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About Iris:IRIS Software Group is a leading global provider of mission critical software and services, and one of the UK’s largest privately held software companies. IRIS provides software solutions and services for finance, HR and payroll teams, educational organisations, and accountancy firms that improves efficiency and productivity, taking the pain out of processes and letting professionals focus on the work they love. Through simplifying, automating and providing insights on everyday mission critical tasks for organisations of all shapes and sizes, IRIS ensures customers can look forward with certainty and confidence. One in six of the UK’s workforce is paid by IRIS payroll offerings, and globally, six million employees receive their payslip via IRIS’ software every month. IRIS handles $18 billion of payroll payments annually in the U.S. and Canada. Over 12,000 UK schools and academies use IRIS, with four million parents and guardians using IRIS apps to connect with their children’s school; 300 million messages are delivered between schools and parents each year, and over £15 million transactional payments are processed every month. Our operational software is the invisible, but essential, beating heart of our customers’ businesses, supporting them in a range of objectives, from maintaining legislative compliance, to boosting engagement with stakeholders, to enhancing productivity. It’s vital these mission critical functions work first time, every time.Role & Purpose:The Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A), reporting directly to the CFO, will be responsible for delivering strategic insights, high-quality reporting, and comprehensive analysis to inform key business decisions. This role is essential in driving value across multiple business units, shaping strategy, enhancing profitability, and fostering sustainable growth across a diverse portfolio of products.This position offers significant autonomy and requires an experienced leader capable of managing a team of c.15 finance business partners in a dynamic, fast-paced environment. The ideal candidate will have a deep understanding of commercial finance and be skilled at presenting to key stakeholders across the organization.Core areas of focus for the role: Leading the budgeting, long-term planning, and forecasting processes: Take ownership of the end-to-end process for budgeting, forecasting, and long-term financial planning, ensuring alignment with overall business strategy and goals. Collaborate with key stakeholders across the organization to gather input, review assumptions, and provide insights into financial trends. Establish and oversee robust timelines and deliverables to ensure accurate, timely, and actionable financial plans. Continuously assess and improve planning processes to support agility and responsiveness in a rapidly changing business environment. Producing analysis and insights and help drive performance of the business, including through driving adoption of the data warehouse and AI: The postholder will have personal responsibility for driving the adoption of Gen-AI related tools to assist financial analysis in the business. These will include:Revenue leakage analysisChurn analysisCustomer segmentationWorking capital analysis including Order to Cash and Procure to PayPricing agenda and strategy across the business to maximise the opportunity for new business and migrations Defining and implementing relevant KPIs, using both internal and external data: Collaborate with business leaders to identify and define key performance indicators (KPIs) that are aligned with business objectives and provide a clear measure of performance across various functions. Utilize both internal and external data sources to develop meaningful KPIs that accurately reflect the performance of the business. Regularly review and refine KPIs to ensure they remain relevant and aligned with the evolving needs of the business. Lead and motivate a strong team: Lead, mentor, and develop a diverse team of financial professionals, fostering a collaborative, results-driven culture and provide coaching to team members to support their professional development. Provide direction, guidance, and support to ensure team members have the necessary tools and resources to succeed. Set clear expectations and objectives, empowering team members to take ownership of their responsibilities while holding them accountable for performance. Regularly assess team skills and capabilities to ensure the right talent is in place to meet evolving business needs. Business partnering with senior stakeholders, including the executive committee, investors, and lenders: Serve as a trusted business partner to senior leadership, including the executive committee, investors, and lenders, by providing timely, insightful financial analysis to support strategic decision-making. Collaborate closely with these stakeholders to understand their objectives, anticipate their information needs, and proactively communicate key financial information. Build strong relationships based on trust and credibility, ensuring that financial insights are integrated into business strategy and that all parties are well-informed on the financial health and performance of the organizationRequirements for the role:Qualifications / RequirementsA proven leader in FP&A with demonstrable experience and leadership qualitiesProfessional Accounting Qualification: A qualified accountant (ACA, CIMA, ACCA) Experience & Skills:Extensive FP&A Experience: A minimum of 7 years’ experience in financial planning and analysis, with a proven track record in managing budgeting, forecasting, and long-term planning processes in a corporate environment, ideally also within Private Equity backed businessesBusiness Partnering: Demonstrated experience in working closely with senior stakeholders, including executive leadership, investors, and lenders, providing them with actionable insights and financial guidance to inform key business decisions. Ability to communicate complex financial information in a clear and concise manner.Presentation Skills: Highly skilled in presenting financial insights to senior stakeholders and executive committees. Comfortable and confident in delivering both regular reports and strategic recommendations to non-financial leaders.Leadership & Team Management: Proven experience in leading, coaching, and developing a team of finance professionals. Ability to motivate and inspire a diverse team of qualified and part-qualified accountants, ensuring high performance and professional growth.Data-Driven Decision-Making: Experience in driving the adoption of data-driven decision-making across the organization, leveraging advanced financial systems, data warehouses, and analytics to provide valuable business insights.Process Improvement & Efficiency: Demonstrated ability to streamline processes and improve the efficiency of financial planning and analysis activities, ensuring that deadlines are met and operations run smoothly, including ideally experience of driving system changes and rolloutsCommercial Accounting Expertise: Strong commercial accounting background, with deep expertise in analyzing and interpreting financial data to drive business strategy, improve profitability, and support decision-making across business units.If interested, please apply directly or reach out to Jack with any questions.