Strategic Finance Business Partner - Intelligence & Analysis

The Strategic Finance Business Partner is the primary finance partner to the Intelligence & Analysis leadership team. The role provides forward-looking financial leadership, constructive challenge and decision support to improve sustainable income growth, Gross Profit, cash generation and long-term value creation across Intelligence & Investigations (I&I), Geopolitical & Country Risk (GCR), Scaled Diligence Programmes (SDP), Confidere and I&A Management.

Working closely with the Managing Partner and practice leadership, the role turns financial, operational and market information into clear priorities and actions. It combines high-quality planning and performance insight with hands-on support for pricing, portfolio choices, workforce and delivery decisions, investment cases and targeted improvement programmes. The emphasis is on anticipating outcomes and shaping decisions, rather than explaining results after the event.

Responsibilities

Strategic partnering and leadership

• Build trusted relationships with the I&A Managing Partner, practice leaders and senior stakeholders, acting as a credible strategic adviser and constructive challenger.
• Translate I&A strategy into a prioritised financial agenda, linking growth choices, client and service portfolio, capability, technology and delivery model to measurable financial outcomes.
• Bring an enterprise-wide perspective to decisions, balancing practice objectives with Control Risks priorities, risk appetite and One Firm behaviours.
• Present clear, concise and decision-useful insight in leadership, monthly finance, quarterly business review and investment forums.

Forward-looking planning and performance

• Lead the finance contribution to annual budget, quarterly forecasting and longer-range planning, working with FP&A to produce realistic, driver-based plans with explicit assumptions, sensitivities, risks and opportunities.
• Maintain a rolling view of income, Gross Profit, cash and capacity using pipeline, forward cover, conversion timing, delivery requirements and workforce plans.
• Challenge income phasing, hiring, subcontractor requirements and investment assumptions, ensuring leadership teams understand the trade-offs and own their commitments.
• Develop scenarios and early-warning indicators for I&A’s different business models, including bespoke advisory work, recurring monitoring and content, scaled due diligence and emerging propositions.
• Own high-quality I&A performance narratives and QBR materials, focusing attention on future actions and expected impact.

Commercial improvement and value creation

• Lead targeted improvement initiatives across pricing, realisation, project economics, service and client mix, workforce productivity, subcontractor strategy, working capital and cost-to-serve.
• Partner with practice leaders on bids, renewals and material opportunities, using scenario modelling and evidence-based challenge to improve deal economics and protect target Gross Profit.
• Use project, client, work-type and regional analysis to identify underperforming portfolios, scalable opportunities and actions to grow higher-value, repeatable work.
• Support investment and resource-allocation decisions through robust business cases, post-investment reviews and clear recommendations.
• Embed disciplined follow-through, with quantified benefits, accountable owners, delivery milestones and transparent reporting of realised value.

Business insight and decision support

• Integrate P&L, pipeline, project profitability, client, people and operational data to explain the drivers of future performance and recommend interventions.
• Provide focused analysis for I&I, GCR, SDP, Confidere and I&A Management, reflecting their differing revenue models, conversion cycles, delivery economics and strategic priorities.
• Improve understanding of revenue quality, recurring versus bespoke income, concentration, regional and sector exposure, delivery capacity and productivity.
• Distinguish data limitations from genuine performance signals and ensure recommendations are proportionate to the quality of available evidence.

Financial stewardship and ways of working

• Coordinate with FP&A, Financial Control and Operations so that reporting, forecasting, income recognition, cost allocation, accruals and workforce data are accurate, timely and clearly owned.
• Support robust month-end and forecast processes without allowing transactional activity to displace strategic partnering and improvement priorities.
• Champion standard tools, dashboards and definitions, reducing unnecessary bespoke analysis and improving transparency and repeatability.
• Identify and implement process and productivity improvements, including responsible use of Microsoft Copilot, Power BI and automation.
• Provide strategic finance training and practical guidance to I&A leaders and teams on pricing, project economics, forecasting and financial decision-making.

Requirements

Must Have:

• Qualified accountant or equivalent senior finance qualification, for example ACA, ACCA, CIMA or recognised international equivalent.
• Substantial post-qualification experience in strategic finance, finance business partnering, FP&A or a closely related role, with evidence of influencing senior leaders and improving financial outcomes.
• Strong financial modelling and planning capability, including driver-based forecasting, scenarios, investment appraisal and sensitivity analysis.
• Demonstrable experience improving pricing, Gross Profit, cash or resource productivity through insight and cross-functional action.
• Ability to analyse complex and imperfect data, identify what matters, and communicate a clear recommendation to financial and non-financial audiences.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the confidence to challenge constructively and the judgement to escalate appropriately.
• Highly organised and able to balance recurring cycles with a small number of high-value strategic priorities.
• Advanced Excel and strong presentation skills; practical experience using Power BI or equivalent analytics tools.

Preferred

• Experience in professional services, consulting, intelligence, risk advisory, legal services or another project-based, people-led business.
• Experience with Microsoft Dynamics 365, Tagetik, Power BI and Microsoft Copilot.
• Experience of recurring and subscription-like services alongside bespoke consulting or project work.
• Exposure to globally distributed, multi-currency businesses and matrix operating environments.

Benefits

• Control Risks offers a competitively positioned compensation and benefits package that is transparent and summarised in the full job offer.
• We operate a discretionary global bonus scheme that incentivises, and rewards individuals based on company and individual performance.
• Control Risks supports hybrid working arrangements, wherever possible, that emphasise the value of in-person time together - in the office and with our clients - while continuing to support flexible and remote working.
• As an equal opportunities employer, we encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply and join us and are fully committed to equal treatment, free from discrimination, of all candidates throughout our recruitment process.