Group Cash Flow Forecast Manager

We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide. For over 90 years we have shaped brighter futures through education, arts, culture, language, and creativity.

We work with people in over 150 countries and reach over 700 million people.

We connect. We inspire.

Location: London UK

Contract Type: Indefinite Contract

Requirements: You must have the legal right to work in the country where the role is based at the time of application.  We are unable to support with visa sponsorship and relocation.

Role Purpose - The Job:

The British Council is seeking an experienced and commercially minded Cashflow Forecast Manager to take ownership of our global cashflow forecasting and working capital management activities. This is a high-profile leadership role that will play a critical part in strengthening financial insight, improving forecasting accuracy, and supporting strategic decision-making across our international network.

Reporting into the finance leadership team, you will oversee the organisation's short-term cashflow forecasting process, driving continuous improvements to ensure forecasts are accurate, robust and fit for purpose. You will be responsible for developing and enhancing forecasting models, analysing variances between actual and forecast cashflows, and identifying opportunities to improve overall performance and reliability. A key objective of the role will be to optimise processes and support the transition of appropriate activities to our Managed Service Provider.

You will provide oversight of cash repatriation activities from overseas subsidiaries and branch operations to the UK, ensuring that associated risks, controls and governance requirements are clearly understood and effectively managed. Working closely with colleagues across Treasury, Tax, Financial Planning & Analysis, Financial Control, Group Statutory Reporting and in-country finance teams, you will coordinate efforts to improve the timing and effectiveness of cash repatriation activities and develop clear visibility of future cash movements across the organisation.

A significant aspect of the role will involve developing greater insight into working capital performance across the British Council and driving initiatives that optimise cash management. You will work collaboratively with finance teams across multiple geographies to strengthen reporting, improve understanding of working capital drivers and support organisational change in the way business units manage forecasting and liquidity.

The successful candidate will be a proactive and experienced finance professional with strong analytical capabilities, excellent relationship-building skills and the confidence to engage with and challenge senior stakeholders. You will be comfortable operating in a complex international environment, balancing strategic thinking with strong attention to detail and execution. Experience of working across multiple teams and jurisdictions is highly desirable, as the role requires extensive collaboration across our global network.

This is an exciting opportunity to influence significant organisational change, enhance financial decision-making and contribute to the effective stewardship of the British Council's global financial resources. Through regular engagement with business leaders, senior stakeholders and finance professionals across the organisation, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of cashflow forecasting and working capital management.

Role Context - About the Team:

This key role will help drive significant organisational change in the way in which each business unit (organised by geographical area) completes the cash flow forecast and managers its working capital.  The role will require constant engagement with business leads, other senior stakeholders and members of the financial community across the network.

Main Accountabilities:

Cash Management & Treasury

- Lead short term cash flow forecasting and oversee repatriation of overseas cash, ensuring alignment with group funding strategies.
- Lead a drive to focus the business on working capital optimisation.
- Support Corporate Treasury in understanding and optimising global cash positions and intercompany funding flows .

Process & Performance Management

- Partner with Corporate Finance, CoEs, and the MSP to embed efficient, compliant financial processes.
- Monitor the performance of outsourced financial operations and ensure adherence to service level agreements (SLAs).
- Working with finance transformation, identify and support delivery of continuous improvement opportunities, embedding them into business-as-usual operations.

Leadership & Stakeholder Engagement

- Act as a senior advisor to International Financial Control leadership on cash flow and working capital matters.
- Lead embedding changes in ways of working, ensuring alignment with the target operating model.
- Build strong cross-functional relationships across the organisation to support control maturity and capability building .

Requirements Of the Role:

- Advanced financial modelling skills in Excel or Power BI.
- Strong communication and influencing skills, able to relay complex financial information in an easy-to-understand way.
- Well-developed analytical skills.
- Highly organised and deadline oriented.
- Building relationships at all levels of the organisation.
- Flexibility, independence, and initiative to perform successfully in a rapidly changing environment.

Minimum/essential

- A significant number of active years of cash flow forecasting and related experience.
- Experience of leading a geographically dispersed and culturally diverse team.
- Experience of leading a finance team supporting multiple business models with varying funding streams on a large scale.
- Experience of working in a matrix management structure.
- SAP/ERP experience.
- Shared Services Operations experience desirable.

- Previous experience of leadership of change projects/initiatives desirable.

A connected and trusted UK in a more connected and trusted world.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Statement

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and we welcome applications from all sections of the community as we believe that a diverse workforce gives added depth to our work. The British Council is a Disability Confident Employer. The Disability Confident scheme helps challenge attitudes, increase understanding of disability, and ensure staff are drawn from the widest possible pool of talent and we guarantee an interview for disabled applicants who meet the minimum role requirements. We welcome discussions about specific requirements or adjustments to enable participation and engagement in our work and activities.
 
Safeguarding Statement

The British Council is committed to safeguarding children, young people, and adults who we work with. We believe that all children and adults everywhere in the world deserve to live in safe environments and have the right to be protected from all forms of abuse, maltreatment and exploitation as set out in article 19, UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child) 1989. Appointment to positions where there is direct involvement with vulnerable groups will be dependent on thorough checks being completed in line with legal requirements and with the British Council’s Safeguarding policies for Adults and Children.
If you experience any difficulties with submitting your application, please email [email protected]