Finance Business Partner

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Leinster Rugby is seeking applications for the position of Finance Business Partner.

This role places Finance at the heart of decision-making, providing insight and analysis to support robust business planning and strategic delivery across the organisation. For more details, please see the job description below.

The closing date for applications is 9 January, 2026.

Leinster Rugby is an equal opportunities employer.

POSITION TITLE: Finance Business Partner

ROLE AND PURPOSE OF POSITION:

Leinster Rugby is one of four professional provincial rugby teams in Ireland. As well as running a professional rugby team, Leinster Rugby also enjoys an important dual mandate to encourage, promote and grow the participation in, and the playing of, rugby across the province of Leinster. At Leinster Rugby, how we do our job is equally as important as what we achieve. We strive to create positive engagement with a wide group of stakeholders in the pursuit of excellence at all levels of our twelve-county community.

Your role as Finance Business Partner is about putting Finance at the heart of decision making by providing insight to support robust business planning. Finance assists all areas of the business in their goals of increasing participation, maximising elite performance, driving commercial revenues, delivering world class major rugby events, as well as improving policies and processes within support functions such as Marketing, Technology, Human Resources, Operations. You will identify cost, benefits, and payback, while driving value by influencing decisions to ensure all activity is aligned to business strategy and you are fully involved at the outset of all key projects.

You will be involved in the preparation of the monthly management accounts, the annual budget, and will build forecasts that are timely, informed and accurate. You will secure buy-in across multiple stakeholder groups and routinely measure latest view financial expectations against the relevant financial benchmarks. You will develop hypotheses for what might be driving budget variances and in doing so develop cost mitigation, income generation, or risk management strategies, taking pride in being able to not only understand the ‘what’ but also the ‘why’. You will be a storyteller able to simplify the complex when communicating to senior audiences. Please note this role will provide support to the Chief Financial Officer, as well as the wider Finance and Leadership Teams.

REPORTING RELATIONSHIPS:

Operational and Functional: Chief Financial Officer, Leinster Rugby

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

Essential:

• ACA, CIMA, or similarly qualified
• A minimum of two/three years professional experience in a similar role
• Highly numerate, analytical and commercially minded individual with expert report writing skills and experience with financial systems
• Strong management accounting, analytical and reporting skills including an extensive range of experience with business plan preparation and forecasting
• Strong working knowledge of Excel is essential, particularly with reference to formulae, lookups, pivot tables and a basic understanding of simple macros
• Excellent communication and problem-solving skills
• Reliable and self-motivated
• Strong organisational and multi-tasking abilities
• Energetic with a positive can- do attitude

Desirable:

• Previous experience working within a sporting environment

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Prepare management reporting and insight, including clear explanations for variances to target, ensuring that information is of a high quality as well as being accurate, relevant and timely. Also to communicate and explain this information clearly to stakeholders across all levels of the organisation through the production of relevant visuals and dashboards as required
• Develop and review business plans, annual budgets, and forecasts, for both financial and non-financial activity as necessary
• Coordinate the month-end timetable and processes
• Coordinate audits, statutory accounts, and other year-end work as required
• Provide financial modelling, analysis and advice across a wide range of projects, plus detailed assessments to support decision making, identifying return on investment, while holding the business to account with clear post-completion reviews
• Assist with the preparation of memos on future spend, quantifying the financial and non-financial benefits, making recommendations, and co-ordinating all related follow up activity
• Pro-actively produce analysis that identifies risks and opportunities, highlighting savings to mitigate risks, and ensuring budget targets are achieved
• Oversee cash flow forecasting and provide banking transactional support
• Take the lead on facilitating transition arrangements for existing and future projects, e.g. new ERP systems
• Reliably show and report on the benefits of improved systems, processes, behaviours, and decisions that drive cost reduction and income generation
• Conduct and complete reviews of outsourced providers and supplier contracts
• Undertake continuous improvement of systems and automation of processes
• Help deliver integrity with internal controls, ensuring that they are operated on a best practice basis
• Build strong working relationships with staff and key stakeholders within the province, the IRFU and other associations

The successful candidate is expected to carry out any other duties that may be assigned from time to time. The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work required for this position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and activities required. The holder of this position is required to respond with a flexible approach when tasks arise which are not specifically covered in this job description.

PERFORMANCE MEASURES:

• Be able to influence all stakeholders across a number of different levels, with great interpersonal skills
• Deliver on time and to a consistently high standard
• Be a clear communicator with a critical eye for detail yet able to simplify the complex in communications
• Commit to problem-solving and improving processes, always anticipating the question
• Demonstrate strong organisation, prioritisation, and time management skills
• Work with colleagues to ensure that there is a continual environment of shared opportunity and a culture of progressive and sustained improvement
• Be pro-active, flexible and fully engaged with a customer focussed mind-set
• Portray a professional image at all times on behalf of Leinster Rugby

Additional Benefits

We are proud of the range of employee benefits we provide:

• Health Insurance
• Occupational Pension Scheme
• Income Protection and Life Assurance
• Two tickets to regular season games
• Bike to work scheme
• Hybrid and flexible working arrangements
• Variety of discounts with retail partners

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: €40,000.00-€45,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Bike to work scheme
• Company pension
• Private medical insurance
• Sick pay

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Dublin, County Dublin