Commercial Business Partner

We're looking for a commercially minded finance professional who enjoys turning data into insight and helping leaders make better decisions. This is an exciting opportunity to partner with colleagues across the organisation, influencing strategy, supporting growth, and helping to maximise the financial sustainability of our products and services. Working closely with the Finance Director and senior stakeholders, you'll play a key role in shaping business decisions through robust analysis, commercial challenge and actionable recommendations.

• Strong commercial finance and business partnering experience, ideally gained in a complex or evolving organisation.
• Excellent financial analysis and modelling skills, with the ability to turn data into practical recommendations.
• Experience supporting budgeting, forecasting and financial planning processes.
• A strong understanding of management accounting, commercial performance and multiple income streams.
• Proven ability to influence and build credibility with stakeholders at all levels, including non-finance colleagues.
• Experience working across multiple teams and balancing competing priorities effectively.
• Strong knowledge of financial controls, governance and risk management.
• Advanced Excel skills and experience using reporting and visualisation tools such as Power BI.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to explain complex financial information clearly and confidently.
• A proactive, solution-focused approach with a passion for continuous improvement and driving organisational value.
• Part-qualified accountant (ACCA, ACA or CIMA) working towards qualification, or equivalent experience. AAT qualification or equivalent would be advantageous.
What you'll get You'll be joining a collaborative organisation where your expertise will genuinely influence strategic decisions and commercial outcomes. This role offers the opportunity to work closely with senior leaders, shape future growth, improve financial performance and make a meaningful impact across the organisation. If you're a commercially focused finance professional who enjoys partnering with people, solving problems and driving better business decisions, we'd love to hear from you.

Advance HE is a member-led, sector-owned charity that works with institutions and higher education across the world to improve higher education for staff, students and society. Our strategic priorities of: maximising membership impact and value, supporting leadership, management and governance development for transformational change and developing educational excellence for the higher education of the future supports the work of our members and the sector. It is our people and the people we help that really make us who we are!


• A generous pension plan with USS
• Enhanced family leave benefits
• 31 days annual leave, plus bank holidays
• Flexible working hours
• Hybrid work
• Employee Assistance Programme access
• Personal Financial Wellbeing advice access
to name a few