Head of Finance - 14 Month Fixed Term Contract

Trainline; Easter Howgate; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading travel technology company is looking for a Head of Finance in Edinburgh, responsible for overseeing operational finance functions and leading a diverse team. The ideal candidate is a qualified accountant with at least 5 years of PQE and proven leadership experience. This role emphasizes financial efficiency and governance with opportunities for professional growth and a collaborative environment.

Benefits

Private healthcare

Generous work from abroad policy

Share purchase plans

EV Scheme

Extra festive time off

Family-friendly benefits

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years PQE in finance.
• Proven senior finance leadership experience.
• Demonstrated success in operational finance functions.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership across the finance function.
• Lead and develop a multidisciplinary team.
• Drive finance transformation initiatives.
• Ensure compliance and governance.
• Maintain robust financial controls.

Skills

People management skills

Stakeholder management

Analytical skills

Change management

Education

Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent)

Tools

ERP systems

Finance automation tools

Data governance tools

Job description

About us:

We are champions of rail, inspired to build a greener, more sustainable future of travel. Trainline enables millions of travellers to find and book the best value tickets across carriers, fares, and journey options through our highly rated mobile app, website, and B2B partner channels.

Great journeys start with Trainline

Now Europe’s number 1 downloaded rail app, with over 125 million monthly visits and £5.9 billion in annual ticket sales, we collaborate with 270+ rail and coach companies in over 40 countries. We want to create a world where travel is as simple, seamless, eco-friendly and affordable as it should be.

Today, we're a FTSE 250 company driven by our incredible team of over 1,000 Trainliners from 50+ nationalities, based across London, Paris, Barcelona, Milan, Edinburgh and Madrid. With our focus on growth in the UK and Europe, now is the perfect time to join us on this high-speed journey.

Purpose of the Role

The Head of Finance is a key leadership position in our Edinburgh office, responsible for overseeing and optimising the core operational finance functions. We are seeking an experienced Head of Finance to lead a team of 20, including teams across:

• Finance Transformation

• Finance Systems

• Procurement

• Finance Data & Controls

• Accounts Payable & Accounts Receivable

This role is critical in driving financial efficiency, governance, data integrity, and systems improvement across Trainline’s finance operations. You'll work closely with senior finance leadership and key business stakeholders to ensure effective financial operations, aligned with strategic business goals.

Responsibilities

Leadership & Strategy

• Provide strategic and operational leadership across the finance function in our Edinburgh office

• Lead, inspire, and develop a multidisciplinary team, with a strong focus on people management, team performance and engagement

• Set clear objectives, manage team capacity and capability, and create a collaborative environment that supports professional growth and high performance

• Act as a senior point of contact for finance operations and transformation initiatives, building trusted relationships across Finance, Technology, and the wider business

• Prepare and present regular updates, insights, and recommendations to key stakeholders, including the CFO and senior leadership, on operational finance performance, transformation progress, and strategic initiatives

Finance Transformation

• Lead the end-to-end delivery of finance transformation initiatives aimed at optimising operational efficiency, scalability, and automation across core finance processes

• Define and drive the finance transformation roadmap in alignment with Trainline’s broader strategic goals, presenting to key stakeholders

• Embed a continuous improvement culture by introducing KPIs, automation, and self-service tools to reduce manual effort and improve accuracy and control

• Ensure that transformation projects are delivered on time, within scope, and with strong stakeholder engagement throughout

Finance Systems

• Own and oversee the strategic direction and day-to-day management of Trainline’s finance systems landscape, ensuring systems are scalable, secure, and aligned with business needs

• Support the team in acting as the business owner for core finance platforms, ensuring ongoing performance, compliance, and continuous improvement

• Ensure systems support strong internal controls and compliance standards

• Support training and change management initiatives to drive adoption, accountability, and effective system use across finance teams

Procurement

• Provide strategic leadership and oversight of Trainline’s procurement function, ensuring it delivers commercial value, cost efficiency, and supports the company’s growth objectives

• Support the team in driving initiatives to improve spend visibility and purchasing discipline across the organisation

• Collaborate cross-functionally to ensure procurement processes are well integrated into broader systems and workflows

Finance Data & Controls

• Provide strategic oversight and leadership to the team, ensuring delivery of high-impact financial and operational dashboards that support decision-making and evolving business needs

• Maintain robust financial controls, reporting standards, and data governance frameworks

• Ensure accuracy, transparency, and compliance across all finance data and operational processes

Accounts Payable (AP) & Receivable (AR)

• Provide oversight and guidance to the AP/AR teams to drive accurate, efficient, and well-governed processing, reconciliation, and reporting

• Drive improvements in AP and AR processes, leveraging automation, system enhancements, and best practices to reduce manual effort, increase efficiency, and strengthen controls

• Monitor key metrics and proactively manage performance against targets to support working capital optimisation

Experience & Qualifications

• Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent) with minimum 5 years PQE

• Proven senior finance leadership experience, ideally in a fast-paced, tech-enabled environment

• Demonstrated success managing diverse operational finance functions

Skills & Attributes

• Strong people management skills, with a proven track record of leading, motivating, and developing high-performing teams across multiple disciplines

• Strong systems and transformation experience (ERP, finance automation, data tools)

• Exceptional stakeholder management and influencing skills

• Highly analytical with a process improvement mindset

• Resilient and adaptable, with the ability to hit the ground running and lead through change

More information:

Enjoy fantastic perks like private healthcare & dental insurance, a generous work from abroad policy, 2-for-1 share purchase plans, an EV Scheme to further reduce carbon emissions, extra festive time off, and excellent family-friendly benefits.

We prioritise career growth with clear career paths, transparent pay bands, personal learning budgets, and regular learning days. Jump on board and supercharge your career from day one!

Our values represent the things that matter most to us and what we live and breathe everyday, in everything we do:

• Think Big - We're building the future of rail

• ️ Own It - We focus on every customer, partner and journey

• Travel Together - We're one team

• ️ Do Good - We make a positive impact

We know that having a diverse team makes us better and helps us succeed. And we mean all forms of diversity - gender, ethnicity, sexuality, disability, nationality and diversity of thought. That's why we're committed to creating inclusive places to work, where everyone belongs and differences are valued and celebrated.

Interested in finding out more about what it's like to work at Trainline? Why not check us out on LinkedIn, Instagram and Glassdoor!