Assistant Finance Business Partner - 3 months - Edinburgh

Finance Business Partner

Location: Edinburgh (6 days per month onsite)
Contract Length: 3-month initial contract
Engagement: Inside IR35

Overview

Lorien are seeking an experienced Finance Business Partner to join a Business Partnering Team within a public sector Finance Directorate on an initial 3-month contract. This role supports a portfolio of projects, providing financial insight, challenge, and assurance to project managers and senior stakeholders.

You will play a key role in budgeting, forecasting, financial reporting, and governance, attending project boards and producing high-quality financial information to support effective decision-making.

The role offers a high level of autonomy and covers a broad remit including stakeholder engagement, influencing, project costing, and accounting within a service delivery environment aligned to Scottish Government financial frameworks.

Key Responsibilities

General Responsibilities

• Produce and manage project budgets in collaboration with project managers.
• Complete month-end processing and adjustments to ensure accurate monthly project positions.
• Make informed decisions on the treatment of expenditure, including revenue versus capital.
• Produce monthly forecast outturns at project level.
• Prepare finance papers and reports for meetings and governance forums.
• Engage effectively with colleagues and stakeholders across the organisation.
• Attend and contribute to meetings, including project boards.

Specific Responsibilities

• Month-end close-down of assets and depreciation.
• Capital reconciliation activities.
• Maintenance of capital staff and contractors workbooks.
• Monthly meetings with project managers to review financial performance.
• IT maintenance financial reviews, including meetings and workbook updates.
• Collation and analysis of timesheets for capital accounting purposes.
• Preparation of Portfolio Oversight Board papers, Project Highlight Reports, and Continuous Improvement Highlight Reports.

Essential Criteria

• Strong stakeholder communication and engagement skills, with the ability to negotiate, provide constructive challenge, and explain technical financial information to non-specialists.
• Ability to remain calm under pressure and work at pace in a changing environment with competing priorities and tight deadlines.
• Demonstrable analytical capability, using a range of tools to develop options and provide evidence-based recommendations to senior leaders.
• Experience applying financial processes and standards to inform decisions on accounting treatment, with clear justification and supporting evidence.

Guidant, Carbon60, Lorien & SRG - The Impellam Group Portfolio are acting as an Employment Business in relation to this vacancy.