Cost Planner

Thames Water Utilities Limited; Reading; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading UK water company is seeking a Cost Planner to provide financial support to project managers while maintaining accurate financial records. The role promises a competitive salary of up to £60,000 per annum, along with excellent benefits including 26 days of holiday, a generous pension scheme, and opportunities for career advancement. The position is hybrid, based in Reading, and requires a bachelor's degree in finance or accounting.

Benefits

Competitive salary

26 days holiday per year

Generous Pension Scheme

Health and wellbeing benefits

Qualifications

• Experience with financial reporting & budgeting.
• Able to handle complex data and multiple projects with conflicting priorities.

Responsibilities

• Provide financial support to Project/Programme Managers.
• Manage month-end, forecasting, and budget management activities.
• Ensure accurate financial records for relevant projects.

Skills

Financial reporting & budgeting

Project Accounting background

MS Excel

SAP

attention to detail

Earned Value Management (EVM)

Project Finance experience

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, or other financial discipline

Tools

MS PowerPoint

MS SharePoint

Job description

Job title Cost Planner Ref 41975 Division Digital Location Hybrid - Clearwater Court - RG1 8DB Contract type Permanent Full/Part-time Full-time Salary Offering a salary of up to £60,000 per annum depending on experience Job grade B Closing date 13/08/2025

You will be responsible for the preparation of accurate and timely financial information to support and enable the analysis and reporting of Thames Digital’s financial position. Developing and managing the relationship with the programme managers and the delivery team will be key to this role.

What you’ll be doing as a Cost Planner

• Providing financial support to Project/Programme Managers including in the development and management of the cost models.
• Manage the month-end, forecasting, budget management and variance analysis activities and Project Risks and Opportunities Tracking & Reporting.
• Ensuring accurate and timely financial records are kept for relevant projects.
• Responding to audit queries on the projects within your remit.
• Ensuring projects within your area of responsibility meet the requirements of the monthly/Quarterly and Budget forecast process.
• Compliance with the monthly financial reporting timetable and policies for actuals, accruals, reforecast, variances commentary, project commissioning & Asset Under Construction (AUC) Reporting.
• Supporting Digital’s PMO Manager, Portfolio Finance Manager and Benefits Planning & Finance Manager in ensuring compliance to Financial Accounting rules and regulations.
• Ensuring monthly variances on projects actual spend and movements in forecast outturn costs are understood and communicated.
• You will be responsible for the SAP maintenance of your projects, including project set-up, milestones, budgets, and asset commissioning.

Working pattern – Monday to Friday 36 hours

What you should bring to the role

• Experience with financial reporting & budgeting
• Project Accounting background
• Experience with working on multiple projects with conflicting priorities
• Proficient in the use of MS tools - Advanced MS Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint
• Working knowledge of SAP
• High attention to detail and capable of handling complex data
• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, or other financial discipline
• Working knowledge of Earned Value Management (EVM)
• Project Finance experience with budgeting and forecasting

What’s in it for you?

• Competitive salary of up to £60,000 per annum depending on experience
• Annual Leave - 26 days holiday per year increasing to 30 with the length of service (plus bank holidays)
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON
• Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of you and your family’s health and wellbeing, and your finances – from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance

We’re the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive. It’s a big job and we’ve got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.

Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you’ll enjoy fast-tracked career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.

Whether you’re interested in a role in one of our call centres or science labs, we’re looking for people like you with real passion and a burning desire to make things better.

So, if you’re looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people’s lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region and our planet.

Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family. Why choose us? Learn more.

Our overarching aim is to ensure that Thames Water is great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and offer extra support for those who need it throughout the recruitment process . Our aim is to remove any real or perceived barriers to success, so if you need assistance, we’re here to help and support .

When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business and meet colleagues.

Disclaimer: due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.