Finance Business Partner B2

SAAS administers around 1.5 billion of student funding annually on behalf of the Scottish Government and operates an organisational budget of approximately 22 million. This role sits within the Business Partnering Team in the Finance Directorate and plays a key part in supporting the Agencys financial stewardship and strategic delivery within this complex public sector environment.

The Business Partnering Team provides high quality financial reporting analysis and advice across the organisation ensuring robust financial management appropriate treatment of expenditure and compliance with governance and control frameworks including the Scottish Public Finance Manual. The role operates at the heart of programme and operational delivery working closely with budget holders Project Managers and senior stakeholders to provide clear oversight of financial performance risks and forecast outturn across both resource and capital budgets.

The team provides high quality financial reporting analysis and advice across the organisation ensuring robust financial management appropriate treatment of expenditure and compliance with governance and control frameworks. The role operates at the heart of project and programme delivery working closely with Project Managers and senior stakeholders to provide clear oversight of financial performance risk and forecast outturn.

This role offers an excellent opportunity to gain a professional accountancy qualification while developing a career within the Civil Service. As part of SAAS a national public body responsible for delivering student support on behalf of the Scottish Government the postholder will contribute to the effective financial management of a high volume high impact service operating within a complex policy and governance environment.

The postholder will work closely with Project Managers Senior Responsible Owners and senior stakeholders to support capital profiling monitor spend against approved budgets assess financial risk and provide clear analysis on forecast outturn. The role contributes to ensuring that project expenditure is accurately classified compliant with capital accounting rules and aligned to Scottish Government budget processes and reporting requirements.

This position offers an excellent opportunity to work towards a professional accountancy qualification while developing a career within the Civil Service. It provides broad exposure across budgeting and forecasting project and programme costing financial accounting stakeholder engagement and constructive challenge. The role carries a high degree of autonomy and supports informed decision making strong governance and effective use of public funds during a period of significant organisational transformation.

Main Duties

• Deliver high quality monthly financial reporting to agreed timescales providing accurate relevant and insightful management information to support decision making.
• Provide clear financial advice and support to budget holders and senior stakeholders building effective working relationships across SAAS and with colleagues in the wider Scottish Government.
• Contribute to corporate financial exercises in line with the annual timetable including budget setting forecasting and year end processes ensuring robust working papers clear audit trails and readiness for audit scrutiny.
• Support the integrity of the financial ledger through reconciliations journal processing and regular review of financial data ensuring accuracy and compliance with governance requirements.
• Review and challenge budget monitoring returns and forecasts ensuring that assumptions are robust explanations are evidence based and financial risks are clearly articulated.
• Contribute to maintaining strong financial control across the Agency ensuring accounting and reporting processes are well documented compliant and aligned to the Scottish Public Finance Manual.
• Work flexibly across resource and capital activity including digital and transformation programmes adapting quickly to shifting priorities in a fast paced environment.

Qualifications/Skills:

Applicants should:

• You should be part CCAB qualified (or equivalent)* or have an extensive financial expertise and be willing to work towards attaining such professional qualification.

Success Profile

Success profiles are specific to each job and they include the mix of skills experience and behaviours candidates will be assessed on.

You can find out more about the skills required here: Finance Profession Capability

Technical / Professional Skills:

1. Working with Data in Finance - Working.
2. Budgeting forecasting and costing - Working.

Behaviours:

Key behaviours (the most important from theCivil Service Behaviours framework).

• Communicating and Influencing Level 3

• Working Together Level 3

• Delivering at pace Level 3

• Making Effective Decisions Level 3

Experience

Applicants must demonstrate:

• The postholder will demonstrate strong analytical capability using a range of financial and data tools to interrogate complex information identify trends and variances and translate these into clear evidence-based options and recommendations.

• Experience of supporting budget monitoring forecasting and financial reporting processes is required alongside the ability to challenge constructively test assumptions and provide insight that supports informed decision making within a public sector or similarly regulated environment.

How to apply

Apply online providing a CV and Supporting Statement (of no more than 1500 words) which provides evidence of how you meet the skills experience and behaviours listed in the Success Profile above.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools can be used to support your application but all statements and examples provided must be truthful factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others or generated by artificial intelligence and presented as your own) applications will be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

Please see ourcandidate guidance for more information on acceptable and unacceptable uses of AI in recruitment.

If invited for further assessment this will consist of an interview and presentation.

Assessments are scheduled for w/c 30^th March 2026 however this may be subject to change.

About Us

SAAS is an executive agency of the Scottish Government and responsible for assessing and paying student awards for Scottish domiciled students in Higher Education throughout the UK. We administer budgets of around 1.4 billion each year making payments to both educational institutions and over 190000 students a year. We are committed to recruiting a diverse workforce that is representative of the clients we serve.

More information on SAAS can be found on our website

The Scottish Government is the devolved government for Scotland. We have responsibility for a wide range of key policy areas including: education health the economy justice housing and transport. We offer rewarding careers and employ people across Scotland in a wide range of professions and roles.

Our staff are part of theUK Civil Service working for Ministers and senior stakeholders to deliver vital public services which improve the lives of the people of Scotland.

We offer a supportive and inclusive working environment along with a wide range of employee benefits. Find out more aboutwhat we offer.

As part of the UK Civil Service we uphold the Civil Service Nationality Rules.

Security checks
Successful candidates must complete the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) before they can be appointed. BPSS is comprised of four main pre-employment checks Identity Right to work Employment History and a Criminal Record check (unspent convictions).

You can find out more about BPSS on theUK Government website or read about the different levels of security checks in ourCandidate Guide.

Equality Statement
We are committed to equality and inclusion and we aim to recruit a diverse workforce that reflects the population of our nation.

Find out more about our commitment todiversityand how we offer and supportrecruitment adjustmentsfor anyone who needs them.

Further information
For further information on this vacancy please contact Damian Klepacki by email at