Accountant - Group & Central Services

Nord Anglia Education Group; London; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading international education organization is seeking a Group Accountant to manage Central Services costs and collaborate with various teams. The role involves budgeting, forecasting, and providing financial insights to senior management. Candidates should possess a finance/accounting degree and professional qualifications. Join a dynamic team dedicated to educational excellence and innovation.

Qualifications

• Degree in finance/accounting or related discipline from a recognised tertiary institution.
• Professional accounting qualifications (ACCA or equivalent).

Responsibilities

• Manage the Group’s Central Services costs and oversee accounts payable function.
• Ownership of budgeting and forecasting for central costs.
• Provide key inputs in the preparation and presentation of monthly and quarterly consolidated P&L.

Skills

Business partnering

Risk identification

Process improvement

Education

Degree in finance/accounting

Professional accounting qualifications (ACCA or equivalent)

Tools

Navision

OneStream

Concur

Job description

School: Group Central Support United Kingdom Office

Accountant - Group and Central Services

Location: London Victoria (hybrid model, minimum 3 days in office).

Nord Anglia Education – the world’s leading private school’s organisation is recruiting a Group Accountant. You will be joining the Finance team in our London Victoria HQ.

London is our global headquarters where 200 colleagues across Finance, Risk, Corporate Development, Legal, HR, Marketing, Admissions & Communications (MAC) and Education drive the success of our 80+ schools in 30+ countries. By joining our fast paced and innovative organisation, you will be regularly liaising with our global team-mates from the Philippines to Peru, from Beijing to Boston and beyond.

If you have a global mindset, enjoy thinking outside the box and are prepared to go above and beyond to find solutions, then a career at Nord Anglia is for you.

In the role of Group Accountant, you will be responsible for managing the Group’s Central Services costs, including oversight of the accounts payable function, and working with the various central functions to manage and understand their respective cost bases. The role will need to work closely with the Financial Planning & Analysis team and the Treasury team to provide clear concise financial information to Senior Management. In addition, the role will own the budgeting and forecasting for the central costs.

The role:

As Group Accountant your focus will be:

• Take an active and leading role in the support provided to the Executive Committee (Exco) members for responsible functions, in understanding and managing the direct cost base through accurate and timely management reporting.
• Ownership of budgeting and forecasting for central costs
• Deep understanding of the entities cost base and an understanding of where there are opportunities for improvements.
• Play an active and leading role in continuing to improve and automate the Group’s procedures around key accounting functions including.
• Assist the Financial Controller – Central Services, in ensuring compliance with the Group’s Significant Contract policy whilst also considering whether the transactions is a good commercial decision.
• Provide key inputs in the preparation and presentation of monthly and quarterly consolidated P&L and Balance Sheet reporting.
• Document the accounting treatment of significant contracts or transactions impacting the Central entities.
• Provide guidance to the central support teams on reporting and accounting policy issues.
• Business analytics and trend analysis, providing the organisation with a detailed understanding of the cost base and identifying opportunities for improvement.
• Provide support and oversight to the Accounts Payable Officer & AP Apprentice, ensuring that Central invoices and expenses are processed on a timely basis.
• Working closely with Treasury in relation to the Accounts Payable cycle and related funding requirements.
• Working with Treasury in the preparation of cash flow forecast and actuals reporting.
• Custodian of Concur (Expense management system) and related expenditure and claims process.

The Successful Candidate will possess:

• Degree in finance/accounting or related discipline from a recognised tertiary institution.
• Professional accounting qualifications (ACCA or equivalent).
• Strong academic performance at tertiary level in the relevant discipline.
• Cost reporting and management of a Central support entity.
• Business partnering with Senior Management (outside Finance) providing support to help non-Finance people understand Finance numbers.
• Risk identification, process improvement and internal controls development.
• Knowledge of financial systems, including Navision, OneStream, Concur.

Nord Anglia Education is the world’s leading international schools organisation. Our 80+ international schools are located in the Americas, Europe, China, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Together, they educate more than 90,000 students from kindergarten through to the end of secondary education. We are driven by one unifying philosophy: we are ambitious for our students, our people and our family of schools.

Our exclusive collaborations with prestigious institutions such as UNICEF, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), IMG Academy and the world-leading performing arts school Juilliard mean we’re at the forefront of educational thinking, while creating life-changing experiences for students.

By joining Nord Anglia Education you will become part of a committed and innovative team. As a member of the world’s leading premium schools group you will be joining an active network of like-minded people across the world.

We encourage individuals to join us with our “Create your Future” mindset – we will provide you with a range of experiences and opportunities to enhance your skillset and you will be given the autonomy to grow your career.

To Apply

On-line applications need to be directly through the Nord Anglia Education careers page and should include a CV.

At Nord Anglia Education, we are an equal opportunities employer dedicated to creating a diverse and inclusive workforce. In our schools and offices around the world, we treat all colleagues fairly based on their skills and qualifications, without discrimination.

We value individuals from all backgrounds, including those with different abilities and neurodivergent conditions, as well as those who identify with various protected characteristics.

Nord Anglia Education is committed to ensuring the highest possible safeguarding standards in our schools and we expect every employee to share this commitment.