Finance Business Partner - Transformation

Local Authority | London (Hybrid Working)

We're delighted to be partnering with a London Borough that has launched an ambitious, multi‑year transformation programme designed to improve services for residents while responding to increasing demand and financial pressure.

They are now seeking an experienced Financial Business Partner - Commercial & Transformation to play a pivotal role across this portfolio, with a particular focus on commercialisation, income generation and cost reduction.

The role

This is a hands‑on, commercially focused finance role operating at the heart of a major transformation programme. You'll work closely with senior stakeholders, programme leaders and service teams to support informed decision‑making, develop robust business cases, and track the delivery of savings and benefits.

Your initial focus will be on commercial and traded activity, fees and charges, contract and delivery models, and ensuring that transformation proposals are financially sound, affordable and deliverable.

Key responsibilities

• Act as the finance lead across transformation projects from early option appraisal through to delivery and post‑implementation review
• Develop, review and challenge business cases and financial appraisals, including cost‑benefit, sensitivity and scenario analysis
• Build and maintain financial models covering costs, savings, income, payback and risk
• Support commercial analysis including fees and charges reviews, income projections, pricing assumptions and contract valuation
• Translate service changes into clear, quantified financial impacts (cashable/non‑cashable, recurring/one‑off, revenue/capital)
• Design and embed a programme cost, savings and benefits tracking framework, aligned to budget and MTFS assumptions
• Produce clear, decision‑ready reporting for senior leadership and programme governance forums
• Work with imperfect and disconnected data sources to create a single, reliable view of financial performance
• Build strong relationships across finance, transformation, commercial, procurement, legal, HR and digital teams

About you

• CCAB‑qualified accountant (or equivalent experience)
• Strong understanding of local government finance, governance and decision‑making frameworks
• Proven experience in developing and challenging business cases and financial models
• Demonstrable commercial acumen, including pricing, income generation and value‑for‑money assessment
• Advanced Excel skills; experience with Power BI or similar tools is advantageous
• Confident working autonomously, managing multiple workstreams and influencing non‑finance stakeholders
• Comfortable operating in complex environments with incomplete or messy data

Desirable experience

• Supporting large‑scale transformation or change programmes
• Commercial projects such as traded services, cost recovery models or income optimisation
• Preparing finance sections for senior governance bodies (Boards, Committees, Cabinet)

What's on offer

• A high‑impact role at the centre of a council‑wide transformation agenda
• Senior stakeholder exposure and genuine opportunity to influence outcomes
• Hybrid working (c. one day per week in the office, more initially during onboarding)
• Competitive day rate / salary depending on contract type

Interested?

For more information or a confidential discussion, don't hesitate to get in touch with Rebecca Dawson at Sellick Partnership on Rebecca.Dawson@sellickpartnership.co.uk, or apply with your CV today.