Manager, Financial Planning (SOTC)

Manages the Financial Planning function for SOTC, with full responsibility for its day-to-day operations. It ensures the delivery of annual budgets, forecasts, and financial models that support SOTC's strategic and operational decision-making. The role manages the planning team, maintains robust and standardised planning processes, and provides the Senior Manager, Financial Planning with reliable analysis on budget performance, variances, and resource allocation.

• Manage the annual budgeting cycle and periodic forecast updates, coordinating inputs from functions, consolidating submissions, validating assumptions, and explaining variances against budget.
• Review budget proposals, challenge assumptions, and provide recommendations to support the Senior Manager in optimising resource allocation decisions, and monitor adherence to budgetary ceilings and spending trajectories, escalating risks.
• Manage the development of financial models supporting investment decisions, programme evaluations, and scenario planning.
• Monitor variance analysis against budgets and forecasts, identifying trends, risks, and opportunities and recommending corrective action.
• Manage the consolidation of financial planning data across functions, ensuring accuracy and on-time delivery.
• Manage standardised planning templates, timelines, and guidance packs to ensure consistent and accurate submissions across SOTC.
• Prepare periodic budget performance reports and dashboards for the Senior Manager, Financial Planning and for onward reporting to senior leadership.
• Identify and recommend opportunities to improve planning tools, templates, and workflows to enhance efficiency and accuracy.
• Manage and develop the Financial Planning team, ensuring capability building and effective workload management.
• Coordinate with function leaders across SOTC to align budget submissions with organisational priorities and funding constraints, escalating unresolved issues to the Senior Manager.