcomes for the business. You will be highly competent in the use of Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint. Competence in specialist financial planning tools or data analysis software, such as Power BI, is desirable. You will thrive in a collaborative, fast-moving, team-based environment and will be able to prioritise competing demands. You will support and contribute to the development of the wider Finance Team. You will be diligent, driven and demonstrate a high level of attention to detail. Someone who is confident, thorough and conscientious will do well in this role. The ability and confidence to highlight and escalate relevant issues or risks to senior leadership is essential. You must be able to manage multiple tasks and priorities in a pressured, deadline-driven environment. You may be required to travel to different 3173 Group locations from time to time, and therefore may need to be flexible with your working hours. Responsibilities & Criteria Essential Requirements: ACA/ACCA/CIMA-qualified accountant with a minimum of three years post-qualification experience within a commercial finance environment. Demonstrable experience using accounting software such as Sage, NetSuite, Oracle, Navision or similar across sales, purchase and nominal ledgers. Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Advanced experience with Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint. At least three years experience developing financial models for budgets, rolling forecasts and financial plans. Ability to work independently with minimal supervision, escalating matters where necessary. Ability to work efficiently and prioritise workloads in a fast-paced environment, delivering high accuracy within tight deadlines. Experience in training and developing junior staff. Excellent communication skills with the ability to build trusted relationships with staff and external stakeholders. High flexibility, including willingness to work extended hours at peak times. Competencies Delivers Results Very high attention to detail and accuracy. Ability to work under pressure with minimal supervision and meet tight deadlines. Leadership Contributes to and aligns with the strategic plan for the department. Provides clarity of direction and ensures employees know what is expected. Able to motivate, drive and engage positively with project team members. Change & Innovation Promotes and encourages innovative ways of working. Manages change programmes focused on process improvement. Communicating & Influencing Promotes a culture of openness and transparency. Demonstrates credibility and makes a strong impression. Able to chair meetings, run workshops and facilitate sessions. Customer Relationship Management Passionate about excellent customer service. Manages stakeholder expectations and keeps them updated as required. Teamwork & Collaboration Able to bring out the best in people to form a cohesive team. Promotes collaboration across the organisation. Circumstances Location: Belfast Working hours: Hybrid, with a minimum of two days per week (on average) based at a 3173 Group office. Due to the changing nature of our business, the role profile will inevitably evolve. From time to time, you will be required to undertake other activities of a similar nature that fall within your capabilities, as directed by the board. Applying with a disability or long-term health condition? As part of our belief that we benefit from the differences among us we are committed to increasing the representation of disabled colleagues and want to remove any barriers or challenges that get in the way of candidates with a disability or long-term health condition from applying to work with us. As part of this commitment, we guarantee to automatically interview anyone with a disability who meets the minimum criteria. If there is support or an adjustment that we can provide to enable you to be at your best during the recruitment and selection process, we encourage you to advise us in good time so that we may make suitable arrangements. We understand that being open with us may feel uncomfortable so please only share with us the information that you are comfortable to share, and rest assured that we will use this only to provide you with the right support. Any information you give us will be treated completely confidentially. To discuss this further please call and ask to speak to a member of the People & Culture team.