Finance Manager (Opex)

Thames Water; Reading; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading UK water and wastewater company is seeking a Finance Manager to oversee financial reporting and analysis for their operations in Reading. This role requires extensive financial experience, strong analytical abilities, and an appropriate accounting qualification. The position allows for hybrid working and offers a salary of up to £80,000 per annum, along with various benefits including annual leave and a generous pension scheme.

Benefits

Car Allowance

Performance-related pay

Private Medical Health Care

Generous Pension Scheme

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in financial and analytical roles required.
• Must have an accounting qualification such as ACA, CIMA, or ACCA.
• Strong Excel skillset and ability to develop data visualisations.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team to support financial performance of Water or Waste Operations.
• Provide high-quality financial information for effective business operations.
• Develop relationships across the organisation for continuous improvement.

Skills

Financial and analytical experience

Strong excel skills

Business partnering

Planning and Organizational skills

Experience with business intelligence tools

Education

Accounting qualification (ACA, CIMA, ACCA or equivalent)

Tools

Planning systems

Reporting technology

Job description

This role is responsible for the management of financial reporting, review and challenge across Opex for their area. Supporting the operational teams through the implementation of high quality insight and KPIs.

Hybrid – Clearwater Court, Reading. 36 hours a week.

What you’ll be doing as a Finance Manager (OPEX)

• Responsible for leading a team to partner the financial performance outcomes of our Water or Waste Operations teams - supporting the Operational teams through the implementation of high-quality insight and KPIs, review and challenge
• To provide the high-quality financial information that the business requires to operate effectively and efficiently, including leading and lagging levers, cost drivers, trend analysis and recommendations to assist decision making
• Support in specific aspects of the financial reporting cycle with a critical evaluation lens applied
• Developing relationships with other teams across the Organisation, with a real focus on cross learning and challenging the teams through continuous improvement
• Develop and enhance the controls and associated reporting to support proactive management of the operational business
• Lead the planning and reporting processes for Opex costs in their business area
• As a key financial liaison, partner with the various departments across Finance and the business to deliver end-to-end process efficiencies and improved financial awareness
• Respond to ad hoc requests for analytics to provide support to stakeholders for cost visibility, regulatory matters, deep-dive investigations into financial performance etc.

What you should bring to the role

To thrive in this role, the essential criteria you’ll need is:

• Extensive experience of financial and analytical experience
• Accounting qualification (ACA, CIMA, ACCA or equivalent)
• Strong excel skillset and analytical abilities required
• Experience with planning systems and reporting technology
• Experience with business intelligence tools and developing data visualisations
• Business partnering, accounting experience - including experience of working with senior managers
• Track record of delivering value and change, through challenge and influencing decision making as well as building strong relationships
• Planning and Organisational skills to work effectively
• Excellent knowledge of providing financial insight, preparing annual plans, and forecasts

Additional skills and experiences would be great to have/bring:

• Solid modelling and/or database skills are preferable
• Experience in similar organisations with finance teams responsible for managing and operating large asset bases
• Experience of leading a team

What’s in it for you?

• Offering up to £80,000 per annum, depending on experience
• Annual Leave - 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service (plus bank holidays)
• Car Allowance
• Performance-related pay plan directly linked to company performance measures and targets
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON
• Private Medical Health Care
• 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.

Who are we?

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.

Working at Thames Water

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 meaningful career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.

Real purpose, real support, real opportunities

Come and join the Thames Water family. 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.

We’re committed to being a great, diverse, and inclusive place to work

We welcome applications from everyone and want to ensure you feel supported throughout the recruitment process. If you need any adjustments, whether that’s extra time, accessible formats, or anything else just let us know, 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.