Group Head of FP&A

Job Title: Group Head of FP&A

Reports to: Group Commercial Finance Director

Employment type: Full time, permanent Hybrid with two days a week in our London head office

Salary: Competitive with annual salary bonus and company car or car allowance

About The Role

Busy Bees Group, a leading global childcare and early years education provider, is seeking a commercially focused Group Head of FP&A to help strengthen the Group’s planning capability and improve future business performance. This is a high-impact role at the centre of the Group FP&A agenda, translating strategic priorities into robust plans, forecasts, scenarios and investment choices.

Working closely with the Group Commercial Finance Director, CFOs, senior leaders and country finance teams, you will lead the FP&A calendar, long-range planning, budgeting, forecasting, scenario modelling and driver-based planning methodology. You will play a key role in building a more consistent, insight-led and forward-looking FP&A function across the Group.

About Busy Bees

Busy Bees is a world leading international early years business which has experienced a period of rapid expansion over the last ten years in both the UK and overseas. Worldwide, the Group has over 1,000 centres across nine countries and a global turnover of approx. £1 billion. The Group’s ambition is to become the largest global early education provider through continuation of its buy and build strategy.

About The Benefits

• Sector leading Family Leave.Enhanced maternity/paternity and adoption leave
• Annual salary bonus
• Hybrid working
• Big Benefits. Dedicated 24/7 employee benefits platform Hive (Reward Gateway) with retail, cinema, and travel discounts
• 35% Childcare discount.
• PMI
• 33 days holiday inclusive of bank holidays and an extra day off for your birthday every year
• Health and Wellbeing.We know that sometimes life can be tricky, or you might need guidance so you can lean on our Employee Assistance Program and our Peppy and Mental Health Apps
• Further Training and development.Access to our own training company to help support you in your development and gaining further qualifications
  
  

Responsibilities

• Lead the Group FP&A planning agenda, including the FP&A calendar, five-year plan, annual budget and forecasting processes.
• Translate strategic priorities into robust financial plans, investment choices and value creation opportunities, ensuring clear linkage between strategy, operational drivers and financial outcomes.
• Develop and embed driver-based planning methodologies across the Group, improving consistency, transparency and confidence in forecasts and long-range plans.
• Lead scenario modelling, risk assessment and sensitivity analysis to support executive decision-making, strategic projects, exit readiness and Group investment decisions.
• Partner with senior stakeholders across Group and country leadership teams, building trusted relationships and constructively challenging assumptions to improve planning quality and business outcomes.
• Provide FP&A leadership and territory expertise across North America, Australia, New Zealand and Group, supporting local teams with clear insight, guidance and best practice.
• Support executive reporting and analytics transformation, helping to develop clear, driver-led reporting that improves visibility of future performance, risks and opportunities.
• Use analytical tools and reporting capabilities to improve the quality, efficiency and accessibility of FP&A outputs, including Power BI reporting where appropriate.
• Work collaboratively with the FP&A Manager and wider finance teams to build Group FP&A capability, improve ways of working and ensure planning and insight activities are aligned.
• Communicate complex financial information clearly and concisely for senior audiences, producing high-quality outputs for CFOs, executive leaders and Board-level discussions.
  
  

Key Skills & Experience

• Professionally qualified accountant with a recognised qualification such as ACCA, CIMA or ACA.
• Strong experience in a Group FP&A, Head of FP&A, Senior FP&A or equivalent planning-focused finance role, ideally within a complex, multi-site or international organisation.
• Proven track record of leading planning processes, including long-range planning, budgeting, forecasting, scenario modelling and performance risk assessment.
• Strong commercial mindset with the ability to translate strategic priorities into financial plans, value creation opportunities and practical business recommendations.
• Excellent senior stakeholder management skills, with the credibility and confidence to influence, challenge and build trusted relationships with CFOs, country leadership teams and executive stakeholders.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to distil complex financial information into clear, concise and actionable insight for senior audiences.
• Advanced financial modelling and analytical skills, with strong attention to detail and the ability to work with data from multiple systems and territories.
• Strong Excel capability and experience using planning, reporting or EPM tools; experience writing Power BI reports or developing self-serve reporting would be advantageous.
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced environment, managing competing priorities and driving continuous improvement in FP&A processes, outputs and capability.