Finance Business Partner - Plant Biology Institute

Join us at EIT:

At the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT), we’re on a mission to translate scientific discovery into real world impact. We bring together visionary scientists, technologists, engineers, researchers, educators and innovators to tackle humanity’s greatest challenges in four transformative areas:

• Health, Medical Science & Generative Biology
• Food Security & Sustainable Agriculture
• Climate Change & Managing CO₂
• Artificial Intelligence & Robotics

This is ambitious work - work that demands curiosity, courage, and a relentless drive to make a difference. At EIT, you’ll join a community built on excellence, innovation, tenacity, trust, and collaboration, where bold ideas become real-world breakthroughs. Together, we push boundaries, embrace complexity, and create solutions to scale ideas from lab to society. Explore more at www.eit.org.

Welcome to the Plant Biology Institute:

The Plant Biology Institute, headed by Professor Steve Kelly, is a key part of the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT) Oxford. The institute aims to develop impactful and commercially sustainable solutions for improving global food production and planetary health through pioneering plant science research.

The Plant Biology Institute will unite world-class researchers who are focused on expanding the frontiers of plant science. Our research is focused on enhancing our ability to feed the planet while simultaneously improving the climate and ecosystem outcomes of food production. By embedding cutting-edge plant science research within an organisation that is focused on solving global challenges at scale, we aim to accelerate the timeline from discovery to global impact.

Areas of exploration include:

• Improved plant productivity, both indoors and outside.
• Reduced reliance on inputs including water, fertilisers, pesticides, and herbicides.
• Novel decarbonised plant-based production platforms for food and medicines.
• Advanced technologies that speed up discovery and deployment in plants. 

Researchers will have access to state-of-the-art laboratory and plant growth facilities and have opportunities to collaborate with experts at the forefront of research on AI, automation, and generative biology across the EIT ecosystem. They will also work with global leaders in market development, commercialisation, and impact creation. The Plant Biology Institute has long-term substantial funding to support the unique scale and ambition of its vision.

Your Role:

EIT Oxford is seeking a capable, experienced, and collaborative Finance Business Partner (FBP) to play a key role within the Finance – Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) team. In this position, you’ll support the financial and operational performance of the Plant Biology Institute (PBI).

Embedded directly within the PBI team, you’ll ensure that operational plans are fully costed, accurately forecast, and aligned to strategic goals. Your insights and partnership will help shape commercial, operational, and long‑term decisions, making this a highly influential and rewarding role for someone who enjoys driving clarity, supporting teams, and contributing to meaningful scientific work.

Your Responsibilities:

Business Partnering

• Serve as a trusted and visible financial leader within the PBI team, providing clear insights, strengthening decision‑making, and acting as the primary point of contact for finance‑related queries. This includes supporting sensitivity analysis and risk‑management processes.
• Work collaboratively with teams across the organisation to align financial strategy with broader business priorities, offering thoughtful cost analysis and resource recommendations.
• Provide financial expertise to support strong business cases for investment and growth initiatives.
• Develop innovative, pragmatic solutions to complex challenges while supporting change initiatives across the institute.
• Drive continuous improvement within Finance to enhance the value, efficiency, and impact of our processes.

Budgeting, Forecasting & Monthly Reporting

• Lead the month‑end management accounts process, ensuring accuracy, transparency, and alignment with budget owners.
• Prepare annual budgets and quarterly reforecasts, providing meaningful commentary on variance trends, meeting deadlines, and communicating impacts on the wider financial plan.
• Create engaging and insightful presentations that clearly explain financial drivers and assumptions.
• Produce monthly reporting for leadership and budget holders, including thoughtful and actionable variance analysis.
• Support ongoing system improvements to enhance automation, accuracy, and efficiency, including partnering with operational teams on new FP&A tools and processes.
• Maintain robust long‑term (5+ years) financial forecasts and model alternative strategic scenarios.
• Develop activity‑level costing frameworks to support leadership decision‑making and prioritisation.

Essential Skills, Qualifications & Experience:

• Qualified accountant (ACCA/CIMA or equivalent) with a strong academic background.
• Proven experience as a Finance Business Partner with a track record of progression and growing responsibility.
• Experienced in preparing financial and performance reports, with strong understanding of management information (MI).
• An inclusive, confident communicator who can positively challenge, influence senior stakeholders, and build trust with fairness and integrity.
• Experience with ERP, planning, and reporting platforms; Oracle Fusion experience is an advantage.
• Comfortable preparing and presenting management information to a range of audiences.
• Strong understanding of management accounting principles.
• Able to translate complex financial information into clear, accessible insights for non‑financial colleagues.
• Results‑driven with a history of improving performance and supporting strong business outcomes.
• Strong numerical capability and advanced Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel skills.
• Able to build strong working relationships across functions and levels, contributing to a supportive, collaborative team culture.
• A proactive, highly organised self‑starter with sharp attention to detail and the ability to manage a varied workload.
• Confident working through unstructured or ad hoc issues with initiative.
• Curious, innovative, and committed to continuous improvement.
• Thrives in a dynamic, fast‑paced, scaling environment.

Our Benefits:

• Salary dependent on experience + travel allowance + bonus
• Enhanced holiday + options to buy additional days
• Pension
• Life Assurance
• Income Protection
• Private Medical Insurance
• Hospital Cash Plan
• Therapy Services
• Perk Box
• Electric Car Scheme
• Childcare benefit

Working Together – What It Involves:

• You must have the right to work permanently in the UK with a willingness to travel as necessary. In certain cases, we can consider sponsorship, and this will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
• You will live in, or within easy commuting distance of, Oxford (or be willing to relocate).