Director, Assistant Financial Controller

Carnival UK (P&O Cruises & Cunard); Southampton; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

Pension scheme

Private medical and dental insurance

Car allowance

Employee cruise discounts

25 days leave + holidays

Life Assurance

Employee Shares Plan

Electric Car & Cycle to Work

Wellbeing programmes

OH support

Employee networks

Discount portal

Job summary

Carnival UK, home to P&O Cruises and Cunard, seeks a Director, Assistant Financial Controller to lead a 20‑strong Financial Control team and own statutory reporting and governance. You will collaborate with the Enterprise PMO to ensure financial integrity across major programmes and change initiatives.

The role demands strategic leadership, deep knowledge of US GAAP/IFRS, and a track record of driving continuous improvement in a large, complex organisation. Hybrid work is available.

Qualifications

• Qualified Accountant background with Financial Controller or similar experience in a large organisation.
• Strong technical accounting knowledge, including US GAAP and IFRS.
• Knowledge of Oracle or another ERP system and sub-systems.
• Experience of managing external auditors and statutory/regulatory reporting requirements (ATOL, ABTA, VAT and Sarbanes‑Oxley).
• Experience of managing change and continuous improvement programmes across complex organisational structures.

Responsibilities

• Deliver and safeguard the financial integrity of Carnival UK's reported results, statutory submissions and management accounts, ensuring GAAP compliance.
• Lead the external auditor relationship and coordinates with GARS for quarter and year‑end closings.
• Drive a robust culture of financial control with governance and risk management.
• Coach and empower the Financial Control team to maintain high performance.

Skills

Qualified Accountant

US GAAP

IFRS

ERP knowledge

External auditor management

Regulatory reporting

Change management

Education

Professional accounting qualification

Tools

Oracle

Job description

Job Description

Join us in shaping the future of holiday experiences across our P&O Cruises and Cunard ships in our Director, Assistant Financial Controller role.

Join us in shaping the future of holiday experiences across our P&O Cruises and Cunard ships in our Director, Assistant Financial Controller role. At Carnival UK, we believe in the power of diversity to drive success, valuing a blend of backgrounds, experiences, and skills. If you're a finance professional with a strategic mindset and a track record of overseeing a finance department, let's talk. We’re not just looking for qualifications on paper; we’re searching for someone who can bring fresh ideas and a new perspective to our team.

Role Overview

Reporting to the VP, Financial Control, you’ll lead a key Financial Control function within a complex, well‑established finance environment, taking ownership of a talented team of 20 colleagues, including three Senior Managers alongside a mix of commercially focused and technical accounting experts.

As Director, Assistant Financial Controller, you’ll play a pivotal role in steering the financial direction of our company. Alongside leadership of a critical financial control function, you will represent Finance within the Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO), ensuring organisational change is delivered with financial integrity, strong governance, effective risk management and a continued focus on business continuity across the organisation.

With a strong foundation of people, processes and financial integrity already established, you’ll build on real strengths to ensure we continue to deliver unforgettable holiday happiness, inspiring your team to excel while creating a natural platform for your own future progression.

Key accountabilities include

• Deliver and safeguard the financial integrity of Carnival UK's reported results, statutory submissions and management accounts, ensuring all reporting is in line with required GAAP treatments (US GAAP and IFRS).
• Lead the external auditor relationship and that with our Miami‑based Global Accounting and Reporting Services (GARS) team, planning and managing audit deliverables for smooth, timely and accurate quarter and year‑end closings.
• Drive a robust yet efficient, world‑class culture of financial control, engaging assertively with the business to pre‑empt issues and strengthen the governance and compliance landscape.
• Coach, empower and inspire the Financial Control team, unlocking potential and maintaining a strong performance management culture.

Job Requirements

• A Qualified Accountant background with Financial Controller or similar experience in a large organisation.
• Strong technical accounting knowledge, including US GAAP and IFRS.
• Knowledge of Oracle or another ERP system and sub‑systems
• Experience of managing external auditors and statutory/regulatory reporting requirements (e.g. ATOL, ABTA, VAT and Sarbanes‑Oxley).
• Experience of managing change and continuous improvement programmes across complex organisational structures.

About You

• Self‑assured and self‑directed – you’re confident in your own judgement about what good looks like, setting your own path on what is and isn’t acceptable rather than waiting for others to give you the answers.
• Pragmatic and commercial – you take a practical, commercially‑ minded approach, balancing robust financial control with the best commercial outcomes for the organisation.
• A confident, credible leader – you know the standard you want your team to reach and how to get there, coaching and empowering ambitious, capable colleagues while creating an environment where people do their best work.
• Resilient in complexity – you thrive in a large, diverse organisation going through significant change, engaging assertively across the business and navigating ambiguity to make things happen.

Why Join Us?

Positioned within our internal structure from CUK15 (entry level) to CUK1 (Brand President), this role is classified as a CUK05, offered as a full‑time position, on a permanent basis, with an offering of hybrid work including up to two days from home.

Read our employee experience guide to learn more about life as a Carnival UK colleague here.

We’re more than just a holiday company; we’re a community that values work‑life balance, personal growth, and wellbeing. As part of our team, you’ll enjoy:

• Annual bonus
• Contributory Defined Contribution Pension scheme
• Company paid private medical and dental insurance and health assessment
• Car Allowance
• Employee Discounted Cruising plus Friends and Family offers
• Minimum 25 days leave, bank holiday allowance and holiday trading scheme
• Life Assurance
• Employee Shares Plan
• Electric Car and Cycle to Work schemes
• Employee Assistance and Wellbeing programmes
• In‑house Occupational Health help and access to digital GP
• Employee‑led networks
• Discounted retail and leisure via discounts portal

About Us

Holidays are one of life’s greatest pleasures. Having the chance to relax, escape and explore is a magical thing. And there is no better holiday than a cruise.

No one knows cruising like Carnival UK, where talented people from across the globe come together to create unforgettable holiday happiness. As part of the world’s largest holiday travel and leisure company, we take enormous pride in bringing to life two of the most iconic brands from Britain’s rich seafaring heritage, P&O Cruises and Cunard. Collectively they have been delivering unbridled joy, boundless adventure and lifelong memories to millions of people for over 350 years. And in a multi‑million pound global holiday market, where cruising has barely scratched the surface, we have the opportunity to do that for many, many more people.

Our diverse yet tight knit teams share high standards, heartfelt values and passion for our purpose. Our Culture Essentials describe the expectations we have for ourselves and of each other, in building a culture that supports safe, sustainable, compliant operations and celebrates diversity, equity and inclusion.

It’s through the successful delivery of these extraordinary travel experiences for our target markets and our distinctive culture, that we hope to become Travel’s Employer of Choice.