Financial Planning & Analysis Lead
Reference: 979366
Location: Midlands, UK
Type: Permanent, Full-time, Hybrid
Sector: Energy-Tech
Description
Our Client is a dynamic and fast-growing business delivering grid-scale energy storage and power infrastructure across the UK. Backed by major infrastructure investors and scaling rapidly, they seek an experienced and qualified FP&A professional with strong financial modelling experience and skills in budgeting, forecasting, management reporting and cash flow planning.
The Role
Simpson Booth is delighted to partner with our Client to support the appointment of a Financial Planning & Analysis Lead. This is a rare opportunity to shape an FP&A function, own financial modelling and forecasting and help drive finance transformation, working directly with the CFO.
The FP&A Lead will own the Group's planning, forecasting, management reporting and performance analysis, providing the CFO, Executive Team and Board with forward-looking insight into performance, cash requirements and value creation across the Group's projects and operating assets. This is a build role, as our Client does not yet have a dedicated FP&A function. The successful candidate will establish the planning, forecasting and reporting capability needed to support the business as it grows. There will be no direct reports initially, with the potential to manage an FP&A Analyst as the team develops.
This is a hands-on and business-facing role. Our Client is looking for someone able to combine robust financial modelling and analytical discipline with strong commercial judgement: someone who can challenge assumptions, translate operational drivers into financial outcomes and support senior stakeholders with concise, decision-oriented analysis.
Key Responsibilities
Financial Planning, Budgeting & Forecasting
Own the Group's annual budget, long-range plan and rolling forecasts, with clear governance, ownership and timetables.
Develop integrated P&L, balance sheet and cash flow forecasts at Group, asset and project level, linked to CAPEX tracking and funding drawdowns.
Coordinate and challenge assumptions across development, construction, operations, commercial and corporate functions.
Establish model governance, including inventory, version control, documented assumptions and independent review, and act as the reference point for financial models across Finance, commercial and modelling teams, and external advisers.
Management Reporting & Performance Insight
Own high-quality management information for the CFO, Executive Team and Board, including analysis of performance versus budget, forecast and prior periods.
Own the monthly Board and management reporting pack content and timetable, including inputs for investor and lender reporting.
Develop a concise suite of financial and operational KPIs covering growth, project delivery, asset performance, profitability and cash.
Cash Flow, Liquidity & Funding Visibility
Build SPV-level cash and ratio monitoring, and a covenant framework ready for when facilities are put in place.
Own short-, medium- and long-term cash flow forecasting and provide analysis of liquidity headroom, funding requirements and the timing of equity or debt needs, supporting the CFO, who owns capital structure and financing.
Monitor project and corporate cash commitments, including CAPEX, development spend and operating costs.
Establish and run a formal scenario and sensitivity process, for example covering price curves, availability and CAPEX delays, to support liquidity, funding and investment decisions.
Project, Asset & Investment Analysis
Centralise within Finance an up-to-date view of project progress and CAPEX, working with technical and operational teams to reconcile physical progress, commitments, spend to date and forecast to complete.
Define and run CAPEX governance, including approval gates, commitments register, change control and post-investment review, working with technical and operational leads and the Financial Controller, who owns capitalisation and accounting.
Build and own robust project and CAPEX reporting covering budget versus actuals, committed costs, forecast to complete, variances, risks and impacts on P&L and cash forecasts.
Maintain financial models and evaluate project economics, returns, sensitivities and value drivers to support investment and portfolio decisions.
Support investment papers, financing discussions, acquisitions, disposals and other strategic initiatives.
Business Partnering & Decision Support
Provide financial input into key commercial, operational and strategic decisions.
Promote financial accountability and improve understanding of value drivers across the organisation.
Systems, Data & FP&A Process Improvement
Define scalable FP&A processes, data models, reporting architecture and KPI definitions, aligned with the finance systems roadmap.
Define requirements and lead selection of the planning/EPM tool and deliver Power BI reporting on the consolidated data platform.
Support effective use of planning and BI tools, improving data quality, consistency and automation while reducing manual spreadsheets.
Work with the CFO on finance transformation in the planning and reporting domain.
Key Requirements
Experience & Qualifications
Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA or CIMA) or equivalent, with substantial experience in FP&A, financial modelling or corporate finance, including experience in a lead role.
Significant senior FP&A experience, with strong expertise in budgeting, forecasting, management reporting, cash flow planning and financial modelling.
Experience in an IPP, energy, infrastructure, utilities, project finance or similarly asset-intensive environment, with project- or asset-level and three-statement modelling (CAPEX, capacity market/PPA and BESS or equivalent). Experience in a PE-backed or similarly governed environment, such as infrastructure or lender-financed, is strongly preferred; transferable asset-heavy experience will be considered.
Advanced Excel and financial modelling skills, with experience of ERP, planning/EPM and Power BI tools.
Experience of Board and investor reporting, including KPI frameworks.
Experience within a Big Four firm is an advantage.
Strong communicator and stakeholder manager, able to challenge constructively and present complex information clearly.
Pragmatic and hands-on, with accuracy, curiosity and ownership; able to operate independently and to line-manage an FP&A Analyst.
Behaviours
Commercially minded, with the confidence to challenge assumptions constructively.
Hands-on and pragmatic, comfortable building models and processes from a low base.
Clear, concise communicator with senior and operational stakeholders.
Takes ownership and thrives in a growing, changing business.
Due to current workloads, Simpson Booth regrets to inform that in the instance you have not heard from us within 2 weeks of your application, you are to consider your application unsuccessful at this time.