Business Manager

Job Description

At Aberdeen, our ambition is to be the UK’s leading Wealth & Investments group.

Strengthening talent and culture is one of our strategic priorities. We strive to make Aberdeen a great place to work so that we can attract and retain the industry’s best talent.

Our people put our stakeholders at the heart of everything they do by helping us to make a positive difference to the lives of our clients, customers, colleagues, shareholders and society.

We are focused on growing our direct and advised wealth platforms and repositioning our specialist asset management business to meet client demand. We are committed to providing excellent client service, supported by leading technology and talent.

Aberdeen comprises three businesses, interactive investor (ii), Investments and Adviser, each of which focuses on meeting and adapting to our clients’ evolving needs:

• Interactive investor, the UK’s second largest direct-to-consumer investment platform, enables individuals in the UK to plan, save and invest in the way that works for them.

• Our Adviser business provides financial planning solutions and technology for UK financial advisers, enabling them to create value for their customers.

• Our Investments business is a specialist asset manager that focuses on areas where we have both strength and scale to capitalise on the key themes shaping the market, through either public markets or alternative asset classes.

About the Role

Business Manager – Product & Technology
Accountable for: Business Management and PMO

Location: Edinburgh - hybrid working

Role Purpose

This role supports the effective leadership of the Product & Technology function within Aberdeen Adviser.

Working directly with the CPTO, the Business Manager ensures the function operates with clarity, discipline and pace, connecting strategy, delivery and financial management.

The role leads the PMO and provides strong oversight of performance, governance and budget, ensuring that investment is aligned to priorities and delivers measurable outcomes.

Key Responsibilities;

1. Support to CPTO & Leadership

• Act as a trusted partner to the CPTO.

• Support the translation of strategy into clear priorities, plans and actions.

• Support executive and governance forums with clear insight and materials.

• Ensure visibility of progress, risks and decisions.

2. PMO & Delivery Oversight

• Lead the PMO and delivery governance.

• Provide a clear, consolidated view of all initiatives.

• Ensure strong planning, prioritisation, reporting and risk management.

• Drive delivery discipline and transparency.

3. Financial Oversight & Value Management

• Oversee the Product & Technology budgets and performance

• Track actuals vs forecast vs budget and highlight risks and pressures.

• Ensure strong control of initiative spend through business cases and approvals.

• Link investment to outcomes, benefits and value delivered.

• Support prioritisation to ensure funding is focused on highest-value activity.

• Partner with Finance and leadership to improve cost control and efficiency.

4. Governance, Risk & Control

• Maintain strong governance and decision-making processes.

• Ensure risks, issues and dependencies are well managed and escalated.

• Support alignment with regulatory and internal control expectations.

5. Planning & Delivery Alignment

• Align strategy, capacity and delivery plans.

• Ensure priorities are clear and achievable.

• Challenge misalignment across scope, funding and timelines.

6. Stakeholder Engagement

• Work across Product, Technology, Change, Finance and Risk.

• Support clear communication of priorities and progress.

• Act as a central coordination point for the function.

Key Accountabilities

• Effective support to the CPTO and leadership team

• Strong PMO and portfolio governance

• Clear financial oversight and investment discipline

• Transparent reporting on delivery, risk and spend

• Alignment between strategy, investment and outcomes

Measures of Success

• Clear visibility and delivery confidence

• Accurate and transparent financial reporting

• Improved cost control and investment effectiveness

• Delivery of measurable outcomes and benefits

• Strong stakeholder confidence and alignment

Essential Experience & Skills

• Experience in Business Management and/or PMO

• Strong financial and commercial awareness - budgets, forecasting, ROI, governance, reporting

• Must have a background in Product, Technology and/or Change environments, ideally in a financial services setting

• Experienced in leading a team of direct reports or through matrix management

• Ability to support senior stakeholders and drive execution in a complex environment

• Strong communication and analytical skills

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Committed employer. If you have a disability and would like to apply to one of our UK roles under the Disability Confident Scheme, please notify us by completing the relevant section in our candidate questionnaire. One of our team will reach out to support you through your application process.

Our benefits

There's more to working life than coming home with a good salary. We have an environment where you can learn, get involved and be supported.

When you join us, your reward will be one of the best around. This includes 40 days’ annual leave, a 16% employer pension contribution, a discretionary performance-based bonus (where applicable), private healthcare and a range of flexible benefits – including gym discounts, season ticket loans and access to an employee discount portal. You can read more about our benefits here.

Our business

Enabling our clients to be better investors drives everything we do. Our business is structured around three distinct areas – our vectors of growth – focused on our clients’ changing needs. You can find out more about what we do here.

An inclusive way of working

Whatever way you like to work, if you have the talent and commitment to join our team, we’d like to hear from you.

At Aberdeen we’ve adopted a ‘blended working’ approach. This approach combines the benefits of face-to-face collaboration, coaching and connecting in our offices with the flexibility of working from home. It enables colleagues to find a balance that works for their roles, their teams, our clients and our business.

An inclusive culture, where diverse perspectives drive our actions, is at the core of who we are and what we do. If you need assistance with your application, or a reasonable adjustment to your interview arrangements – for example, because you are neurodivergent, or have a physical, sensory, cognitive, mental, visible or invisible disability – please let us know and we’ll be happy to help.

We’re committed to providing an inclusive workplace where all forms of difference are valued and which is free from any form of unfair or unlawful treatment.  We define diversity in its broadest sense – this includes but is not limited to our diversity of educational and professional backgrounds, experience, cognitive and neurodiversity, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, religion or belief and ethnicity and geographical provenance.  We support a culture that values meritocracy, fairness and transparency and welcomes enquiries from everyone.

If you need assistance or an adjustment due to a disability please let us know as part of your application and we will assist.