Finance Strategic Business Partner

Location: Pancras Square, London

At AstraZeneca every one of our employees makes a difference to patient lives every day. Our science lives beyond our labs – our global perspective means we use talent and expertise from all over the world to make our medicines a success.

Our purpose is bold and so is our approach. Becoming a more agile and creative company means building a dynamic, inspiring culture where we celebrate entrepreneurial thinking and act with a sense of urgency. We are daring, take risks and learn from both success and failure. We are curious, creative, and open to new ideas and ways of working. Above all, we are passionate about science and driven to always put patients first. Join us and be part of an extraordinary place to work; an environment that energises and empowers each of us to achieve our goal to develop and deliver medicines.

London is home to our UK Marketing Company (UKMC), responsible for the marketing of our medicines in the UK. Here you’ll also find colleagues from AstraZeneca’s corporate functions and our European and International regions’ sales and marketing teams. As a member of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), all our sales, marketing and communications activities are subject to the ABPI Code of Practice. If you’re inspired by the possibilities of science to make a difference and ready to discover what you can do – join us.

We are looking for a strong talent to join the team as our Finance Strategic Business Partner In this role you will lead on all financial planning activities (LRP, RBU’s & business Planning) and be responsible for robust and timely submissions. You will also take ownership for the delivery of accurate and timely business performance information to key UKMC stakeholders (including Senior Management Team (SMT), Senior Leadership Team (CLT), brand teams, sales teams) and regional Finance and well as lead on the development and implementation of UKMC Finance information strategy

Responsibilities of this role will cover:

Operational/Strategic Business Partnering: 35%

• Ensure delivery of financial analysis to aligned team annual strategic plans, budgets, and facilitate sound decision-making
• Provide the financial analysis to the Xceed teams/Heads of in order for them to address the portfolio prioritization process and long-term strategic planning processes bringing critical insights.
  • Ensure all aligned potential new products have sound, robust business cases
  • All launches have been critically evaluated and the marketing teams appropriately supported
• Provide the financial support and challenge necessary for the aligned Leadership teams to allocate both people and resources appropriately to maximize product profitability.
• Be the first point of contact for the aligned Leadership teams on all financial matters, including budgeting, forecasting, and business performance.
• Provide clarity and visibility on variances and movements across all elements of the P&L and headcount
• Management of cost underspend/overspend - Challenge cost base and deliver procurement savings
• Ensure the commercial and financial methodology/best practice is consistent across the organization and that learnings are shared cross functionally and other markets.
• Develop a thorough understanding of the pharmaceutical market dynamics and the interdependencies to knowledgably support decision making across the UKMC
• Proactively identify (together with Commercial colleagues) potential commercial insights/opportunities within aligned areas of the business, take required due diligence steps and drive selected opportunities up to an implementation / evaluation stage.
• Bring in BP best practice from across UKMC/ Global for aligned teams/Finance Directorate

Financial Planning and Reporting: 35%

• Leading and managing the Planning & Budgeting process for aligned teams
• Leading and managing month-end activities to ensure that sales and cost for area of responsibility are accurately reported and analysed
• Lead on challenging of assumptions, evaluating alternatives, testing quality of business logic
• Deliver on a culture of rolling forecast on both sales and costs
• Manages MC and Regional Business Reviews with CFO /Heads of/SMT
• Contribute to development and maintenance of appropriate systems (OPEX, Datawarehouse, Amazon, Excel) solutions to collect and report information

Leading Change: 20%

• Contribute to cross-functional teams, to develop and deliver the UKMC strategy
• Lead cross-functional projects where finance & analytical acumen is critical
• Contribute to the development of a customer centric mindset to drive endorsement and prescribing of AZ medicines
• Partner with the account teams to understand and drive local agendas and customer collaborations – looking at options to drive scalability across the UK for aligned brands
• Assess and propose commercial deals to optimise returns from idea design through to concrete commercial proposal
• Demonstrate a desire/ability to challenge and change traditional methodologies that have a financial component

Leadership and Development: 10%

• Be a strong visible business partner in aligned teams (be an influencing member of Finance, Xceed and X-functional teams)
• Provide coaching and mentoring for new/junior members of the team
• Take personal accountability in consultation with line manager in ensuring PDP focus on Technical and general capability competency is focused in the right areas on a regular basis
• Lead/Contribute to Finance team initiatives/projects and volunteer when help is sought
• Embed a true “BP” mantra across aligned BP teams by demonstrating true accountability in self and others
• Holds the business to account- asks the right challenging questions in the right way.

Education, Qualifications and Essential Experience

• Degree or equivalent experience in Commercial Finance, Corporate Strategy or Marketing.

• ACA / ACCA / CIMA qualified a plus
• 5+ years’ experience in pharmaceuticals or a related industry (i.e. FMCG)
• Proven track record within a similar commercial Finance Business Partnering role.
• High level of commercial experience with an understanding of how value is created.
• Excellent presentation skills and a strong personal awareness and impact on others.
• Ambitious individual with a proven track record of success in increasing responsible roles demonstrating an ability to challenge and have robust conversations
• Flexible, motivated by challenges; and creative in their decision making approach.

Desirable skills and experience

• Previous experience of working with pharmaceutical products
• Experience with Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A)

Why AstraZeneca?

At AstraZeneca we’re dedicated to being a Great Place to Work. Where you are empowered to push the boundaries of science and unleash your entrepreneurial spirit. There’s no better place to make a difference to medicine, patients and society. An inclusive culture that champions diversity and collaboration, and always committed to lifelong learning, growth and development. We’re on an exciting journey to pioneer the future of healthcare.

So, what’s next?

If you are inspired by the possibilities of science to make a difference and ready to discover what you can do by joining us on this exciting journey and believe you can contribute to this bold ambition – join us!

Where can I find out more?

Our Social Media, Follow AstraZeneca on LinkedIn

Follow AstraZeneca on Facebook

Follow AstraZeneca on Instagram

Date Posted

Closing Date

AstraZeneca embraces diversity and equality of opportunity. We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse team representing all backgrounds, with as wide a range of perspectives as possible, and harnessing industry-leading skills. We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. We welcome and consider applications to join our team from all qualified candidates, regardless of their characteristics. We comply with all applicable laws and regulations on non-discrimination in employment (and recruitment), as well as work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements.