Senior Strategic Finance Business Partner – Strategic Development Initiatives

Location Brighton, UK Hours Full-time considered up to a maximum of 1.0 FTE (37.5 hours) Requests for flexible working options will be considered (subject to business need). Salary Grade 9 starting at £58,225 to £67,468 per annum, pro rata if part time, with discretionary range dependent on skills and experience. Contract Type Permanent
About the role
An exciting opportunity exists to join the University of Sussex as its Senior Strategic Business Partner, leading the delivery of services to support strategic business development initiatives. This new role will provide expert advice and strategic financial support to the University’s Executive, ensuring the University’s Strategy 2035 is delivered and sustainable financial performance objectives met.
You will advise on financial strategy and planning, taking a leading role in the identification of strategic business opportunities, collaboratively developing proposals with Directors of service and business leads for prioritisation by the University’s Executive, and delivering financially sustainable business plans for implementation. You will work primarily to support the development of new business opportunities but also to improve the performance of existing initiatives and projects. You will work across portfolios, forging effective relationships with the University’s Executive and collaborating with business leaders from Professional Services Divisions and Academic Faculties, to support the ongoing development of a portfolio of income generating activities and services, based on and around core higher education provision and research activity.
You must be a confident communicator able to work effectively with senior leaders and those with operational responsibilities alike. You must be an enthusiastic collaborator who embraces team working and sees value in the contribution of others, including Senior Business Partners for Academic Faculties and Professional Services Divisions and other senior colleagues in Professional Services Divisions. You will be a crucial partner, providing support to senior managers and business leaders, who must make effective financial decisions, and you will be instrumental in building excellent financial management literacy and practice across the University alongside fellow Senior Finance Business Partners.
You must have an analytical mind and be experienced in presenting financial information for decision making in a succinct and digestible form by a non-financial audience. You will be familiar with the development and use of reporting tools and data driven decision making processes. This must include a high level of competence to build business cases and define models in support of decision making for strategies and specific initiatives.
About you
If you are a strategic minded person with a high level of business acumen and you are an effective collaborator who values people and team working and with the ability to deliver high quality financial services, support and analysis to decision makers, then we want to hear from you.
About our Division
The Finance Division is led by the Chief Financial Officer who reports directly to the Vice Chancellor. We employ some 80 staff who provide high quality financial and commercial services which support both the day to day running of our schools, services, and the development and delivery of the University’s strategic aims.
Our staff work in partnership with academic, professional service colleagues, and students to understand their priorities and needs. We maintain efficient and effective services, systems, and processes, assist in identifying and exploiting commercial and strategic opportunities, manage financial risk and improve ‘spending power’ through negotiation of favourable commercial terms. We work hard to equip staff across the University with financial capability and confidence to ensure that the University makes the best use of resources for our students and research partners.
Why Work Here
Our university is situated off the A27, next to the beautiful South Downs where you will enjoy everything that our 150-acre campus has to offer. We are accessible by public transport; Falmer train station is a five-minute walk to campus and several bus stops are located within campus. We also have dedicated cycling paths and encourage our staff to use these with our offering of a cycle to work scheme. Sussex is a renowned, multi-accredited, research-led International University and this is only possible because of the people that work here. Whether you are a member of Faculty, part of a Professional Services team or a Student, it’s our people that make us great and we want you to be part of that.
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Further Key Information
For informal enquiries please contact Carey McLaughlin (c.mclaughlin@sussex.ac.uk) for informal inquiries.
For full details and how to apply see our vacancies page. The University of Sussex values the diversity of its staff and students, and we welcome applicants from all backgrounds.
The University requires that work undertaken for the University is performed in the UK.
Visa Sponsorship Queries: This role may be eligible for sponsorship. Please consult our Skilled Worker Visa information page for further information about Visa Sponsorship.
October 8, 2025 5:59 PM Expected Interview Date Week commencing 20th October. This will be a two stage interview process Expected Start Date November 2025 Fixed Term Contract Duration Not Applicable