Fastmarkets is an industry-leading price-reporting agency (PRA) and information provider for global commodities, providing price data, news, analytics and events for the agriculture, forest products, metals and mining and new-generation energy markets.

Fastmarkets' data is critical for customers seeking to understand and predict dynamic, sometimes opaque markets, enabling trading and risk management. Fastmarkets is a global business with a history dating back to 1865 and is built on trust and deep market knowledge. It has more than 700 employees spread across global locations in the UK, US, China, India, Singapore, Brazil, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland and beyond. 

This fixed‑term Senior Financial Analyst role has been created to provide dedicated analytical, reporting and decision‑support to a strategic, Board‑sponsored transformation program focused on the evolution of Fastmarkets’ operating model and delivery of sustainable financial outcomes.

The role is delivery‑focused and time‑bound, with accountability for the end‑to‑end consolidation, analysis and reporting of both program outcomes and program delivery costs. The Senior Financial Analyst will provide senior leadership and the Board with clear, decision‑useful insight into progress versus the original approved plan, including transparent articulation of delivery risks, dependencies and net financial impact, and will shape recommendations to optimise outcomes as the program evolves.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Project Financial Analysis & Reporting

• Own the monthly Project reporting cycle, setting standards for inputs, assumptions and timelines and providing a consolidated view of initiative status, delivery progress, risks and expected financial outcomes.
• Track and report financial benefits in line with approved assumptions, challenging initiative owners on realism, phasing, dependencies and evidence.
• Track and report program delivery costs, including people‑related changes, organisational transition activity, systems, professional fees and other delivery costs, ensuring clear governance and audit trail.

• Deliver quarterly deep‑dive analysis for senior leadership and Board review, covering performance versus plan, run‑rate and in‑year impact, net benefit, key drivers of variance, and scenario/sensitivity analysis to support decisions.
• Produce clear, executive‑level narratives and recommendations focused on insight, risks, trade‑offs and actions rather than raw data.
• Lead improvements to ways of working and controls to strengthen the dataflow robustness between HR and Finance systems, improving accuracy, repeatability and auditability.

Program Cost Tracking & Technical Accounting

• Maintain appropriate‑level detail for program cost tracking to support governance, accounting and audit requirements.
• Partner with Financial Control to assess and apply appropriate technical accounting treatment (e.g. capitalisation, expensing, exceptional or non‑recurring items, and program‑related provisions where applicable), ensuring positions are well‑evidenced and documented.
• Partner with HR Business Partners on people‑related initiatives
• Ensure consistency between program reporting, management reporting and statutory accounting, with clear audit trails and supporting documentation.

Data, Governance & Delivery Oversight

• Act as the central coordination point for data collation and consolidation across Project workstreams.
• Apply consistent definitions, assumptions and methodologies, and challenge inputs for accuracy, completeness and realism.
• Track delivery risks, dependencies and initiatives assessed as high risk or unlikely to deliver, ensuring transparent escalation.
• Support scenario and sensitivity analysis and proactively identify opportunities to optimise program outcomes as delivery progresses.

Systems, Tools & Process Integration

• Use HiBob to track headcount‑related changes, costs and impacts linked to the program.
• Leverage Anaplan for forecasting and tracking outcomes and costs versus plan, including scenario modelling where required.
• Support the development of sustainable links between people data and the quarterly forecasting process.
• Use Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint and Word to deliver high‑quality analysis and senior stakeholder materials

Stakeholder Management

• Work closely with Finance Business Partners to ensure alignment with wider forecasting and performance management.
• Partner with HR Business Partners on people‑related initiatives
• Engage with Financial Control, initiative owners and senior stakeholders to provide constructive, evidence‑based challenge and insight, facilitating trade‑off discussions and driving actions to close gaps versus plan.
• Operate as a trusted analytical partner to the Project leadership team throughout the contract period
• The role operates as part of the wider FP&A and Commercial Finance function, ensuring program reporting is fully aligned with core forecasting, performance management and Board reporting processes.

KEY STAKEHOLDERS

• Interim Commercial Finance Director and Commercial Finance team
• Finance Business Partners
• Human Resources Business Partners
• Financial Control and technical accounting leadership
• Head of Change, overall project manager
• Project Sponsors and Project leads
• Senior Leadership Team and Executive Stakeholders

We recruit talented, dynamic people with diverse backgrounds and experiences, all united by a belief in our mission to provide the world’s leading and most trusted price reporting, events, and intelligence service for the markets we serve. We’re proud to be an equal opportunities employer and are committed to creating a fully inclusive workplace, where everyone feels able to participate and contribute meaningfully.

If you are open-minded, curious, resilient, solutions-oriented and committed to promoting equality, then read on.

KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

We are looking for an individual who is highly motivated, driven, and have a passion to be part of a fast-paced, successful team. Being a strong team player is also important as well as someone who is happy to work flexibly.

Essential

• Strong financial analysis, modelling and reporting experience gained within an FP&A or commercial finance role, supporting senior stakeholders in a complex or fast‑changing environment.
• Strong capability with an FP&A tool and forecasting processes, including maintaining models, improving assumptions and producing forward‑looking forecasts under ambiguity.
• Proven ability to translate complex analysis into clear insight and action‑oriented recommendations, producing senior‑level reporting to tight timelines.
• Experience working with complex datasets and partnering with Financial Control on technical accounting considerations.
• Advanced Excel skills (financial modelling, scenario/sensitivity analysis) and strong PowerPoint capability; able to operate independently, prioritise effectively and deliver against clearly defined objectives.
• Delivery‑focused, structured and pragmatic; comfortable in fast‑paced program environments;
• Clear communicator able to adapt messaging for senior and Board‑level audiences; collaborative and outcomes‑oriented.

Desirable

• Qualified or part‑qualified accountant (CIMA, ACCA, ACA) or equivalent experience in FP&A/commercial finance at Senior Analyst level.
• Experience with Anaplan and/or HR systems such as HiBob.
• Previous exposure to time‑bound program or transformation roles.
• Experience within media, information services or subscription‑based businesses.

KEY DELIVERABLES (INDICATIVE)

Month 1:  Establish consolidated benefits and cost tracking, align data sources, and deliver the first monthly reporting pack.

Months 2–3:  Embed the monthly reporting cadence, deliver the first Board‑level deep‑dive, and highlight key risks, variances and opportunities.

Months 4–5: Refine scenario and net benefit analysis, strengthen integration between people data and forecasting, and support leadership decision‑making.

Month 6: - Deliver final program reporting, ensure clear audit trails, and support knowledge transfer of sustainable reporting processes.

If you're excited about the role but your experience, skills or qualifications don't perfectly align, we encourage you to apply anyway.

Our Values

Fastmarkets people come from all different walks of life. It’s this mix of brilliant personalities, experiences and insights that gives us that warm, open, and friendly culture you can feel as soon as you meet us. But however wonderfully different we all are, there are six things we all have in common – and they form our Fastmarkets values.

Created by our own employees to reflect some of the personal traits that Fastmarkets people have, our values are key to what makes our culture unique. They reflect who each of us are and they're embedded in everything we do. Our values are:

• METRICS DRIVEN. We use insights to improve our customers’ experience and our business performance
   
• ACCOUNTABLE. We are accountable to ourselves and those we work with: we keep our promises and get things done
   
• GROWTH MINDSET. This value enables us to be nimble to the changing realities and operate with a sense of urgency
   
• INCLUSIVE. We are inclusive and respectful, celebrating each of us and giving everyone a deep sense of belonging with the desire to bring their best self to work every day.
   
• CUSTOMER CENTRIC. We are customer-centric in all that we do
   
• COLLABORATIVE. We are collaborative, able to work across teams and capitalise on the diversity of intellect, perspectives, and experiences.

We are committed to ensuring all candidates feel welcomed and supported. Should your application advance and you require accommodations for the interview process, please inform us so we can make the necessary arrangements.

You’ve read a little about us – now it’s over to you!

If you like what you’ve read so far and think you can see yourself as a Fastmarkets person, it’s time to fill in your application form. This form is an important part of the selection process: it’s used to determine whether or not you’ll be chosen to have an interview and acts as a basis for the questions we’ll ask you on the day.

It’s vital that you try to capture all the relevant information we have asked for on the form so we can get a good feel for who you are and why you’re great.