FP&A Manager Financial Planning & Analysis Manager – AI & Automation Lead

Location: Hybrid (Milton Keynes-based with occasional travel across Pareto sites)
Salary: Competitive + Benefits

Pareto Group is a fast-growing, private equity-backed facilities management business with a turnover of c.£80–100m and an ambitious buy-and-build strategy. Following recent acquisitions and ongoing integration activity, we are looking for an exceptional FP&A Manager to help shape the future of our finance function.

This is not a traditional FP&A role. We are seeking someone who combines strong commercial finance and financial planning expertise with a genuine passion for AI, automation, and data-driven decision making. Reporting directly to the CFO, you will build the financial planning infrastructure, reporting capability, and automation roadmap required to support a modern, investor-focused organisation.

Working closely with the CFO, COO, CEO, Finance Business Partners, and wider leadership team, you will become the analytical backbone of the finance function while leading Pareto's adoption of AI and automation technologies.

The Opportunity

This role sits at the centre of financial planning, forecasting, board reporting, and business intelligence across the Group.

You'll be responsible for building and maintaining Pareto's consolidated financial model, owning the budgeting and forecasting process, producing board and investor reporting, and creating automated data flows between core systems including Sage and Simpro.

Alongside these responsibilities, you'll act as Pareto's AI champion within finance, identifying opportunities to automate processes, improve reporting, and increase efficiency through the use of AI tools such as Claude, Copilot, and other emerging technologies.

This is a high-profile role offering direct exposure to senior leadership and private equity investors, making it an ideal opportunity for an ambitious finance professional looking to progress towards senior finance leadership.

What You'll Be Doing

AI & Automation Leadership

• Lead AI adoption across the finance function

• Champion the use of Claude, Copilot and other AI tools within finance

• Automate variance commentary, board pack narratives, reporting workflows and analytical processes

• Identify manual and repetitive finance processes and develop automation solutions

• Build AI playbooks, prompt libraries and best-practice guides

• Train and support the wider finance team in adopting AI-supported working practices

• Work alongside the COO and leadership team on wider business automation initiatives

• Stay up to date with developments in AI and proactively introduce new capabilities

Financial Planning & Analysis

• Own the annual budgeting process from planning through to sign-off

• Develop and maintain rolling forecasts and scenario models

• Build and maintain a fully integrated three-statement financial model

• Produce detailed financial forecasts and sensitivity analysis

• Develop and maintain 13-week and 12-month cash flow forecasts

• Support acquisition modelling, integration planning and synergy analysis

• Provide meaningful forward-looking financial insight to support decision making

Board & Investor Reporting

• Own the monthly board reporting process

• Produce investor-grade financial packs and commentary

• Develop KPI reporting aligned to the Group's value creation plan

• Support lender and covenant reporting requirements

• Work closely with the CFO ahead of board meetings and investor updates

• Develop robust reporting frameworks to support future exit activity

Data & Reporting Infrastructure

• Lead the development of automated reporting between Sage, Simpro and management reporting tools

• Build dashboards and performance reporting for senior leadership

• Ensure contract-level financial data is accurate, consistent and accessible

• Improve reporting efficiency by eliminating manual data handling wherever possible

• Maintain strong governance, version control and audit trails across reporting processes

Commercial & Operational Analysis

• Develop contract-level profitability reporting

• Analyse margins, commercial performance and operational trends

• Support bid pricing, commercial modelling and investment decisions

• Monitor working capital performance including WIP, debtors and cash conversion

• Deliver actionable insight to operational leaders and senior management

Team Development

• Act as the finance team's subject matter expert for modelling, systems and reporting

• Support Finance Business Partners with data and analytical frameworks

• Help standardise reporting and analytical processes across the Group

• Mentor and develop junior finance colleagues

What We're Looking For

Essential Experience

• Proven experience within FP&A, Commercial Finance, Management Accounting or a similar analytical finance role

• Advanced financial modelling capability, including integrated three-statement models, forecasting and scenario analysis

• Strong cash flow forecasting experience

• Proven, hands-on use of AI and LLM tools in a professional environment (hard requirement)

• Experience producing board-level or senior leadership reporting

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills

• Experience working in multi-entity or operationally complex businesses

• Excellent Excel and financial systems capability

• Ability to influence and engage stakeholders at all levels

Highly Desirable

• PE-backed, investor reporting or lender reporting experience

• Facilities Management, engineering services, support services or other contract-led business experience

• Experience with ERP systems such as Sage

• Experience with field operations platforms such as Simpro

• Power BI, Power Automate, Python or similar automation experience

• Acquisition, integration or business transformation exposure

Qualifications

• ACA, ACCA or CIMA qualified (preferred)

• Strong candidates who are part-qualified or qualified by experience will also be considered

Personal Attributes

We're looking for someone who:

• Is genuinely excited by AI and emerging technology

• Loves building processes, systems and reporting frameworks from scratch

• Is commercially curious and wants to understand how the business operates

• Has exceptional attention to detail and high standards of accuracy

• Can communicate complex analysis clearly to non-finance stakeholders

• Is proactive, self-motivated and comfortable working in a fast-paced environment

• Enjoys improving processes and challenging traditional ways of working

• Wants to play a key role in shaping the future of a growing business

Why Join Pareto?

• Direct exposure to CFO, COO, CEO and private equity investors

• Opportunity to lead AI adoption within a finance function

• Significant scope to influence systems, processes and reporting

• Work within a growing PE-backed business with ambitious expansion plans

• Genuine opportunity to develop into a senior finance leadership position

• Be part of a business embracing innovation, automation and modern finance practices

This is an exciting opportunity for an ambitious FP&A professional who wants to combine commercial finance, technology, AI, and strategic business partnering in a role that offers genuine influence and long-term career progression.