Finance Manager

Kier Group; Lewes; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working (2-3 days in office)

Job summary

Kier Group is seeking a Finance Manager to join our Southern Water team based in Falmer (Brighton). The role offers flexibility to work from home with 2-3 days in the office per week and a 37.5 hour week.

You will lead budgeting, forecasting, cashflow, month-end reporting and financial governance for the Southern Water framework, partnering with Project Directors and delivery teams to deliver complex infrastructure projects.

Note: sponsorship is not available for this role.

Qualifications

• Qualified accountant with ACCA/CIMA/ACA or equivalent.
• Experience in finance management & project accounting within construction/infrastructure.
• Strong understanding of project financial controls, budgeting, forecasting & month-end processes.
• Advanced Excel and familiarity with ERP and reporting systems.
• Effective communicator with project teams and leadership.

Responsibilities

• Lead monthly project financial reports, forecasts, cashflow updates and budget variance analysis.
• Provide financial leadership and challenge to project teams for cost control and reporting.
• Oversee project accounting records: income, expenditure, accruals and commitments.
• Manage month-end close activities: journals, accruals, reconciliations and reporting packs.
• Support applications for payment, client billing, invoice management and PO controls.

Skills

Advanced Excel

Project accounting

Financial reporting

Cost control

ERP systems

Communication

Education

ACCA/CIMA/ACA or equivalent

Tools

ERP software

Cost management software

Job description

We're looking for a Finance Manager to join our Southern Water team based in Falmer (Brighton).

Location: Falmer (Brighton) - Flexible to allow some working from home (2-3 days in the office per week)
Hours: 37.5 hours per week - some flexibility on hours available if desired, just let us know when you speak to us.

We are unable to offer certificates of sponsorship to any candidates in this role.

This is an exciting opportunity to join our Southern Water team as we embark on a strategic partnership to deliver ambitious projects. The Finance Manager will lead the financial management and reporting arrangements for Kier's Southern Water framework activities, working closely with Project Directors, Commercial Managers, Finance and Delivery teams. You'll provide financial leadership across budgeting, forecasting, cashflow, month-end reporting, cost governance, audit support and financial compliance. This role offers the opportunity to shape financial governance within a long-term framework environment, helping to embed strong financial controls and reporting discipline.

What will you be responsible for?

As a Finance Manager, you'll be working within the Southern Water team, supporting them in delivering ambitious infrastructure projects. Your day to day will include:

• Leading the preparation of monthly project financial reports, including forecasts, cost reports, cashflow updates and budget variance analysis
• Providing financial leadership and challenge to project teams, supporting robust decision-making across cost control and commercial reporting
• Overseeing project accounting records, ensuring accurate and timely recording of income, expenditure, commitments and accruals
• Managing month-end close activities, including journals, accruals, reconciliations and reporting packs
• Supporting applications for payment, client billing, invoice management and purchase order controls

What are we looking for?

This role of Finance Manager is great for you if:

• You're a qualified accountant with a recognised professional qualification such as ACCA, CIMA, ACA or equivalent
• You have demonstrable experience in finance management and project accounting within construction, infrastructure, engineering or another project-led environment
• You have a strong understanding of project financial controls, cost reporting, forecasting, budgeting and month-end processes
• You're an advanced Excel user and confident using finance, ERP, cost management or reporting systems
• You're a strong communicator who can engage confidently with project teams, commercial colleagues and senior leadership

We're all about finding potential here at Kier, and transferrable skills are always welcome! So, even if you don't tick every box, please apply and we can have a chat.

Rewards and benefits

We're proud to be able to offer our brilliant people a wide variety of benefits that you can tailor to your needs. You can see more information of benefits here.

Diversity and inclusion

Making Kier a diverse and inclusive place to work is a huge priority for us. We're proud of the steps we've taken so far, but we know we must always do more. Our employees are key in shaping Kier's diversity and inclusion initiatives and our people have made a huge impact on how we work, by using their experiences to shape our policies. You can see our D&I action plan here. As a Disability Confident employer, we will ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum criteria for this role will be offered an interview.

We look forward to seeing your application to #joinkier.

#LI-TD1

• Southern Water Finance Manager 2026.docx