Senior Commercial Finance Analyst

Practice Group / Department:

We're Norton Rose Fulbright - a global law firm with over 50 offices and 7,000 employees worldwide. We provide the world’s preeminent corporations and financial institutions with a full business law service. At Norton Rose Fulbright, our strategy and our culture are closely entwined. We know that our expansion will mean little unless it is underpinned by truly global collaboration and we understand that pioneering work only takes place when our people have room to move and think beyond boundaries. As well as the relevant skills and experience, we're looking for people who are innovative, commercial and value the work that they do. 

Reports to: Financial Analysis Manager

Based: Newcastle, 3 days per week in the office and 2 days remote working

Hours: Full time, 9.30 to 17.30 Monday to Friday although a level of flexibility is needed to cover peaks in workload and business requirements.

The team:

Part of EMEA Group Finance and working very closely with the EMEA Chief Operating Officer, the Commercial Finance function encompasses Finance Business Partnering, Pricing and Commercial Insights, and Finance Business Information and Reporting. Commercial Finance supports NRF leadership and wider stakeholder groups by looking at ways to improve firm profitability, competitiveness and value for clients through financial leadership, timely insights and initiatives designed to improve commercial confidence and decision making.

The role:

• Assisting in the preparation of high quality financial presentations to the business and providing analysis and recommendations as and when required. The Senior Commercial Finance Analyst will also provide support to resolve any follow up actions which result from business engagements.
• Becoming a SME for the suite of finance systems and models used by the Department, working with the Commercial Finance function to ensure systems and models remain accurate, relevant and fit for purpose.
• Proactively managing the production of routine deliverables required by the Commercial Finance function ensuring accuracy and timeliness. It is expected that the Senior Commercial Finance Analyst should proactively look for ways to improve the efficiency of data generation.
• Assisting in the delivery of the financial education agenda by supporting training initiatives to newly promoted partners / laterals / promotion candidates / new firm joiners. Helping to maintain training materials on behalf of the Department.
• Working with the Finance, People and Culture and Resource Management teams (both locally and remotely) to ensure integrity and accuracy of data used by the Department, e.g. headcount, fee earner cost rates.
• Compiling accurate financial data to support complex business requests including, but not limited to, partner and fee earner appraisals, client and matter profitability, trend reporting, and secondment pricing. The Senior Commercial Finance Analyst should be capable of conducting variance analysis and highlighting areas which require investigation by senior colleagues to deliver timely and relevant insights and recommendations for management action.
• Support on strategic pricing initiatives and commercial reviews of client pricing arrangements
• Assisting the wider Commercial Finance function with other ad hoc tasks as required.

Requirements:

Essential

• Undergraduate degree - 2:1 or above with a solid understanding of finance and accounting principles.
• Advanced Excel skills.
• Excellent time management skills and able to prioritise work when facing competing deadlines.
• Demonstrable experience of being able to analyse large data sets and deliver qualitative and quantitative information and findings in a concise and useful manner in order to support key stakeholders.
• Excellent written and verbal communication. The ability to remain calm and focused under pressure.
• Proven attention to detail - can demonstrate taking pride in work and ensuring it is of the highest standard.
• Excellent soft skills, emotionally resilient, and has strength of personality to ensure the perspective of ‘Finance’ is clearly communicated.
• Holding, currently undertaking, or planning to undertake, a professional accountancy qualification Ambitious, hardworking and the desire to grow professionally.

Desirable/Advantageous

• Professional services sector experience (ideally legal). Blue chip experience would also be favourable.
• Evidence of teamwork and collaboration − the ability to work actively with others to achieve outcomes in both formal and informal teams in support of team and organisational goals.
• Experience working with PowerBI, Tableau and SQL.
• Have a continuous improvement mindset and a desire to optimise and streamline the delivery of commercial finance analysis.

To attract the best people, we strive to create a diverse and inclusive environment where everyone can bring their whole selves to work, have a sense of belonging, and realize their full career potential. 
Our new enabled work model allows our people to have more flexibility in the way they choose to work from both the office and a remote location, while continuing to deliver the highest standards of service. We offer a range of family friendly and inclusive employment policies and provide access to programmes and services aimed at nurturing our people’s health and overall wellbeing. Find more about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion here.

We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams. We strive to create an inclusive and accessible recruitment process for all candidates. If you require any tailored adjustments or accommodations, please let us know here.