Finance Business Partner – Property & Asset Management

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About Client Financial Management

Client Financial Management (CFM) is responsible for the delivery of all financial management activity undertaken for our clients within the JLL Property & Asset Management (PAM) UK business.

CFM is split into two areas, Financial Accounting and Financial Operations, with the former our accounting centre of excellence for the PAM UK business.

PAM UK key deliverables in respect of financial management for our clients includes collection of income due from occupiers in the properties under management; payment/reconciliation of service charge due from the occupiers within the properties under management; and all of the associated financial accounting undertaken for our clients, including treasury management.

The Financial Accounting team consists of Client Accounts (supported by our Admin First team of Client Accounts Administrators), Credit Control, Cashiers and Bank Reconciliations and is made up of c.300 staff largely based in the Norwich office with a Cashiering team based in London.

The Financial Operations team consists of Data Management, Accounts Payable, Service Charge management, Transitions, Central Projects and Insights.

The client-facing reporting teams are led by our Finance Directors and are organised by client to support the PAM Contract Management teams. The support teams within both Financial Accounting and Financial Operations provide services to the client-facing teams and are organised by function. Accounts Payable, Service Charge and Data Management activities are supported by an off-shore team based in Gurugram, India.

Given the inherently high risk within the PAM business, Compliance with RICS and HMRC regulation, adherence to the controls within the PAM process library is critical. An annual ISAE 3402 third party controls assurance report setting out the key controls important to the clients is evidence of compliance with these controls.

Role Purpose

The Business Partner role is a new role, created in collaboration with our client to provide more support and ownership to the funds that we provide services to. This is a key role within our client facing team and reports into one of our Client Leads. The Client Lead has overall ownership of the CFM elements of the contract whilst the business partner will have ownership over their particular fund. You will be required to understand the fund’s principles and key objectives, so that you can work side by side with our Contract Director and the client to deliver value to the client. Having direct interaction with the client and line management responsibility, you will work as a team to deliver surveying, facilities management, ESG and property accounting services to our clients. You will also be required to work collaboratively other business partners and with our other business areas (Credit Control, Accounts Payable, Cashier and Bank Reconciliations, Admin First); your primary focus is to ensure that we deliver best in class property management accounting services to our clients, whilst delivering value through insight and proactively driving positive change.

Responsibilities

Client Service and Delivery

• Engage directly with the client and take ownership for the fund deliverables, business partnering the Contract Director (JLL) and the key fund personnel (external), to ensure that we are delivering a market leading financial management service that aligns to the needs and expectations of our clients
• Work with your peers (i.e. other business partners) and management to ensure that we understand the overall contractual obligations, be responsible for and oversee the key CFM client deliverables such as monthly/quarterly financial reports as well as key BAU processes such as arrears management in accordance with the contract. Collaborate with the other parts of our business to achieve this.
• Work on both client wide and fund specific projects as appropriate.
• Aim to provide information through analytics and thought leadership, to benefit the fund and to create opportunities for additional fees.
• Act on client feedback received in a quick and timely manner (in line with our agreed deliverables), managing client expectations to demonstrate a culture of delivery.
• Deliver on our customer centric culture focusing on clients, occupiers and suppliers in line with our PAM UK Strategy
• Embrace and embody the “One JLL way of working” by seeking to utilise and collaborate with other JLL UK or global operational teams.
• Foster an environment of collaboration and support between the teams within Client Financial Management as well as with the broader organisation

Leadership

• Work with management to provide direction, support and coaching to lead your team of accounts staff to perform at their best, driving towards a culture of respect, integrity, service and excellence.
• Ensure that the team are enhancing their skills and knowledge through learning and development
• Lead by example and model behaviours consistent with JLL’s values.
• Be involved in initiatives within CFM and JLL that help drive the broader business strategy
• Clear delegation of work to appropriate members of the team.
• Ownership of the performance management process for direct reports (Goals, Personal Development plans and year end ratings process)

Stakeholder Management

• Develop strong relationships with our clients, working closely with relevant accounting contacts to understand their current/future needs
• Particular focus on the finance team within the client, to ensure that there is a strong relationship in place, expectations are managed and we collectively drive to continuously improve.
• Be an ambassador for PAM and CFM both internally and externally
• Work closely with your colleagues in CFM, PAM and JLL to ensure that they support you in providing an excellent, joined up customer experience.

Governance and Control

• Develop a culture of transparency, accountability and ownership.
• Focus on efficiency, consistency and standardisation throughout the operation
• Ensure appropriate financial controls are in place to manage risks for JLL & Clients alike.
• To ensure that statutory and legislative requirements, including HMRC, and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Client Money Rules are satisfied for the Company and its clients.
• To ensure continued management of risk with adherence to documented procedures and controls, including those contained in the ISAE 3402 report; acting as a process reviewer
• Keep up to date with current and future industry and regulatory requirements to support our internal teams and clients and help drive knowledge of this across the team

Sound like you? The successful candidate will have/be:

• Recognised accountancy qualification (ACCA, ACA or CIMA) with 2-3 years post qualification management accounting experience; or qualified by experience
• Committed to the provision of excellent customer service
• Self-motivated with a track record of relevant experience and an ability to work under pressure, multi-task and effectively prioritise to meet tight deadlines
• Able to inspire, lead and motivate teams to deliver against contractual obligations.
• Ability to work within a matrix environment to influence across a range of stakeholder groups both internal and external to JLL.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Working knowledge of Microsoft 365 and associated packages (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook) required
• Ability to travel domestically

Desirable:

• Prior business partner experience
• Accounting operations background ideally from within a client/property context;
• Strong understanding of technology and ability to use accounting systems
• Understanding of property management or accounting management systems;

Location:

On-site –Norfolk, GBR

If this job description resonates with you, we encourage you to apply, even if you don’t meet all the requirements. We’re interested in getting to know you and what you bring to the table! If you require any changes to the application process, please email [email protected] or call +44 (0)20 7493 4933 to contact one of our team members to discuss how to best support you throughout the process. Please note, the contact details provided are to discuss or request for adjustments to be made to the hiring process. Please direct any other general recruiting inquiries to our Contact Us page > I want to work for JLL.

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