Finance Business Partner

Finance Business Partner

Department: Customer

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Boston or Washington, DC area

Description

About us

We are Digital Science and we are advancing the research ecosystem.

We are a pioneering technology company, and our vision is of a future where a trusted and collaborative research ecosystem drives progress for all. We believe in better, open, collaborative and inclusive research. In creating the next generation of tools and working in partnership with the community we tackle some of the biggest challenges to research. In order to achieve our vision, we need innovative, inspiring and dynamic people to join our team. Want to join us?

Your new role

We are looking for a Finance Business Partner to be the go-to finance person for our Academic/GFN segment and our Sales and Marketing teams.

In this role, you will own the numbers for your areas. That means reviewing monthly results, explaining what is driving them, validating revenue and ARR against real sales activity, and leading the forecast and budget. You will sit alongside business leaders, including the EVP of Academic/GFN and the Chief Revenue Officer, and you will be trusted to ask the hard questions and help them make confident, well-informed decisions.

Please note - due to business need, we can only consider applications from candidates based in the Boston or Washington, DC area, where we have established legal entities.

If you apply from outside of these areas, your application will not be considered.

What you’ll be doing

Month End and Monthly Reporting

• Review monthly financial accounts in detail, identify material corrections and explain key variances
• Provide commentary on results with business context, and highlight where the business needs to act
• Produce clear monthly reporting for each business area, review it with them, and hold them accountable for delivering agreed actions

Revenue and ARR

• Understand monthly revenue in detail and make sure reported revenue aligns with sales activity
• Validate reported ARR each month by working closely with the business and understanding the segment’s sales activity
• Spot where the business needs to act to improve performance, for example delayed renewals
• Understand the status and lifecycle of non-recurring revenue on the books

Planning and Forecasting

• Lead cost, revenue and headcount forecasting and budgeting for your business areas, meeting all guidelines and timelines
• Explain changes in the business clearly using charts, tables and waterfalls with the right context
• Challenge assumptions such as cost growth and hiring timing to build a robust forecast that doesn’t need major rework
• Give the business a monthly view of expected landing positions so corrective action or early warnings can be raised
• Make sure allocations to segments are accurate and any changes are understood and explainable

Decision Support

• Support the business with robust analysis, flexible financial models and clear explanations across
  • Pricing strategies
  • Business cases, for example new products or restructuring
  • Trends
  • Accounting treatment
  • Other business questions

Continuous Improvement

• Review existing ways of working and drive changes that improve output or efficiency
• Share best practice with the wider team
• Take ownership of issues and drive them to a satisfactory resolution
• Identify where systems could be used more for control and automation

What you’ll bring to the role

• Finance business partnering experience across both cost and revenue areas
• Experience delivering discrete budgets and forecasts for specific business areas, on time and to target
• Sound understanding of ARR, sales processes and revenue recognition principles
• Ability to work with imperfect data and still reach robust conclusions
• Strong modeling and analytical skills, with the ability to turn granular data into clear, decision-useful recommendations
• Ability to build credibility with senior stakeholders and challenge them
• Driven, inquisitive and collaborative, with initiative and a strong sense of ownership
• Professional finance qualification (CIMA, ACCA, ACA or CPA), or 5+ years of relevant experience.

Desirable

• Experience in a SaaS business
• Experience with NetSuite and Anaplan.

Living our Values

We invest in, nurture and support innovative businesses and technologies that make all parts of the research process more open, efficient and effective.

The talent we secure is fundamental to us achieving our vision and our growth plans. The values we live by are:

We are brave in the pursuit of better

We are collaborative and inclusive

We are always open-minded

from and for the community

At Digital Science, our vision is to see research flow seamlessly – trusted, collaborative, and accessible – fueling breakthroughs that push humanity forward. This ambitious mission is one we achieve together, by enabling open, collaborative, inclusive research.

We firmly believe that to truly innovate and solve the complex challenges faced by our customers, from researchers and universities to funders and publishers, we need diverse perspectives, experiences, and ideas. A rich mix of voices drives quality insights, fosters enhanced collaboration, and ultimately pushes knowledge forward more effectively.

As an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to building and nurturing a workplace where every individual feels valued and belongs. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, or disability status. Beyond recruitment, we strive to cultivate an environment where inclusivity is woven into the fabric of our culture, enabling everyone to be their best self and do their best work.