Senior Finance Business Partner – Property Development (TTLP)

About Us
We are at the start of a unique journey – setting up a new £2bn property company with some of the best assets in London and the ability to make meaningful improvements to the lives of Londoners. TTL Properties (TTLP), is a financially independent commercial property company that is wholly owned by TfL.

London faces challenges that TTLP is well positioned to help meet. There is sub-optimal use of land and property across London. TTLP provides a way forward in the form of medium-density, high-amenity, high-accessibility, low-carbon places that support vibrant life and commerce, connected by public transport and active travel. TTLP owns and manages 4.68m sq ft of assets including over 1,000 retail units in stations or on London’s High Streets, and 850 railway arches, as well as hundreds of acres of developable land which will deliver 20,000 homes over the next ten years, TTLP will quickly become one of London’s largest property companies.  

We need the right people who are ready to think creatively and take on this challenge. You need to live and breathe our purpose, think long term, and ensure every decision we make helps move London forward.

Overview of role
In this role, you will be responsible for managing the provision of financial analysis, challenge, accounting and reporting for TfL's interests in joint venture property developments, through the application of appropriate levels of due diligence, governance and assurance. 

You will work as a senior finance business partner with business stakeholders and counterparts from external partners, to drive the right financial outcomes for TfL. You will possess strong stakeholder management skills and have previous experience providing technical accounting advice on the structuring of new joint venture partnerships to ensure all financing or reporting risks are identified.

You will also need to be adaptable to carry out a range of financial activities across multiple developments that will be at different stages within the property development life-cycle and must be articulate, and able to represent the interests of TfL with internal and external stakeholders
 
Key Accountabilities 

• Responsible for the provision of a complete financial business partnering service to senior management and departments in relation to TfL's Property Partnership Portfolio. Includes leading on all aspects of financial management and reporting / budgeting / forecasting for development activities.
• Lead on the development of TfL models to monitor and report to the TfL Group on actual costs and forecasts, budgets and plans for property developments, identifying and highlighting issues on a timely basis, and ensuring appropriate action is taken.
• Responsible for the timely and technically accurate recording of financial transactions, and performance information; including forecasts, plans and budgets for a number of partnerships.
• Represent TfL in Finance Committee meetings within the operated ventures, challenging performance and conducting due diligence on forecasts, budgets and plans.
• Manage flows of financial information between TfL and our Joint Venture partners; and also lead on the provision of any financial queries received by TfL in relation to Property Partnership activity.
• Review and arrange payment of cash calls from partners in accordance with JV Operating Agreements
• Provide technical accounting and advice on the structuring of new joint venture partnerships to ensure all financing or reporting risks are identified and lead on ensuring they are appropriately addressed before contracts are signed.
• Maintain financial records and review statutory accounts of JV.
• Support wider Commercial Development team with ad hoc reporting and information requests.

Skills, Knowledge & Experience

Skills

• Technical Accounting (Expert).
• Stakeholder Management (Expert).
• Variance and Financial / Budgetary Analysis (Expert).
• Forecasting (Expert).
• Systems and Software (Experience).
• Cost Accounting (Experience).
• Business Case Analysis, Development and Assurance (Expert).
• Risk and Control (Experience).
• Professional Accounting principles and standards (Experience).
• Management reporting, external reporting and ad hoc communication (Expert).
• Commercial acumen (Experience).

Knowledge

• Qualified accountant, preferably CIMA, ACCA or ACA.
• Financing, accounting, VAT and governance frameworks and processes for property development including financing.
• Extensive commercial property development knowledge e.g. from working for a commercial property developer.
• Strong property accounting or asset accounting knowledge, including key property and industry KPl's.
• Understanding of how to account for joint venture arrangements, including equity accounting consolidation rules.
• Demonstrable knowledge of the types of systems used in property reporting and analysis e.g. SAP or Oracle
• Knowledge of financial activity needed to support property-specific activities throughout the property development life-cycle.
• General management accounting covering aspects such as forecasting, reporting, variance analysis and planning.

Experience

• Experience in managing finances across a large commercial property portfolio with multiple developments.
• Extensive management accounting experience covering all aspects, such as forecasting, reporting, variance analysis, planning and ad hoc activities.
• Experience of working in roles that demonstrate competence in property development finance, where there was responsibility for reporting, budgeting and forecasting for multiple property developments, at different stages of the life-cycle.
• Must have experience of working on joint ventures, including joint venture modelling, accounting and statutory requirements.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. We want to represent the city we serve, which will help us become a more innovative and efficient organisation. Our goal is to make our recruitment as inclusive as possible. We are a disability confident employer who guarantee an interview to any disabled candidate who meets all of the essential criteria. We also use anonymising software that removes identifying information from CVs and cover letters to make the process fair.

Application Process 
Please apply using your CV and a two-page covering letter. Think carefully about the skills, knowledge and experience in the advert and cover this in your CV and cover letter.

The closing date for applications is 23:59 on Sunday 17th September 2023

Benefits (external advert only)
In return for your commitment and expertise, you will enjoy excellent benefits and scope to grow.  Rewards vary according to the business area but mostly include:

• Final salary pension scheme 
• Free travel for you on the TfL network 
• Reimbursement of 75% of the cost of a standard class Ticket for National Rail travel from home or 75% reimbursement on a 28-day flexi ticket
• 30 days annual leave plus public and bank holidays  
• TfL is committed to work-life balance, operating a hybrid working approach where business and role requirements allow
• Private healthcare discounted scheme (optional) 
• Tax-efficient cycle-to-work programme
• Retail, health, leisure and travel offers 
• Discounted Eurostar travel