Finance Business Partner

Finance Business Partner – Catering Location: London ISS is one of the world's leading workplace and facilities management organisations, partnering with some of the UK's largest commercial and public sector clients. We deliver essential services across a range of environments, with catering playing a key role in the experience we create for our customers and the people we serve. We are looking for a commercially focused Finance Business Partner with specific experience in catering contract management within the facilities management sector. Supporting a catering contract portfolio worth approximately £35 million, you will work closely with operational teams and clients to drive financial performance, improve profitability and identify opportunities for sustainable growth. This is a hands-on business partnering role for a qualified accountant who understands the commercial realities of catering operations, from food and labour costs to contract margins, pricing and cash flow. You will use financial insight to influence operational decisions, challenge performance and ensure contracts deliver against their financial and commercial commitments. Key responsibilities

• Take ownership of financial performance across a £35 million catering contract portfolio, driving revenue, profitability, margin improvement and cash generation.
• Partner closely with catering operations managers and client-facing teams to understand performance, challenge costs and identify opportunities to improve contract profitability.
• Analyse key catering cost drivers, including food costs, labour, staffing levels, waste, productivity and supplier expenditure.
• Lead monthly financial performance reviews, providing clear insight into variances against budgets, forecasts and contract targets.
• Support budgeting, forecasting and financial planning, ensuring catering contracts have robust financial plans and clear actions to address underperformance.
• Identify commercial risks and opportunities across the portfolio, helping operational teams improve efficiency and protect margins.
• Support contract pricing, extensions, bids, variations and commercial negotiations, ensuring financial implications are understood and commercial value is maximised.
• Monitor working capital, billing, cash collection and revenue recognition, working with operational teams to improve cash performance.
• Build strong relationships with clients and internal stakeholders, ensuring financial performance aligns with contractual commitments and business objectives.
• Work closely with Financial Controlling to maintain accurate reporting, strong financial controls and effective month-end processes. What we're looking for
• A qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA or CIMA).
• Proven experience in a Finance Business Partner, Commercial Finance or Management Accounting role within the catering or food services sector.
• Specific experience supporting catering contracts within facilities management, contract catering or outsourced food services. Candidates without relevant catering experience will not be suitable for this role.
• Strong understanding of catering financial drivers, including food costs, labour costs, gross profit margins, wastage, productivity and contract profitability.
• Experience managing or supporting financial performance across large, complex catering contracts or multi-site catering portfolios.
• A track record of partnering with operational managers, challenging performance and influencing commercial decisions.
• Strong experience in budgeting, forecasting, management accounts and financial performance analysis.
• Commercial awareness, with exposure to contract management, pricing, contract variations and client relationships.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to explain financial information and influence non-finance colleagues.
• A proactive, commercially minded approach, with a focus on accountability, continuous improvement and delivering measurable results. Why join ISS? This is an opportunity to play a key role in the financial success of a significant catering portfolio, working directly with operational leaders and clients to influence performance and drive commercial improvements. You'll have the opportunity to make a tangible impact on profitability, support the development of catering operations and contribute to the continued success of ISS within a competitive contract catering environment. ISS is proud to be a diverse and inclusive employer. Our passion is people. ISSGreatPeople PeopleMakePlace