Finance Manager Publishing - 15 Month FTC

NEWS UK; Greater London; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private medical insurance

Discounted gym memberships

Bikes for Work

HarperCollins book discounts

Job summary

News UK is seeking a qualified Finance professional to partner with marketing, editorial and subscriptions teams. You will own the editorial cost base, guide budgeting cycles, and mentor a direct report within a hybrid finance department.

You will lead budgeting and forecasting across paid sales, marketing and editorial, build KPI reporting, and drive process improvements with a focus on cost efficiency and robust financial governance.

Qualifications

• Fully qualified accountant with PQE.
• Strong communication to articulate financial concepts and build relationships.
• Proactive, problem-solving mindset with drive to improve processes.
• Advanced Excel proficiency; TM1 familiarity advantageous.
• Experience mentoring team members.
• Knowledge of subscriptions, media, or digital marketing to enhance decision-making.

Responsibilities

• Lead the budget and forecast cycle for areas including paid sales, marketing, subscriptions, and editorial.
• Manage the overall editorial cost base with Managing Editors, monitor desk budgets, and identify efficiencies.
• Build KPIs and reporting for subscriptions growth; perform scenario planning and trend analysis.
• Review contra arrangements with Marketing to ensure proper phasing and promotion recognition.
• Model pricing and assess retail margin impact for print paid sales.
• Evaluate business cases with rigorous post-investment reviews.

Skills

Budgeting & forecasting

Financial modelling

Stakeholder management

Excel advanced

Mentoring

Cost base management

Communication skills

Tools

TM1

Job description

Job Description

Our Finance Teams play a large part in the success of our business. We operate as one cohesive team across a few locations, working together to create a positive, productive, and highly efficient finance department within News UK.

Your Role:

This is a fantastic opportunity to work at the heart of The Sun, engaging across key publishing areas including marketing, subscriptions, editorial, and paid sales. You will act as a pivotal business partner alongside The Sun's Marketing and Editorial management teams, taking ownership of the editorial cost base and guiding the budget and forecast cycles. You will also support and develop a direct report, helping to foster growth and excellence within the finance department.

Day to day you will:

• Lead the budget and forecast cycle for your areas of responsibility, including paid sales, marketing, subscriptions, and editorial.


• Manage the overall editorial cost base in close collaboration with Managing Editors, overseeing desk budgets and suggesting actionable efficiencies.


• Build key performance indicators and reporting for the subscriptions growth area, executing detailed scenario planning and trend analysis.


• Review contra arrangements with the Marketing team to accurately determine the phasing and recognition of new promotions.


• Control print paid sale pricing modelling and carefully evaluate retail margin impacts.


• Evaluate business cases to ensure they are robustly challenged, financially sound, and followed by comprehensive post-investment reviews.


• Provide proactive insight and scenario modelling to mitigate risks, exploit growth opportunities, and drive automation through process efficiencies.


• Support the Head of Finance and Finance Director on ad hoc requests while actively developing your direct report.

What we're looking for from you:

• Fully qualified accountant with PQE.


• Exceptional communication abilities to clearly articulate financial concepts, flag risks early, and build strong relationships across multiple departments and stakeholder levels.


• A proactive, problem-solving mindset with the curiosity to ask questions and identify where processes can be improved or automated.


• Advanced proficiency in Excel to analyse detailed trends while maintaining a high-level strategic view (familiarity with TM1 is advantageous).


• Demonstrated ability to mentor and guide team members, ensuring high-quality work and professional development.


• Knowledge of subscriptions, media, or digital marketing to enhance strategic decision-making.

News UK is one of the leading media businesses in the UK and Ireland. Our newsbrands include The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun, The Sun on Sunday and The TLS. Our national broadcast brands include talkSPORT, Times Radio and Virgin Radio UK, and we have market-leading local stations across Ireland. Our world-famous brands provide news, analysis, opinion and entertainment to almost 40 million people each month. Spanning print and pixel, audio and video, events and experiences, our multi-format brands are home to a plurality of opinion, representing the diverse communities we serve. Driven by passion, guided by principles and acting with purpose, we exist to promote a fair society, freedom of speech and a little bit of fun. Rethinking continually the business of storytelling, we represent, reflect and reach the nation, telling the stories that matter.

At News UK, we embrace a hybrid work model, currently requiring a minimum of three days per week in the office. This approach fosters collaboration, innovation, and team spirit within our workspace. Certain roles may necessitate additional in-office days; please discuss this with your recruiter for specific requirements.

Life at News

Driven by passion, guided by principles and acting with purpose. We represent, reflect and reach the nation, telling the stories that matter. We inform our audiences so that they can make decisions based on trusted information.

We represent, reflect and reach the nation, telling the stories that matter most. To ensure these stories resonate with as broad an audience as possible, it is essential that our organisation reflects the diversity of the people we reach. Whether through age, gender, ethnicity, disability, social class or sexuality, we are committed to representing the rich variety of voices that make up our society. And we champion a culture where everyone has the opportunity to contribute and thrive as we continue to innovate and drive long term sustainable growth. This is done through our Diversity Strategy.

At News UK, we take pride in our exceptional employee-led networks that bring together individuals with shared interests and create a vibrant sense of community. We believe our networks play a vital role in fostering a collaborative and supportive work culture at News UK. Groups that we support include the African & Caribbean Network, Parents and Carers, and LGBTQ+ group News Is Out, and Next Gen.

Benefits

• Private medical insurance including coverage for pre-existing conditions


• Discounted gym memberships, free ClassPass at Home, weekly in person/ virtual exercise classes


• 'Bikes for Work' and 'Electric Car' scheme


• Up to 60% discount on Harper Collins books


• Maternity leave up to 18 weeks full basic salary & paternity leave up to 2 weeks


• Access to exclusive events and competitions with exciting brands such as talkSPORT, Virgin Radio UK & The Times. Weekly virtual panel chats with top journalists and celebrities


• Access to wellbeing benefits such as EAP, physio/massage and counselling


• A generous pension scheme with employer contributions of up to 5%


• Wide range of training available, plus full LinkedIn Learning access


• 25 days holiday, plus bank holidays and up to 4 volunteering days per year

We are committed to providing an inclusive recruitment process. If you require reasonable adjustments due to a disability or health condition at any stage of your application or interview, please let us know. You can contact us at [email protected] to discuss how we can support you to perform at your best.