Finance Business Partner

About our business

JLA is a mission critical infrastructure solutions business offering services Laundry, Catering, Heating, Fire Safety, Infection Control and Air Conditioning.

The company offers an end-to-end, on premise, machine supply and breakdown service proposition under the name Total Care, and additional products and services. JLA is driven by a world class Sales & Marketing engine, owns and maintains all assets, and has an efficient on-site operations team working with daily with customers.

Role overview

As a Finance Business Partner, you will be a key member of the Commercial Finance Team and will play a critical role in driving financial performance across the business. Partnering with various departments, you will provide strategic financial insights to help guide decision-making, improve profitability, and support business growth.

This role involves both operational and strategic responsibilities, where you will act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders, delivering analysis that influences the company’s direction and outcomes.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced finance professional who thrives in a dynamic environment and has a proven track record of delivering financial results through collaboration with cross-functional teams. Therefore, being analytical, inquisitive and have excellent attention to detail is a must.

Key tasks

Business Partnering:

• Act as a trusted financial advisor to senior management and operational teams, providing financial guidance and support.
• Attend regular meetings with stakeholders to review financial performance and recommend improvements.
• Develop an excellent knowledge and understanding of the key metrics within the business to provide relevant and insightful financial reporting and analysis
• Collaborate with non-finance teams (e.g., sales, operations, marketing) to understand their financial needs and challenges.

Financial Reporting & Variance Analysis:

• Prepare detailed monthly, quarterly, and annual financial reports for business units, highlighting variances, risks, and opportunities.
• Conduct variance analysis to understand discrepancies between forecasts, budgets, and actuals, identifying corrective actions.

Financial Planning & Analysis:

• Lead the budgeting, forecasting, and long-term planning processes for assigned departments or business units.
• Analyze key financial data, providing actionable insights to department heads to ensure alignment with financial goals.

Cost Control & Profitability Enhancement:

• Work with departments to manage and optimize operational costs while ensuring financial efficiency.
• Identify and implement opportunities for cost-saving initiatives and process improvements.
• Support initiatives to drive revenue growth and profitability, ensuring a focus on sustainable financial performance.

Strategic Support:

• Provide financial analysis and modelling for business cases, new projects, and investment opportunities.
• Respond and adapt to changing business needs to ensure that reviews and reporting keep pace with change and continue to provide challenge and focus to relevant stakeholders.
• Work with senior management on strategic projects

Risk Management & Compliance:

• Ensure financial risks are identified and mitigated in line with company policies and regulatory requirements.
• Support internal audits and implement necessary controls to safeguard company assets.

Leadership & Team Development:

• Mentor and support junior finance team members, fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
• Lead cross-functional projects and initiatives to enhance financial processes and systems.

Knowledge and Skills

• Ability to interpret financial data and relay it back to non-financial colleagues
• Advanced Excel skills
• Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office (Especially MS Powerpoint and Outlook)
• Knowledge of Power BI
• Ability to analyze large datasets to monitor performance, highlight trends and provide accurate and timely financial recommendations to management for decision making purposes

Experience

• Experience of working in a busy office environment and to tight deadlines
• Proven experience in financial planning, analysis, and business partnering roles.
• Experience of working in business finance in a Commercial or Business Partnering role (Desirable)

Personal qualities

• Self-starter with drive and commitment
• Independent worker with ability to learn quickly
• A strong communicator, both spoken and written
• Excellent attention to detail and high degree of accuracy
• Excellent organisation skills
• Able to cope with multiple priorities and a changing environment
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills
• A positive and flexible approach to work and colleagues
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to interpret complex data.
• Ability to work independently and manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Learning Agility
• Team Player with the ability to work and participate in multiple working groups

Qualifications

• Professional accounting qualification (e.g., ACA, ACCA, CIMA). Other relevant experience would be considered

When you join the JLA family, you'll also gain access to an extensive benefits package.

We care about our people and take your well-being seriously, which is why we offer a range of supportive tools for health and wellbeing, financial guidance, and legal advice. Our Employee Assistance Programme, 24/7 Wellness and Lifestyle App plus a dedicated team of Mental Health First Aiders are there to support you through life's challenges.

We also offer up to 8 counseling sessions, which can be in-person or remote, providing you with the support and flexibility to suit your own personal needs. You can reach any fitness goals with our free onsite gym at head office along with a range of other gym membership discounts available.

To offer financial support, we not only provide life assurance coverage, company sick pay, and a company pension scheme, we offer a range of added benefits such as free office parking, eye care vouchers, a cycle-to-work scheme, and exclusive discounts through our staff benefits hub.

We really pride ourselves in offering a healthy work-life balance and believe it is important to have time away to recharge which is why we provide 25 days of annual leave plus bank holidays, flexible working options, and enhanced family leave policies.

We are a company that appreciates you and invests in your success and even have a Colleague Recognition Scheme to celebrate your achievements. We're dedicated to your growth, offering support in career development and training. We value your referrals, and through our Refer a Friend scheme, you can earn up to £1,000 in bonus rewards!

This is a great opportunity to play a key role in a busy and energetic team that is pivotal to our customers’ experience. The successful applicant will drive KPI’s, support with continuous improvement activities and offer supervision & support to the team whilst ensuring our high standards are maintained.