PURPOSE OF THE ROLE:

CBRE Property Management (PM) FM procures energy on behalf of a range of clients using a bespoke energy broker basket. In the role of Utilities Finance Analyst, the individual shall be responsible for supporting the Utilities Manager in maintaining a healthy financial position with our utility suppliers, through the proactive management of debt, utilisation of our financial platforms to reconcile processing   issues and analysis and reporting of the P2P process, identifying opportunities to improve process efficiency and troubleshoot specific issues.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Responsible for the following:

• Work with supplier credit control teams, and our own Accounts Payable team to ascertain true debt position of each corporate contract, and to manage the aged debt position, interrogating finance systems and asset transition histories to ensure costs are paid as soon as is reasonably practicable, or forwarded to the correct entity and scrubbed from our debt report;
• Code any utility reconciliations through the K2 Asset Management software workflow on receipt of recharge revisions from our third-party intermediary, and to maintain a tracker of all sites with reconciliations required, in progress or completed;
• Continuous review of utility codes and expenditure. Establishing correct utility apportionment through liaison with relevant colleagues (such as the lease abstraction team) and updating invoice payment codes for consolidated invoices from the corporate utilities contracts;
• Liaise with our REAS Maintenance team to ensure that tenant invoices and demands are being matched efficiently, and correctly, and identifying assets which have fallen outside of KPI, or have a series of adjustments requiring rationalisation and ensuring clear actions are set to resolve issues;
• To utilise existing consumption data and projected cost information to forecast future service charge budgets, employing regression analysis with known correlated datasets (degree days, daylight etc) to hone the accuracy of the budgets, and issue to facilities managers for inclusion in their service charge booklets;
• To sign, or co-ordinate the signature of new contracts for newly onboarded accounts (contingent on the client scheme of delegation), ensuring commercial benefits are realised as soon as possible;
• Monitor the Utilities Mailbox, allocating queries as required to the requisite stakeholder, and tracking progress to resolution;
• Work collaboratively with the broker and CBRE staff to ensure queries are handled in a timely fashion and regular updates are provided to key stakeholders concerning progress. Where required, manage the escalations process for queries that are not being handled within expected timescales or with appropriate diligence;
• Work with the energy broker and with CBRE colleagues to identify opportunities to improve existing processes, and collaborate in the creation of change plans to implement improvement actions;
• Work with the Utility Manager, attending site where necessary, to ascertain metering systems/flows and build tenant on-charging strategies for delivery by the energy broker;
• Support and monitor the COO (Change of Owner); COT (Change of Tenants) and COMA (Change of Managing Agent) process and resolve any issues as they arise; and
• Maintain professional qualifications and competence by participation in appropriate learning development courses and/or training when appropriate.

JOB REQUIREMENTS & QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

·           Bachelor’s degree

Previous Experience:

• Experience of utilities industry including regulatory, supplier, broker landscape and utility billing;
• Knowledge of financial systems and processes;
• Experience within Property or Real Estate preferable

Targeted Competencies

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with an ability to communicate;
• Self-sufficiency;
• Excellent time management organisational abilities;
• Excellent customer service;
• Creative problem solving and the ability to take decisions;
• Ability to demonstrate value, insight and innovation development; and
• Strong analytical skills and advanced knowledge of MS Office (Excel, Word and PowerPoint essential).