Commercial Finance Business Partner – Helsing

Commercial Finance Business Partner

• Full-time

• London

Who we are

Helsing is a defence AI company. Our mission is to protect our democracies. We aim to achieve technological leadership, so that open societies can continue to make sovereign decisions and control their ethical standards. 

As democracies, we believe we have a special responsibility to be thoughtful about the development and deployment of powerful technologies like AI. We take this responsibility seriously. 

We are an ambitious and committed team of engineers, AI specialists and customer-facing programme managers. We are looking for mission-driven people to join our European teams – and apply their skills to solve the most complex and impactful problems. We embrace an open and transparent culture that welcomes healthy debates on the use of technology in defence, its benefits, and its ethical implications. 

The role

As Commercial Finance Business Partner, you will work within all business-related finance topics for our business. You will have a chance to work with a diverse and highly motivated cross functional team across a plethora of projects and directly influence the success of the Helsing group. This is a rare opportunity to join the company at an exciting stage of its early development and to help set the conditions for rapid growth and success over the next few years. 

The day-to-day

• Operate as a Business Partner to key operational areas 

• Act as primary financial focal point for the designated business areas providing the management team with full financial support and information to enable timely and accurate decision making 

• Utilise financial techniques and tools to interpret, analyse and understand monthly performance information, the drivers behind any cost variances and support the preparation of mitigation and action plans to resolve any issues 

• Actively engage and implement innovative approaches together with Design, Manufacturing, Procurement and Aftermarket that will determine the future success of our products and services 

• Influence cost effective design solutions as part of a cross-functional team (Design to Cost) 

• Ensure cost transparency and cost control across the product portfolio by leading the implementation of a functioning cost engineering framework including tools, governance, and reporting 

• Identify and analyse cost drivers to effectively support & influence supplier negotiations  

• Partner with commercial teams to lead supply chain mapping, execute lean cost improvement workshops and support sourcing strategy creation with cost insight 

• Manage the monthly and quarterly financial forecasting process across your designated business areas 

• Evaluate the potential impact of risks and opportunities and support operational teams to identify and implement mitigation plans driving profitability 

• Report programme performance including progress to plan, performance taken, and remaining effort, including effects on Order Intake, Revenue, Margin & Cash 

• Support the development of performance reporting metrics and management information for use by programme leadership team 

• Lead and develop other members of the team on all aspects of project control including providing coaching and support to development leads in adopting cost-centric design and planning 

• Build strong trust with engineering teams by framing cost not as a constraint, but as a performance driver 

• Establish strong relationships with external customers in the German Ministry of Defence 

You should apply if you

• Have experience with building and managing internal and external stakeholder relationships 

• Have experience leading cross functional teams 

• Can demonstrate experience of providing financial management within the defence sector 

• Design process, sourcing, product cost management & commercial awareness; good understanding of Cost Engineering & Financial principles 

• Have excellent attention to detail, and the ability to work independently and as part of a team 

• Have an, or are studying towards, an accounting and/or commercial qualification or MBA 

• Strong technical background, with the ability to guide and develop the teams' financial skills 

• Possess excellent communication skills, both verbal and written 

• Are an adaptable and resilient character, able to cope with changing requirements and multiple priorities who can help their team remain effective 

• Have experience in business partnering and influencing skills; able to explain and troubleshoot financial issues with non-finance professionals and inspire them to achieve greater financial performance 

Note: We operate in an industry where women, as well as other minority groups, are systematically _under-represented. We encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet all the listed qualifications; ability and impact cannot be summarised in a few