Senior Finance Business Partner

Job description

This is your opportunity to join AXIS Capital – a trusted global provider of specialty lines insurance and reinsurance. We stand apart for our outstanding client service, intelligent risk taking and superior risk adjusted returns for our shareholders. We also proudly maintain an entrepreneurial, disciplined and ethical corporate culture. As a member of AXIS, you join a team that is among the best in the industry. At AXIS, we believe that we are only as strong as our people. We strive to create an inclusive and welcoming culture where employees of all backgrounds and from all walks of life feel comfortable and empowered to be themselves. This means that we bring our whole selves to work. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic, including age, color, disability, ethnicity, gender identity, marital status, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any basis prohibited by the laws that govern its operations. Job Description: Senior Finance Business Partner Job Description About the Team Corporate FP&A partners with the CEO, CFO, ExCo and senior leaders across Corporate Functions, Reinsurance and ACS to translate financial plans, forecasts and performance insights into clear decisions, funded strategic options and disciplined cost ownership. The team is strengthening its business partnering, strategic planning, modelling and operational excellence capability so FP&A is a forward-looking adviser to the business, not just a reporting function. How does this role contribute to our collective success? The Senior Finance Business Partner is a trusted, credible finance voice to the CEO, CFO and the ExCo. The role challenges commercial decisions constructively, turns the annual plan and forecasts into decision-ready insight, and helps leaders understand the financial impact of strategic choices without defaulting to spreadsheets. This role elevates the FP&A lead remit by combining business partnership, strategic and commercial acumen, analytical rigor, scenario modelling, AI-enabled workflow improvement, and strong data governance. The role is expected to close current gaps in strategic option framing and Anaplan / AI modelling while coaching the wider team to lift overall impact. What will you be doing in this role? Business partnering and strategic decision support Overall lead on monthly expense management and reporting processes across the Group Partner with ExCo, the CFO and function leaders across the Corporate Functions, Reinsurance and ACS, challenging commercial decisions constructively and bringing a clear finance point of view. Frame the financial value drivers behind strategic choices and translate plans into funded options, trade-offs and recommended actions. Turn variance analysis, budgets and forecasts into decision-ready commentary that explains the “so what”, not just the movement in the numbers. Act as a trusted adviser in leadership meetings, helping leaders make choices ahead of the numbers rather than after the fact. Partner with department leaders to promote accountability for expenses and improve financial outcomes and analyze key expense drivers and provide insight regarding spending trends and opportunities Planning, forecasting and scenario modelling Own and enhance the Anaplan Workforce model, including scenario planning, long-term forecasting and more frequent expense forecast updates. Lead budgeting, forecasting and long-range planning across the supported portfolio, ensuring assumptions are clear, comparable and linked to commercial outcomes. Develop rapid workforce, expense and strategic scenarios that allow senior leaders to assess options in minutes rather than days. Use AI-enabled workflow opportunities to improve forecast quality, reduce manual effort and strengthen the team’s ability to focus on interpretation and advice. Operational excellence, governance and controls Lead the centralise, streamline and automate agenda, clearing month-end and quarter-end close bottlenecks where they affect planning and management insight. Set data-control standards for right-first-time reporting, enforce policy compliance and internal controls, and monitor risk across the planning process. Hold functions accountable for spend through clear governance, transparent assumptions and consistent reporting standards. Identify process improvements and lead change initiatives that move the team from reporting production to higher-value analysis and advice. Develop and maintain expense dashboards, management reports, and KPI reporting. Additionally, look to create automated reporting solutions that reduce manual effort and improve data accuracy wherever possible Leadership and team contribution Supervise and develop a small team, including objectives, performance, development planning and day-to-day coaching. Act as a senior technical resource across finance, evaluating business needs and developing pragmatic solutions. Coach the wider FP&A team in commercial framing, Anaplan modelling, AI-enabled ways of working and concise executive communication. Work with significant autonomy, with process changes reviewed and approved by the Head of Corporate FP&A. You may also be required to take on additional duties, responsibilities and activities appropriate to the nature of this role. About you We encourage you to bring your own experience and expertise to the table. While there are qualifications and experiences we need you to have, we are open to discussing how your individual knowledge could lend itself to fulfilling this role and helping AXIS achieve its goals. What we’re looking for from you Bachelor’s degree in finance, Accounting or Economics with preference for a qualified accountant or equivalent professional finance qualification, such as ACA, ACCA, CIMA, CPA or CFA. 7+ years of experience in FP&A, commercial finance or a closely related finance business partnering role. Proven experience partnering with senior leaders and ExCo-level stakeholders in a complex, multi-entity group. Strong strategic and commercial judgement, with the ability to challenge constructively and influence decisions without relying on excessive detail. Advanced modelling and scenario-forecasting skills, including confidence building and improving planning models. Practical experience with Anaplan, or comparable enterprise planning solutions, and a clear interest in using AI to improve workflow quality and efficiency. Advanced literacy across PowerPoint, Excel, Power BI and enterprise finance / HR systems such as Workday, Oracle, SAP, Hyperion or similar systems. Excellent written and verbal communication, with the ability to produce concise, senior-leader-ready commentary and recommendations. A track record of improving processes, controls, data quality and operating cadence in a finance environment with a focus on automation where possible. Role factors: This is an office-based professional role, with hybrid working expectations consistent with AXIS policy and business needs. The role may require occasional business travel for leadership, planning or stakeholder meetings. No regular driving or manual lifting requirement is expected beyond normal office-based activities. The role requires flexibility during key planning, forecast, quarter-end and senior management cycle deadlines. Success measures - first 12 months – a snapshot Outcome What good looks like Trusted adviser Pulled into commercial decisions ahead of the numbers and able to challenge without opening a spreadsheet. Planning and scenarios Anaplan Workforce model flexes headcount and expense scenarios quickly, with assumptions transparent and decision-ready. Strategic options Annual plan converted into funded options with clear value drivers, trade-offs and recommendations. Forecast quality Forecast accuracy and commentary quality improve, with clearer linkage between assumptions, drivers and outcomes. Operational excellence Close and planning bottlenecks reduced, routine reporting automated where practical, and data control improves right-first-time reporting. What we offer: You will be eligible for a comprehensive and competitive benefits package which includes medical plans for you and your family, health and wellness programs, retirement plans, tuition reimbursement, paid annual leave, and much more. For this position, we currently expect to offer a base salary in the range of $170 - 200,000. Your salary offer will be based on an assessment of a variety of factors including your specific experience and work location. In addition, you will be offered competitive target incentive compensation, with awards based on overall corporate and individual performance. Where this role can either be based in or NYC office in the United States of America or in our London office in the UK, this role is Exempt for FLSA purposes. This posting is for an existing vacancy.