Finance Director for Sports & Entertainment

Aramark Ltd; City of Westminster; Hybrid; GBP 100,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading hospitality and entertainment provider seeks a Finance Director to lead financial strategy and optimize performance across the UK S&E sector. In this hybrid role, you'll oversee financial governance, budget planning, and provide strategic insights to enhance operational efficiency. The ideal candidate has a strong finance leadership background in high-volume hospitality settings and excellent communication skills. Enjoy a competitive salary, generous annual leave, and various benefits, including access to discounts and mental health support.

Benefits

Competitive salary and package

Generous annual leave

Defined contribution pension scheme

Life assurance

Access to discounts and mental health support

Opportunities to attend in-house events

Qualifications

• Qualified Accountant with substantial post-qualification experience.
• Senior finance leadership experience in a high-volume hospitality environment.
• Strong understanding of financial governance and compliance.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and execution of financial strategy for the UK S&E sector.
• Oversee financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, and reporting.
• Partner with operational leaders to drive cost control and procurement efficiency.

Skills

Financial strategy development

Data-driven decision making

Cost control

Strong communication skills

Analytical skills

Leadership and mentoring

Education

Qualified Accountant (ACA, ACCA, or CIMA)

Job description

Are you a strategic, commercially minded finance leader with a passion for delivering excellence in fast paced, high profile environments? Aramark's Sports & Entertainment (S&E) division is seeking an exceptional Finance Director to guide financial strategy, strengthen commercial performance, and partner with operational leaders across some of the most exciting venues in the industry. As the sector continues its strong growth trajectory, this role will play a pivotal part in shaping financial direction, driving operational efficiency, and ensuring the sector remains competitive, innovative, and financially robust. Reporting to the CFO and acting as a key copilot to the S&E MD, you will influence decision making at the highest level while leading a talented finance team to deliver insight, rigour, and continuous improvement. This is a unique opportunity to combine strategic leadership with hands on impact across event and non event trading helping to create memorable hospitality experiences while delivering long term value.

• Lead the development and execution of the financial strategy for the UK S&E sector
• Provide strategic insight and challenge to the leadership team to support informed, data-driven decisions
• Oversee financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, and reporting across multisite, multi-client operations
• Ensure strong financial governance, internal controls, and compliance with accounting standards and processes
• Manage cashflow, working capital, and capital expenditure while reporting into the UK Group
• Analyse trading performance across events and non event days to identify opportunities for revenue and margin growth
• Support pricing strategy, yield optimisation, and menu engineering for hospitality offerings
• Partner with operational leaders to drive cost control, labour planning, procurement efficiency, and stock management
• Act as a trusted advisor to the S&E MD and sector leadership, providing clear and actionable financial insight
• Lead, mentor, and develop the finance team, fostering capability, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Qualified Accountant (ACA, ACCA, or CIMA) with substantial post-qualification experience
• Senior finance leadership experience within a high volume hospitality, stadium catering, sports, and large scale events environment
• Strong understanding of cost control, labour management, and food & beverage profitability
• Experience working with contract based commercial models such as concessions, revenue share, or joint ventures
• An influential communicator and presenter who is commercially astute, analytical, pragmatic, and effective under pressure
• Demonstrates high integrity, strong governance mindset, and a commitment to delivering exceptional service while partnering closely with operational teams
• This is a permanent, hybrid role with a UK remit.
• Competitive salary and package
• Generous annual leave that increases in line with service, with the opportunity to buy extra
• Defined contribution pension scheme
• Life assurance
• Benefits app: access to 100s of discounts, online GP appointments, mental health support and our Employee Assistance Program
• FOOD! Opportunities to attend in-house events and try the culinary genius of our teams (we are a food business after all!)