Senior Finance Business Partner – Direct Costs

The Senior Finance Business Partner – Direct Costs is a strategic finance role supporting Taylor & Francis's key direct cost lines including editorial operations, marketing activities, and production/manufacturing operations. This position provides financial leadership and business partnering across journals editorial costs, peer review processes, direct marketing expenditure, author royalties, production costs, manufacturing operations, inventory management, and supply chain costs. The successful candidate will work closely with functional leadership to optimise investment decisions, drive ROI, improve operational efficiency, and support strategic decision-making across Taylor & Francis's portfolio of over 2,700 journals and extensive book publishing operations. Key Responsibilities Strategic Financial Partnership: Serve as the primary finance business partner to key direct cost line leaders, providing financial insights, analysis, and strategic guidance to support decision-making across content acquisition, marketing investments, and production/manufacturing operations. Cost Management & Reporting: Own the financial planning, forecasting, and reporting for all key direct cost lines, ensuring accurate and comprehensive financial information for executive leadership and supporting data-driven decision-making. Budget Planning & Control: Lead the annual budgeting/planning process and monthly forecasting for direct cost centres, collaborating with functional leaders to develop robust budgets aligned with strategic priorities and ensuring effective cost controls throughout the year. Performance Analytics & ROI: Develop and maintain comprehensive KPIs and performance metrics including marketing ROI, production efficiency, manufacturing costs per unit, inventory turnover, and supply chain effectiveness, providing regular insights to drive operational improvements. Investment Appraisal: Evaluate investment proposals for new journal launches, editorial initiatives, marketing campaigns, capital expenditure, process improvements, and technology investments, providing detailed financial analysis and ROI assessments to support business cases. Supplier & Vendor Analysis: Partner with Procurement to analyse supplier performance, negotiate cost structures, and assess vendor contracts, ensuring optimal value from key supplier relationships. Process Improvement: Identify opportunities for cost reduction and process efficiency improvements across the value chain, from content creation through to final delivery, including supporting the financial analysis of the ongoing transition from print to digital publishing. Cross-functional Collaboration: Work closely with Commercial, Technology, Operations, HR, and Legal teams to understand the financial implications of business decisions, new product development, and changes to publishing workflows or business models. Required Qualifications Education & Professional Experience - Professional accounting qualification (ACA, ACCA, CIMA, or equivalent) – Essential - Demonstrable and credible progressive finance experience, with some of that spent in a business partnering or FP&A role, ideally within a matrix organisation. - Proven experience managing complex cost structures and marketing budgets, with demonstrated ability to conduct ROI analysis - Track record of influencing senior stakeholders and driving business performance through financial insights - Experience working in a matrix organisation Technical Skills - Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel (financial modelling, scenario analysis, complex formulas) - Strong working knowledge of ERP systems (SAP, Oracle, or similar) - Experience with business intelligence and reporting tools (Power BI, Tableau, or equivalent) - Solid grasp of accrual accounting, cost accounting principles (including standard costing, variance analysis), and cost allocation methodologies Industry Knowledge (Desirable) - Understanding of publishing industry economics, particularly editorial, marketing, and production cost structures - Knowledge of manufacturing and supply chain financial management - Familiarity with royalty accounting and inventory management Key Competencies and Skills Financial Acumen: Strong commercial awareness with ability to translate complex financial data into clear business insights and excellent analytical skills with meticulous attention to detail. Ownership & Accountability: Takes full ownership of their designated business area, becoming the definitive subject matter expert. Demonstrates deep immersion in the numbers and operational drivers to provide immediate, confident responses to leadership queries. Proactively identifies issues and opportunities through intimate knowledge of performance trends. Business Partnering: Proven ability to build trusted, collaborative relationships with non-finance stakeholders. Strong influencing and consultative skills at senior management level with ability to challenge constructively. Communication: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with ability to present financial information clearly to diverse audiences. Confident in facilitating discussions and driving consensus on financial matters. Strategic Thinking: Ability to balance strategic perspective with detailed financial analysis. Forward-thinking approach to identifying opportunities and mitigating risks. Curiosity & Continuous Learning: Intellectually curious with genuine interest in understanding the publishing business. Proactive in seeking to understand operational processes and business drivers. Asks insightful questions to uncover opportunities for improvement. Data Analysis & Project Management: Strong data manipulation and modelling skills with ability to identify actionable insights. Excellent organisational skills with ability to manage multiple priorities. Operates with pace and urgency, maintaining momentum without unnecessary delays. Adaptability: Comfortable delivering results in a dynamic, fast-paced environment. Resilient and solution-focused approach to challenges.