Financial Planning and Analysis Specialist

Job Purpose:

The Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) Specialist serves as a subject matter expert supporting the Associate Head of Financial Planning & Analysis and partnering closely with research leadership and operational teams across the university. The role has primary responsibility for delivering advanced financial analysis, strategic performance insights, and end to end ownership of multi year financial planning for the Research Services. Leveraging deep, data driven expertise, the Specialist strengthens financial governance, informs strategic decision making, and enables the division to respond effectively to the evolving financial and funding needs of research units. The position requires strong command of financial policies, the ability to interpret complex data into actionable insights, and the confidence to advise senior stakeholders. A proactive, solution oriented mindset and high level of judgment are essential. A strong understanding of research funding models and research infrastructure is highly desirable, equipping the Specialist to manage complex research financing frameworks and drive sustainable financial planning.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Insights

• Acts as the FP&A expert for the Research Services, providing strategic financial advice to research leadership and central finance.
• Manages the development of multi year financial models and scenarios to support research growth, sustainability, and funding diversification.
• Translate institutional strategy and research priorities into long-term financial plans and resource allocation frameworks.
• Identify potential financial risks, funding gaps, and efficiency opportunities, and support the development of mitigation and optimization actions.

Advanced Budgeting & Financial Planning

• Drives and supports end-to-end multi-year budgeting process for the Research Services (manpower, OPEX, CAPEX, of Research Institutes, Translation and Infrastructure).
• Support the development and ongoing refinement of budgeting methodologies, cost drivers, and allocation models for research.
• Coordinate and support annual budget submissions, revisions, and reallocations, ensuring alignment with approved institutional budgets.

Financial Analysis, Insights & Decision Support

• Support the preparation of financial analyses, reports, and dashboards for research leadership and governance forums.
• Assist with analysis of research cost structures, funding utilization, lab economics, and research investment performance.
• Help maintain financial data accuracy and consistency across research units, systems, and reporting outputs.
• Prepare and summarize financial information for presentation to academic and administrative stakeholders to support decision making.

Budget Management & Reporting

• Support the development and enhancement of financial reporting standards and templates in line with institutional policies and governance requirements.
• Provide assurance on financial data quality, ensuring accuracy, consistency, and timeliness of research related reporting.
• Perform analysis of financial performance, trends, and key drivers, translating findings into actionable insights for management.
• Work closely with departments to support consistent, transparent, and decision useful reporting practices.
• Play a key role in the annual budget cycle, supporting departments through guidance, review, and consolidation of submissions.
• Support annual budget reviews and revisions, assessing assumptions and alignment with approved budgets and funding availability.
• Monitor budget utilization, identify emerging risks or pressures, and escalate issues with supporting analysis.
• Review financial reports and variance analysis prior to submission to senior FP&A leadership.
• Ensure timely delivery of recurring financial and budget reports for the Research Services and FP&A Office.
• Stay informed on evolving financial management practices and regulatory requirements, incorporating relevant improvements into FP&A processes.
• Act as a point of support and subject matter resource within the team, reviewing outputs and contributing to capability building.

Other Duties

• Carry out all other duties as reasonably directed by the line manager that are commensurate with these functional objectives.

Academic Qualification:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration or equivalent.
• A master’s degree will be desirable.

Professional Experience:

Essential

• Minimum of 8–12 years of progressive experience in FP&A, with significant exposure to research, higher education, or complex matrix organizations.
• Demonstrated expertise in strategic financial planning, multi-year budgeting, and advanced financial modelling.
• Strong experience advising senior stakeholders and influencing decision-making.
• Proven ability to design financial frameworks, governance standards, and analytical methodologies.
• Advanced proficiency in financial systems, ERP platforms, and data analytics tools.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills.
• High level of autonomy, judgment, and problem-solving capability.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).
• English working proficiency

Preferred

• Experience in UAE’s higher education or academic environment, understanding the unique budgeting challenges and needs.
• ERP implementation experience and working knowledge of finance/budgeting software
• Experience applying AI, automation, or advanced analytics in FP&A.