Finance Controller

Octopus Energy Generation; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Eclipse Power Group is hiring a Financial Controller to lead Financial Reporting & Control and the Operational Finance functions. You will directly support the CFO in delivering the finance mandate, building a professional function to support growth and scale.

You will balance strong technical accounting with a commercial lens, delivering high-quality management reporting, governance, and timely financial insight across the business.

Qualifications

• ACA accountancy qualification or equivalent.
• Minimum 3 years post qualified experience in a commercial environment.
• Proven technical accounting skills and the ability to hit deadlines.
• Aptitude for building strong business relationships outside finance.
• UK power sector experience and investor reporting experience.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the monthly accounting and reporting cycle across Eclipse entities and service lines.
• Prepare and own high-quality monthly management reporting to the Board and stakeholders.
• Manage Treasury, cash forecasting and working capital optimization; oversee payables/receivables.
• Oversee annual statutory accounts and the external audit process; support tax activities.
• Lead finance system improvements and ensure compliance with statutory, HMRC and tax obligations.
• Support growth including acquisition accounting and establishment of new entities/corporate structure evolution.

Education

ACA accountancy qualification or similar

Job description

Location: London / Hybrid with occasional travel to our Head office in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire and travel to sites required where necessary.

Please ask to see our working principles to help you understand how we like to work

Start Date: ASAP

Salary: TBC

Direct Reports: 4 Direct Reports (2x Finance Operations Staff and 2x Management Accountants)

Type: Permanent, Full-time

About Eclipse:

With a company-wide ambition to outshine for our customers and partners, we are committed to continually raising the bar in how we work and what we deliver. Eclipse Power is a proud market leader in the UK energy sector, providing expert grid consultancy and delivering private network and microgrid solutions, as well as operating as an OFGEM licensed Independent Distribution Network Operator (IDNO).

We offer specialised technical expertise at every stage of the customer journey, from advice and support on initial project viability, to design through to adoption and maintenance and everything in between. Our strong reputation, skilled workforce, innovative digital technology, and established industry regulatory relationships underpin the service we provide, and we are passionate and committed to delivering safe, reliable and high-quality solutions for our customers and partners.

Our people are our most important asset. Rather than traditional company values, we have personalities, reflecting our belief that how we work and what we do truly matters. With a diverse talent pool, we benefit from many different ways of thinking. Our people have a strong work ethic, care for one another, and make sure we have some fun along the way.

Job Purpose:

The purpose of this role is to lead the Financial Reporting & Control and Operational Finance functions of Eclipse Power Group. You will directly support the CFO in delivering the finance mandate and creating a highly professional function that can support and lead the business in its ambitious scaling journey.

Trust is fundamental for any finance team to be successful and you will represent truth and accuracy in the business. You will set the standard for governance and professionalism at Eclipse and ensure that the finance team is trusted and respected across the business creating the platform for us to drive outstanding business performance.

The candidate must have the ability to provide strong and nimble leadership to the team whilst being focussed and decisive in taking action. You will be hands on with the delivery of the day-to-

day accounting and finance processes with a drive to implement significant process improvements. You will also be expected to own and produce high quality manage reporting and insight where hitting deadlines and producing first class output will be routine.

This is a building leading role and not a back-off accounting function. You will be expected to use your expertise and insight to drive business performance. You will blend strong technical skills with a keen commercial eye. Building strong, constructive and supportive relationships with functions across the business in line with Eclipse personalities is an essential part of this role.

The Financial Controller is a leadership role at Eclipse and to be successful you will need to build strong relationships with you leadership peer group (Exec-1 layer). As a leader you will be expected to represent positively the 5 Eclipse personalities on a daily basis and embrace our inclusive and supportive culture. Being an active, curious and engaged part of the business will be something you enjoy and naturally seek out. The successful candidate will have the capacity to grow with the role and the business as it scales.

Main responsibilities will include:

• Manage and mentor the Finance team (4 direct reports across 2 offices and hybrid). This will include actively engaging with their development plans;
• Develop and maintain roadmap for the function which creates a business leading finance team and ensures there is clear priorities and direction aligned to wider company growth strategy;
• Embrace the leadership level responsibilities of the role by developing strong peer group relationships that create alignment across the business and reflect the Eclipse culture and personalities;
• Oversee the monthly accounting and reporting cycle across all Eclipse entities and service lines;
• Prepare and own high-quality, monthly management reporting to the Board and business stakeholders to drive insight and performance actions across the Building strong and proactive relationships with leadership peers is a key part of this activity;
• Manage the Treasury function, cash forecasting and capital drawdown cycle. Manage accounts payable and accounts receivable functions (including oversight of weekly payments process) to optimise working capital in the business;
• Own the monthly performance reporting by department against the budget and lead the business partnering activity with Cost Centre leads to drive performance improvements;
• Lead the improvement of finance systems, controls and processes to fit Eclipse for scale and to ensure compliance with statutory, HMRC and tax obligations. Focus areas will include; procure to pay policy and system, expenses policy, shortening monthly reporting cycle; payroll processes;
• Prepare and oversee submission of annual statutory accounts;
• Manage annual audit process and support on tax activities to ensure HMRC compliance;
• Own and maintain the Corporate Risk Register in partnership with Legal;
• In collaboration with HR oversee and manage the monthly payroll cycle;
• Support growth of the business including acquisition accounting and establishment of new entities/corporate structure evolution.

Knowledge and Skills Requirements Essential:

• Passion to work in the energy transition
• ACA accountancy qualification or similar
• Minimum 3 years post qualified experience in a commercial environment
• Proven technical accounting skills
• Demonstrated ability to hit deadlines and execute
• Aptitude for building strong business relationships outside finance
• Top 10 Accountancy firm training
• 1-2 years’ experience in Financial Controller role
• UK power sector experience
• Investor reporting

We’re looking for people to join our team who can demonstrate their connections with our personalities, which are:

• Friendly Experts – It’s how we support others with our expertise. Our people are approachable and ready to help, we share knowledge generously and we build trust by guiding and empowering others.
• Collaborative Solution Finders – The way we find solutions together. We collaborate across different teams in the business to achieve results, we look at different ways to solve problems together and we listen, respect and build on each other’s ideas.
• Naturally Curious – We love to learn new things. We stay curious and open to new ideas whilst seeking opportunities to grow and We also share what we learn to strengthen the teams around us.
• Raising the Bar – It’s our ambition to continue improving and constantly raise the To do that, we challenge the norm to find smarter, better ways of working. We are forward thinking and think differently whilst creating positive impact through meaningful innovation.
• Proactively Accountable – We take ownership and make things We do this

by anticipating needs and challenges to make smart, practical decisions. We deliver with integrity and pride in our work and we’re reliable – we keep our promises.