Associate Director - Finance Business Partner

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategic Business Partnering – IT

• Serve as the primary finance partner to the CIO and IT leadership team.

• Provide transparency into IT cost structures, run‑rate performance, and financial drivers across service towers, contracts, vendors, and offshoring/onshore delivery models.

• Build foresight into multi‑year contractual commitments, transformation programs, investment decisions, and total cost of ownership (TCO).

• Support portfolio prioritization and ROI evaluation for technology programs, infrastructure modernization, offshoring initiatives, and automation opportunities.

• Distil financial insights into clear, actionable recommendations to support decision‑making and outcomes.

2. Business Partnering – Services Organization(s)

• Partner with leadership of several Services businesses to drive performance management, forecasting, and financial accountability.

• Provide deep insight into services KPIs including utilization, margins, pipeline, backlog, project profitability, and delivery efficiency.

• Translate operational performance into forward‑looking financial outcomes and strategic actions.

• Support pricing strategies, commercial modelling, statement of work (SOW) reviews, and services portfolio optimization.

3. Financial Management & Performance Reporting

• Working with FP&A and Accounting, lead monthly close, management reporting, variance analysis, and forecasting for both IT and Services areas.

• Establish a disciplined, repeatable financial cadence—ensuring timely visibility of results and clear understanding of key drivers.

• Proactively identify risks, opportunities, gaps, and required corrective actions.

• Strengthen financial controls, due diligence, and governance across both IT and Services.

4. Strategic Projects & Transformation

• Lead or support major finance and business transformation initiatives, including:

  • Development of a comprehensive Cost‑to‑Serve model for IT initially and subsequently for services consumption.

  • Resetting or improving legacy financial processes to drive automation, quality, and insight.

  • Supporting IT transformation roadmaps and services modernization programs (e.g., delivery model changes, capability builds, offshore strategy).

• Partner with cross‑functional teams (e.g. PMO, Procurement, Operations, HR) to enable integrated decision-making.

5. Team Leadership & Capability Building

• As the role expands, hire, coach, and manage a Team to support growing responsibilities.

• Build a small, high‑performing FP&A capability for the Services business that seamlessly partners and integrates with existing Finance, FP&A and Accounting Teams ensuring alignment and consistency.

• Champion a culture of authenticity, financial rigor, transparency, and data‑driven thinking across the business units supported.

Qualifications & Experience

Required

• Significant progressive experience (8 – 10 years) in a Finance Business Partner, FP&A, or Commercial Finance role, ideally at Senior Manager/Associate Director level.

• Strong background supporting IT, professional services, or other people‑based delivery organizations.

• Deep understanding of services financial drivers:

  • Utilization & chargeability

  • Project profitability & scoping

  • Backlog & pipeline forecasting.

  • Recurring vs. non‑recurring services revenue

• Experience supporting internal IT organizations or technology cost structures.

• Demonstrated ability to build financial models, multi‑year plans, and scenario analysis.

• Proven track record influencing senior leadership and driving strategic outcomes.

• Exceptional communication, storytelling, and stakeholder‑management skills.

• Strong command of financial processes—forecasting, reporting, budgeting, governance.

Preferred

• Experience leading transformation or building new FP&A capabilities.

• Exposure to offshore/nearshore IT delivery models and global cost allocation frameworks.

• Advanced Excel/Power BI skills and comfort working with large/complex data sets.

• Previous involvement in cost‑to‑serve modelling or IT and service costing.

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is:

• Strategic yet hands‑on, able to move between detail and big‑picture thinking.

• Comfortable in evolving, ambiguous, and high‑profile environments.

• Skilled at bringing structure, discipline, and insight where they previously did not exist.

• A natural influencer who can challenge constructively and guide senior leaders.

• Commercially sharp, operationally aware, and financially rigorous.

• Motivated by improving processes, enabling performance, and building long‑term capabilities.

Success Measures (First 12–18 Months)

• Establishment of a stable financial cadence across IT and Services.

• Delivery of a functioning Cost‑to‑Serve model used by leadership for decision‑making.

• Improved transparency around IT costs, services margins, and operational KPIs.

• Strong business partner relationships with CIO, IT LT, and Services leaders.

• Balanced correction of inherited legacy behaviours and implementation of disciplined forecasting & reporting.

• Successful onboarding and development of a junior finance resources as required.