Smart Pension
Head of Financial Planning & Analysis
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Head of Financial Planning & Analysis
Head of Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)
At Smart, our mission is to transform retirement, savings, and financial wellbeing across all generations around the world.
About the Role
We are seeking an experienced and commercially minded Head of Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) to join our business. Reporting to the Group Finance Director, this role will lead financial planning, forecasting, budgeting, and performance reporting activities across the organisation.
As a key member of the Finance leadership team, you will:
- Provide strategic financial insight
- Support decision-making at senior levels
- Drive robust planning processes that enable the business to achieve its objectives
This is a highly collaborative role requiring strong business partnering skills and the ability to influence stakeholders across multiple organisational functions.
Key Responsibilities
Financial Planning & Forecasting
- Lead annual budgeting, forecasting, and long-range planning
- Develop and maintain robust financial models to support strategic and operational decision-making
- Deliver accurate forecasts across:
- Revenue
- Costs
- Cash flow
- Profitability
- Drive continuous improvement in forecasting accuracy and planning methodologies
Business Partnering
- Act as a trusted finance partner for senior stakeholders across the business
- Support business leaders with:
- Financial analysis
- Commercial insights
- Practical recommendations to drive performance
- Provide stakeholder management, challenging assumptions with commercial guidance on key initiatives and investment decisions
- Build strong, enduring relationships across Finance and the wider organisation
Data & Analytics
- Lead a team of four data professionals, responsible for:
- Smart's BI reporting and data analytics
- Collaborate with the Lead Data Analyst to shape the team’s strategic direction, focusing on advancing from foundational to advanced and maximising business value
- Drive operational efficiencies and improvements in:
- Ways of working
- Process prioritisation for data requests
- Ensure data quality and consistency across Finance, anchoring the data team effectively
Reporting & Performance Management
- Produce high-quality management reporting, including:
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
- Financial performance analyses
- Offer clear commentary on financial results, trends, risks, and opportunities
- Support Executive and Board reporting requirements
- Promote a data-led approach to business performance management
Strategic Finance
- Support development and delivery of strategic and financial plans
- Assess commercial opportunities, investments, and business cases
- Provide financial modelling and scenario analysis for decision-making support
- Identify opportunities to improve:
- Efficiency
- Profitability
- Business performance
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Process Improvement
- Drive enhancements to FP&A processes, systems, and reporting capabilities
- Support optimisation and continuous development of financial planning tools and models
- Advance best practice in:
- Budgeting
- Forecasting
- Performance reporting
Leadership & Team Management
- Lead and develop the FP&A team, fostering a high-performance culture
- Provide coaching, support, and clear direction to deliver high-quality financial planning, analysis, and reporting
- Manage team priorities and resource allocation to meet business objectives
Qualifications & desired skillsets
No job description would be complete without reflecting the quality and passions of the team that drives Smart.
Requirements
- Qualified Accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA, or equivalent for UK/EU/International qualifications)
- Five+ years of experience in Financial Planning & Analysis, Commercial Finance, or Strategic Finance roles
- Proven experience leading:
- Budgeting
- Forecasting
- Financial planning
- Strong business partnering experience with senior stakeholders
- Advanced financial modelling skills, including:
- Financial forecasting
- Scenario analysis
- Budgeting
- Strategic analysis
- Experience using Anaplan for planning, forecasting, and reporting
- Exceptional communication and presentation skills, translating complex financial information into actionable business insights
- Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills
Desirable
- Experience within technology, fintech, financial services, or high-growth environments
- Exposure to:
- Financial due diligence
- Corporate transactions
- Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A activity)
- Investment analysis
- Support for business transformation or finance change initiatives
- Knowledge of business intelligence and reporting tools
About Smart
We work in partnerships with governments and financial institutions in the UK and internationally. Our cloud-native digital platform is revolutionising how people around the world understand retirement savings.
At heart, we’re a financial technology business—innovative and dedicated to changing everything about how people think about and plan for their financial future. We leverage digital transformation to put customers first, because better financial outcomes should be accessible to everyone.
The people shaping Smart thrive on this mission. Our Engineers see their work—as collaborative and collegial—as a chance to develop groundbreaking technological solutions. The colleagues drawn here value our culture, the meaning behind our work—the tangible impact on savers and financial wellbeing—beyond a conventional working day.
Take their word for it—Smart’s team is proud of what they build: you can hear directly from them on platforms like LinkedIn Life and Glassdoor to uncover what makes Smart a meaningful place to work.
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Benefits
At Smart, our eight core principles include "We want happy and good people in our team"—realised through benefits that allow Team Members to thrive:
Yearly Leave
- 25 days holiday per year, increasing with length of service
Professional Development
- £500 annual training budget, investable in your career growth
Health & Wellbeing
- Extensive private healthcare, including:
- Dental coverage
- Comprehensive eyecare
- Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
- Enhanced sick leave: three months’ full pay per year
- Maternity and paternity provisions:
- Maternity: six months’ fully paid leave
- Paternity: three weeks’ fully paid leave
Financial Security
- Death-in-service insurance cover
Career Breaks
- Fully paid five-week sabbatical after five years of employment
Additional Perks
- Wellbeing rewards: Office amenities including manicures, massages, and barbers
- Smart employees enjoy a 50% discount on orders from Arena Flowers, Britain’s most ethical florist. Orders offer unique hand-tied bouquets, luxury flowers, letterbox flowers, plants, and gifts ideal for honoring personal or professional milestones.
Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion
We are committed to creating an inclusive and equitable workplace where everyone feels:
- Valued
- Respected
- Empowered to work at their best
From backgrounds and experiences, to thoughts and identities, we believe diverse perspectives strengthen our capabilities across retirement, savings, and financial wellbeing transformation. Smart taps into inclusion and fairness because true innovation demands it.
We encourage applications from individuals with all backgrounds and experiences:
- Your journey here may not fit every box expects—but a passion to meet challenges head-on can contribute far more than conventional checkmarks.
Equal opportunity means abiding by diversity and non-discrimination principles—every characteristic is protected.
Accessibility
If you require any reasonable adjustments during recruitment or aligned with workplace protocols, feel free to reach out. Sprinkling upon—Sure—we’re here to support your abilities.
Team Player Call: Join Smart
We think Smart is an outstanding place to work.
If that sounds like a place you would like to belong, if you’re ready to collaborate in our journey toward ongoing success—then yes, let’s meet.
Our mission here is transformative, scaling across all generations and across the world—bring savvy, expertise, and inspiration all possible. Ready to write your next chapter?
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