£600-£620 per day (inside IR35)
Government Department - Rail
Commercial Finance Manager / Finance Lead
Remote working for foreseeable future

Badenoch & Clark are proud to be partnering with a central Government Department to appoint several Commercial finance managers who will be responsible for supporting the day to day commercial and financial advice to the commercial teams who plan, specify, procure and manage rail franchises.
Prior to the Covid-19 crisis, our larger franchises were valued at over £1 billion per annum in revenues, and some delivered premiums worth hundreds of millions annually to the government.

The crisis has completely altered the financial landscape of the rail industry. Revenues are now only a very small fraction of their pre-Covid levels.

Job Duties
The focus of the Passenger Service directorate has therefore shifted to:
*Supporting the restart of rail services and the gradual return of passengers to the network within social distancing guidelines;
*Protecting the interests of the taxpayer given the government's much more direct exposure to financial risk under the EMAs;
*Preparing for the transition out of EMAs once they conclude.

You will be a senior finance professional working across one or more of the Passenger Services commercial teams. The roles are varied and may include, leading on the assessment of the financial position of incumbent operators, supporting decision making around in-life EMA financial proposals, assessing the financial suitability of bidders as well as leading on the financial elements of and participating in negotiations to inform the decision to award a new franchise contract.

You will work collaboratively and lead virtual, multidisciplinary teams.

The role also involves extensive stakeholder management with HMT, legal, technical, and financial specialist advisers.

You will be responsible for:
*Leading on the financial aspects of the commercial management of current franchises and projects including analysis, assessment and forecasting;
*Developing, modelling, and contributing to the long-term forecasting of rail franchises and related projects across the Rail portfolio;
*Responsible for full financial due diligence across a range of submissions and business cases;
*Developing and presenting financial findings and analysis at board level meetings and approval committees. Briefing of governance boards, Centres of Excellence and ministers at critical milestones
*Development of the financial elements of the Request for Proposal / Invitation to Tender for new franchise contracts, and ensuring the commercial proposition is accurately reflected at the various stages of the Transport Business Case
*Actively influencing the commercial teams to determine and agree deadlines for the, data site requirements, comparator model build, RfP/ITT development, and financial and commercial evaluation of bids/proposals
*Managing the critical evaluation bid comparator / shadow models, working closely with externally appointed technical advisers and providing robust challenge to the outputs emerging from the comparator/shadow model
*Active interrogation of the bid/proposal initiatives and the understanding of how they interface and manifest in the financial outcomes in bidder models

Person specification
*The ability to build and establish collaborative relationships with a wide range of senior stakeholders
*Experience of gathering, analysing and interpreting commercial and technical information
*Experience of presenting complex financial information to a wide range of audiences
*An understanding of market and commercial drivers and the ability to develop strategies to exploit these, considering financial, legal and commercial implications.
*A high degree of personal resilience, with the ability to work under pressure and maintain your performance levels under challenging circumstances.

Experience
*Experience of using your financial reporting, management accounting skills and strong understanding of financial reporting in a complex business environment. Application of this knowledge to provide authoritative advice to colleagues, senior officials and other stakeholders.
*Ability to analyse a range of information to make decisions consistent with wider strategic priorities.
*Experience of presenting complex financial information to a wide range of audiences.
*Ability to work independently and lead a busy workload adapting to changing priorities.
*Ability to build strong and influential relationships with a wide range of stakeholders and adept at explaining complex concepts in an accessible way.
*Membership of a recognised professional accountancy body (ICAEW, ACCA, CIPFA, CIMA, ICAS) or equivalent experience.

If you are interested in being considered for this really commercial opportunity please apply for immediate consideration,

Badenoch + Clark acts as an employment agency for permanent recruitment and an employment business for the supply of temporary workers. Badenoch + Clark UK is an Equal Opportunities Employer.

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