Cost and Investment Finance Business Partner

Crown Agents Bank is a vastly growing and regulated UK bank that connects emerging and frontier markets to the rest of the world, using FX and payments technology. We are transforming the way payments and FX move through emerging markets, reducing friction so that more money gets to those who need it. Emerging markets payments are usually challenging, expensive, unreliable and opaque. Our solutions help fix these pain points. Ultimately, we connect traditionally hard-to-reach regions to global financial infrastructure, giving access to the best prices and the fastest, most reliable settlement.

FX and cross-border payments are often complex and expensive, especially when operating in emerging markets. Crown Agents Bank (CAB) wraps its deep and trusted relationships and strength of network around innovative digital capabilities, and cross-border transaction banking solutions to enable fintech, corporates, governments, development organisations and banks to move money to, from, and across often hard-to-reach markets.

Role Purpose

The Finance Cost & Investment Business Partner will play a critical role in shaping the financial performance agenda of the Bank, with a particular focus on reshaping the reporting and control of the Bank’s operating Cost & Transformation Investment strategy to drive sustainable operating efficiency.

As a senior member of the FP&A team, the role partners closely with the Head of FP&A, Finance leadership, Regional CFOs, ExCo cost owners and the Transformation Team to deliver high quality financial insight, robust planning processes, and actionable recommendations that enable the Bank to optimise cost performance and allocate resources effectively.

Role Responsibilities

1. Cost & Transformation financial reporting framework owner

• End to End owner of the Bank’s operating cost and transformation investment spend
• Lead the development and refinement of the Bank’s cost & investment reporting framework, ensuring alignment with strategic priorities, meeting the needs of a growing international Bank and driving continuous improvement.
• Lead the transition of cost reporting from legacy systems to a new cloud‑based platform, enabling user self‑service, drill‑down capability and AI‑driven cost insights

2. Performance Management & Business Partnering

• Partner with ExCo leaders (COO, Finance, HR, Risk) and Regional CFOs to deliver timely, high‑quality cost insight and to drive cost initiatives that support sustainable Bank growth.
• Challenge business assumptions constructively, ensuring plans are realistic, evidence‑based, and aligned to efficiency ambitions of the Bank
• Work closely with the Transformation Team and PMOs to provide rigorous financial modelling for project investments, ensuring strong financial control, performance oversight with the tracking of benefits and the assessment of the ROI

3. Planning & Forecasting

• Lead delivery of the cost elements of the annual budget, multi‑year plan, and rolling forecasts, ensuring robust assumptions, strong governance, and high analytical rigour.
• Identification and deliver cost opportunities to reduce structural and run‑rate costs, improve operating leverage, and simplify the cost base.
• Drive improved transparency of cost drivers, unit cost economics, and efficiency ratios, providing clear insight on trends, risks, and opportunities.
• Develop and maintain cost models to support scenario analysis, sensitivity testing, and decision-making.

4. MI, Automation & Continuous Improvement

• Work with the Bank’s external MI system provider (Vena) to drive automation and standardisation of cost reporting, enabling self-sourcing of cost MI at a more granular level, improving timeliness, accuracy, and efficiency.
• Enhance the quality and relevance of cost MI, including dashboards, KPIs, and executive reporting packs
• Standardise and process engineer the Budget cost process utilising the planning functionality within Vena

5. Governance, Controls & Stakeholder Management

• Strengthen cost governance frameworks across the bank, supporting cost committees, performance reviews, and budget challenge forums.
• Be an active member in the Transformation Governance Framework, providing assurance as the financial performance of the projects
• Ensure robust documentation, audit trails, and financial control standards for all planning and forecasting processes.
• Present insights and recommendations to senior stakeholders including the CFO, COO, Finance Directors, and Executive Committees (as required

Essential

• Qualified ACA/ACCA/CIMA/ICAS
• Extensive FP&A experience within Financial Services, ideally banking or payments.
• Proven delivery of cost optimisation, operating model analysis, and efficiency initiatives.
• Meaningful contributor or lead in a bank’s budgeting process.
• Strong experience managing Transformation / Project investment reporting and defining effective cost‑control environments.
• Advanced financial modelling and analytical capability, able to interpret complex datasets.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills, confident presenting to senior stakeholders and constructively challenging.
• Strong control mindset, accuracy, and attention to detail.
• Advanced Excel and strong PowerPoint skills.
• Clear understanding of P&L and balance sheet drivers, especially cost dynamics and balance‑sheet interactions.
• Self‑motivated, results‑driven, and able to own deliverables without close supervision.
• High sense of accountability and proactive ownership.
• Demonstrates strategic thinking, commercial acumen, and product intuition.
• Able to build strong cross‑functional stakeholder relationships.
• Proactive in developing new skills and capabilities.

Preferred but not essential:

• Experience with VENA (or similar OLAP system, such as IBM Cognos)
• Familiarity with regulatory frameworks (Basel III/IV, IFRS 9, ICAAP, ILAAP).

• Hybrid working
• Contributory personal pension plan: - Minimum: Employee 2% and Employer 7%. Employer matches contributions in 1% increments to a maximum of: Employee 5% and Employer 10%
• Life Assurance – 4 times annual salary
• Group Income Protection
• Private Medical Insurance – this may include cover for partner and or children at company cost. Cover includes Optical, Dental and Audiology
• Discretionary Bonus
• Competitive Annual Leave
• 2 Volunteering Days
• Benefit Hub