The Strategic Finance Business Partner is the primary finance partner to the Intelligence & Analysis leadership team. The role provides forward-looking financial leadership, constructive challenge and decision support to improve sustainable income growth, Gross Profit, cash generation and long-term value creation across Intelligence & Investigations (I&I), Geopolitical & Country Risk (GCR), Scaled Diligence Programmes (SDP), Confidere and I&A Management.
Working closely with the Managing Partner and practice leadership, the role turns financial, operational and market information into clear priorities and actions. It combines high-quality planning and performance insight with hands-on support for pricing, portfolio choices, workforce and delivery decisions, investment cases and targeted improvement programmes. The emphasis is on anticipating outcomes and shaping decisions, rather than explaining results after the event.
To all recruitment agencies: Control Risks does not accept speculative agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias, Control Risks employees or any other company location. Control Risks is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes. Control Risks will only accept CV's from the partners with relevant agreement via the People and Talent team only.
Requirements
What You'll Do:
Strategic partnering and leadership
Build trusted relationships with the I&A Managing Partner, practice leaders and senior stakeholders, acting as a credible strategic adviser and constructive challenger.
Translate I&A strategy into a prioritised financial agenda, linking growth choices, client and service portfolio, capability, technology and delivery model to measurable financial outcomes.
Bring an enterprise-wide perspective to decisions, balancing practice objectives with Control Risks priorities, risk appetite and One Firm behaviours.
Present clear, concise and decision-useful insight in leadership, monthly finance, quarterly business review and investment forums.
Forward-looking planning and performance
Lead the finance contribution to annual budget, quarterly forecasting and longer-range planning, working with FP&A to produce realistic, driver-based plans with explicit assumptions, sensitivities, risks and opportunities.
Maintain a rolling view of income, Gross Profit, cash and capacity using pipeline, forward cover, conversion timing, delivery requirements and workforce plans.
Challenge income phasing, hiring, subcontractor requirements and investment assumptions, ensuring leadership teams understand the trade-offs and own their commitments.
Develop scenarios and early-warning indicators for I&A’s different business models, including bespoke advisory work, recurring monitoring and content, scaled due diligence and emerging propositions.
Own high-quality I&A performance narratives and QBR materials, focusing attention on future actions and expected impact.
Commercial improvement and value creation
Lead targeted improvement initiatives across pricing, realisation, project economics, service and client mix, workforce productivity, subcontractor strategy, working capital and cost-to-serve.
Partner with practice leaders on bids, renewals and material opportunities, using scenario modelling and evidence-based challenge to improve deal economics and protect target Gross Profit.
Use project, client, work-type and regional analysis to identify underperforming portfolios, scalable opportunities and actions to grow higher-value, repeatable work.
Support investment and resource-allocation decisions through robust business cases, post-investment reviews and clear recommendations.
Embed disciplined follow-through, with quantified benefits, accountable owners, delivery milestones and transparent reporting of realised value.
Business insight and decision support
Integrate P&L, pipeline, project profitability, client, people and operational data to explain the drivers of future performance and recommend…