Head of Business Partnering

Join Ofwat’s Finance Team as a Head of Business Partnering

This is a Fixed Term Appointment running until 31st December 2027.

*Office Location: Birmingham (B5 4UA) with hybrid working*

About Us

We are Ofwat, the Water Services Regulation Authority, a non‑ministerial government department responsible for regulating the water sector in England and Wales.

The water sector is entering a new chapter. Following the Independent Water Commission’s Final Report and subsequent White Paper - 'New Vision for Water', the UK government has set out a bold new direction - one that brings together expertise from across the sector to deliver better outcomes for customers and the environment.

Ofwat is working in collaboration with the government and other regulators to help establish a new body for England, combining our strengths with those of the Drinking Water Inspectorate, the Environment Agency, and Natural England. We’re also continuing to engage with the Welsh Government to support future decisions for Wales.

While these changes take shape, our mission remains the same: to hold water companies to account, drive performance, and ensure the sector delivers real value for customers, communities, and the environment. If you’re passionate about making a difference, this is a unique moment to join us and help shape the future of water, and together we can continue to make a positive impact.

The Role

You will provide leadership, influence, vision, financial challenge, direction, support, and advice, adding value through insightful analysis whilst acting as critical advisor on key financial decisions. You will be CCAB qualified or at final level of your qualification with extensive experience, gained within a Government and/or Public Sector.

Lead and manage the Finance Business Partnering team including prioritisation and planning of workload; 121 meetings; monitoring progress against objectives. Develop and optimise the production of financial analysis and management information for budget holders, ensuring accuracy and clarity. Lead the approach to budget setting and forecasting, including working with senior budget holders, and maintaining forecasting methodology.

About You

Below are some of the key essential experience, skills & knowledge required for this post:

• Lead Criterion 1: Experience of building and leading a Finance Business Partnering team.
• Lead Criterion 2: Experience of supporting an organisation through a period of significant change e.g. a merger/close of an organisation.
• Excellent stakeholder management, with experience of building strong relationships and working collaboratively to achieve and deliver against shared objectives.
• Experience of providing leadership, guidance and support to colleagues and partners to enable effective decision making.
• Confident communicator with the ability to communicate financial insights to non‑financial audiences.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and resources in context, considering a range of approaches and during potential periods of ambiguity.
• Experience in process improvement and efficiency.

Why You Should Join Us

• People Centric: Our people are at the heart of Ofwat and everything we do - we ensure all voices are heard and treat each other with respect; you'll be given the autonomy and the support to do your role in the best way.
• Innovative Work Environment: We embrace agile and new ways of working and have a culture build on trust, flexibility, and collaboration.
• Development Opportunities: Gain valuable experience and develop your skills in a supportive and dynamic setting.
• Work-Life Balance: Enjoy the flexibility of working from home combined with the benefits of in person collaboration in our Birmingham and London offices.
• Good employer pension contributions.
• 25 days’ annual leave, increasing to 30 with each year of service, plus bank holidays and an extra 2.5 days of privilege leave.
• Access to exclusive discounts on a variety of goods and services, including retail outlets, theatre tickets, holidays, insurance, and a gym membership.
• Fees paid for membership of relevant professional bodies.
• Up to 3 volunteering days per year.
• Generous shared parental leave and pay supporting your family life.

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