Senior Business & Resource Planning Manager

About the role

The Senior Business & Resource Planning Manager is a role within Philanthropy & Alumni Engagement, acting as a strategic partner to colleagues and driving key processes and activity in areas such as planning, reporting, project management and operational improvements.  

The postholder will support on operationalising plans and lead on the in-year tracking and management of budgets across P&A, and play a key role in supporting the P&A Leadership Team (LT) in making informed decisions relating to the resourcing of staffing and activity.

This role will also lead and coordinate on key aspects of reporting including internal quarterly reviews and also key accountability sessions for P&A with University leadership. Alongside this, they will lead on strategic projects that align and have been identified as being important to progress P&A and wider institutional goals. 

The role is based within the Advancement Operations section of P&A and will be part of the section leadership team. The postholder will be closely involved in taking forward projects to review and enhance processes to drive improvements and streamlining across Advancement Operations. This area of activity will also link to the postholder’s focus on supporting the Director of Advancement Operations in delivering their agenda. 

This is a full time (35 hours per week), and you will be offered an indefinite contract. 

P&A has a hybrid working approach, with a minimum of 40% of time in the office. Typically, this equates to two days per week, but we’re very happy for colleagues to be in more frequently if they so wish.

About You

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

Essential criteria 

• Proven Experience in Strategic Financial and Business Planning: Including annual planning, integrated budgeting, and resource allocation aligned to strategic goals
• Forecasting & Financial Analysis: Ability to conduct philanthropic scenario planning and analysis to provide data-driven recommendations
• Analytical and Reporting Excellence: Skilled in producing clear, concise executive-level reports and presentations for senior leadership
• Process Improvement and Operational Efficiency Experience: Demonstrated ability to streamline processes and implement best practices across operations
• Leadership and Strategic Partnership: Experience supporting directors and leadership team in achieving strategic objectives while advising P&A leadership team on resource allocation and financial position
• Strong Data Interpretation Skills: Adept at analysing data sets, identifying patterns, and translating findings into clear insights
• Cross-Functional Collaboration Skills: Proactive and adaptable with strong interpersonal skills to work effectively across teams
• Project Management Experience: Demonstrated ability to manage complex projects, coordinate stakeholders, and deliver on time

Desirable criteria

• Higher Education experience
• Accounting and/or finance experience
• Experience with Power BI and/or other reporting and analysis tools

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the person specification section of the job description. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

We reserve the right to close adverts early due to the volume of applications we receive. While the closing date may change, all adverts will close at 23:59 to allow sufficient time for applications to be submitted on that day.

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