Senior Lead, Finance Business Partner
Posted 3 hours 55 minutes ago by Pearson
Lead finance for K12 Assessments - the largest assessment business in the new US K12 Business Unit , spanning three market-leading franchises: School Assessment (end-to-end state summative assessment programs), GED (the leading US high-school-equivalency credential which operates under a joint venture agreement), and Evaluation Systems (educator licensure and certification assessment). Together these businesses hold deep, long-term relationships with state education agencies across the country.
Scope & ImpactCopilot to the Managing Director - trusted advisor providing independent challenge and strategic guidance on commercial performance, contract strategy and strategic outcomes.
Connector across the K12 Assessments Leadership Team , ensuring alignment, consistency and transparency on capital allocation, prioritization and the balance of risk and reward across three businesses.
Owner of the performance narrative - sharpen reporting and forecasting so decisions are made on leading indicators, not lagging results, and so the US K12 Business Unit always has an accurate, current view of each business.
Custodian of the business's assets , managing risk and sustaining a strong compliance and controls culture across government contracts and joint-venture obligations.
Leader of a high-performing finance team , developing talent and raising the analytical bar.
Partner with the MD and Leadership Team to shape commercial strategy, ensuring decisions are grounded in robust financial insight and a clear view of each business's unit economics.
Own the financial lens on the portfolio's core economic drivers: contract wins, renewals and lifetime value; test volumes and price realization; candidate conversion and attach economics; cost-to-serve and content investment returns.
Build rigorous bid and renewal economics - incremental revenue versus incremental cost-to-serve on state RFPs, pricing posture by contract, and disciplined evaluation of scope expansion opportunities within existing programs.
Bring a forward-looking, external perspective - state funding and policy developments, demographic and pipeline trends, competitor performance - and translate it into implications for plans and pricing.
Operate a no-surprises partnership with the US K12 Executive Partner, Finance : early elevation of emerging risks and opportunities - including contract renewals, state budget developments and policy changes - quantified and framed with recommended actions.
Own the monthly performance narrative for K12 Assessments: drivers and variances versus plan, forecast movements and the leading indicators behind them, communicated with clarity to the MD, the Business Unit and Group.
Bring discipline to revenue forecasting across three distinct models - long-term contracts recognized on percentage of completion, short-cycle registration-driven testing volumes, and candidate-funded program fees - with rigorous cost-forecast governance underpinning each.
Represent K12 Assessments in US K12 Business Unit forecast, planning and risk-and-opportunity reviews; ensure the portfolio's numbers, assumptions and story are consistent at every level they are told.
Maintain a current, honest view of the risk and opportunity register, with owners and mitigation plans.
Oversee the financial governance of the GED joint venture, including intercompany service arrangements, royalty obligations and partner reporting - ensuring charging arrangements remain accurate, contractually compliant and well evidenced.
Maintain a complete view of the state contract portfolio - terms, scope, profitability and renewal exposure - and lead finance support for major renewals and new-state pursuits.
Manage financial arrangements with internal service providers across Pearson, including test delivery and operations services, ensuring clear, fair and well-governed cost arrangements.
Lead the annual operating plan and long-range plan for K12 Assessments, embedding commercial and market perspectives into forecasts and ensuring targets are ambitious and credible.
Partner on capital allocation and investment decisions - including significant ongoing content and product development investment - ensuring returns exceed hurdle rates and investments deliver against their cases.
Define and track performance metrics aligned to commercial success across the portfolio - contract health, volumes, price realization, attach rates and margin - driving accountability for outcomes.
Develop and embed consistent frameworks, methodologies and financial tools that raise the quality of decision-making across three businesses with different operating rhythms.
Champion data-driven decision-making, automation and AI-enabled ways of working across the finance team and the business.
Act as the conduit between the business and Finance Operations and Centers of Expertise, ensuring technical and process excellence is built into business practice.
Build and lead the K12 Assessments finance team, bringing finance professionals from three heritage businesses together as one team; develop talent, foster collaboration and plan succession.
Build strong partnerships across US K12 Business Unit finance, Group Finance functions and other teams.
Role model Pearson behaviours.
A trusted, established partnership with the MD and K12 Assessments Leadership Team - finance visibly shaping the portfolio's biggest contract, pricing and investment decisions.
A reliable performance and escalation rhythm with the US K12 Executive Partner - forecasts that are backed by data, risks and opportunities surfaced early, no surprises.
One coherent finance view across the three businesses - clean baselines, consistent reporting and a single, trusted contract and performance picture - transitioned smoothly into the new US K12 Business Unit structures and cadence.
Major contract renewals supported with rigorous economics; joint-venture financial governance operating cleanly through the transition.
A stable, motivated finance team with clear development paths and strengthened analytical capability.
Professional finance qualification and significant experience in senior finance business-partnering roles with strong commercial exposure.
Demonstrated ability to influence executive stakeholders, provide independent challenge and shape strategic decisions.
Deep expertise in financial planning, forecasting, investment analysis and commercial performance management.
Proven track record of translating complex analysis into clear, actionable insight - and of communicating performance, risk and opportunity upward with candour and precision.
Strong understanding of materiality and the ability to prioritize across competing agendas in a fast-moving environment.
Ability to identify business risk early and implement mitigation; instinct for stewardship alongside growth.
Collaborative leadership style with a proven capability to build and develop high-performing, cross-cultural teams - including integrating teams from previously separate organizations.
An enterprise mindset: comfortable operating across organizational boundaries in a matrixed structure, including shared corporate functions.
Compensation at Pearson is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, and specific location. As required by the California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York State, New York City, Vermont, Washington State, and Washington DC laws, the pay range for this position is as follows:
The minimum full-time salary range is between $147,000 - $273,000.
This position is eligible to participate in an annual incentive program, and information on benefits offered is here.
Pearson is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.
Application DeadlineApplications will be accepted through Nov 5th, 2026 . This window may be extended depending on business needs.
Job: Finance Job Family: ENTERPRISE
Organization: Corporate Finance
Schedule: FULL_TIME
Workplace Type: Remote