Head of Finance Controllership - 18 Month Fixed Term Contract

Marks & Spencer Plc; Salford; Hybrid; GBP 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

20% colleague discount on M&S products

Discretionary bonus schemes

Strong pension and life assurance

Tailored induction and training

M&S Choices portal

Family policies

Wellbeing support

One paid volunteer day a year

Job summary

Marks & Spencer Plc in the United Kingdom is seeking a senior finance leader to shape controllership across the business. You will lead a large, diverse team and partner with senior stakeholders to drive financial integrity, transformation, and better decision-making.

The role focuses on modernising the finance function, standardising processes, and supporting SAP S/4HANA implementation while keeping teams collaborative, with on-site days and in-office collaboration three days per week.

Qualifications

• Senior financial control experience in a FTSE 250 environment.
• Proven ability to lead high-performing teams and influence senior stakeholders.
• Experience partnering across Shared Service Centres / Centres of Excellence and large-scale finance operations.

Responsibilities

• Lead controllership activities across multiple business units including Food, Fashion, Home & Beauty, International, Property, Retail, and Digital & Technology.
• Build and develop a high-performing team and foster a strong performance culture.
• Partner with Finance Directors and senior leadership to ensure robust financial control and audit relationships.
• Drive automation, standardisation and finance transformation, including SAP S/4HANA implementation.

Skills

Leadership experience

FTSE 250 retail experience

Audit relationships

Automation & standardisation

Education

ACA or equivalent

Job description

Ready to take on one of the most influential finance leadership roles at M&S?,

All the details

Summary

This is a rare opportunity to step into a high-impact leadership position at the heart of our Business Services Centre, shaping the future of controllership across M&S. As part of the BSC Leadership Team, you’ll lead a large, diverse team and partner with some of the most senior stakeholders across Finance to deliver financial integrity, drive transformation, and enable better business decisions.

You’ll play a critical role in modernising our finance function, driving standardisation, and supporting the implementation of SAP S/4HANA, helping us build a simpler, more agile M&S.

To stay close to customers, our support teams are in the office three days a week as we believe that skills are developed through collaboration, and that spending time together makes us more creative and connected.

What You’ll Do

Your key accountabilities will include:

• Leading all controllership activity across multiple business units including Food, Fashion, Home & Beauty, International, Property, Retail, and Digital & Technology
• Building, developing and inspiring a high-performing team of c.50 colleagues (with 4–5 direct reports), championing a strong performance culture
• Acting as a trusted senior partner to Finance Directors, the Group Financial Controller and wider Finance leadership
• Ensuring robust financial control, integrity of Business Unit financial statements, and leading internal and external audit relationships
• Driving standardisation, automation and continuous improvement, including supporting SAP S/4HANA implementation and finance transformation

Who You Are

Your skills and experience will include:

• Senior financial control experience in a FTSE 250 environment, ideally within retail or FMCG
• A proven track record of leading high-performing teams and driving performance, engagement and culture
• Strong experience working with Shared Service Centres / Centres of Excellence, with exposure to large-scale finance operations
• Demonstrated success in delivering automation, standardisation and process improvement initiatives
• Professionally qualified (ACA or equivalent) with the credibility to influence and partner senior stakeholders

What’s in it for you?

Working at M&S means being part of something bigger - helping to deliver quality, value and service to millions of customers every day. We’re inclusive, fast-moving and always evolving, with a strong sense of purpose and a focus on doing the right thing.

Here are just a few of the benefits that make working here even more rewarding:

• 20% colleague discount on all M&S products and many third-party brands for you and someone in your household, available once you’ve completed your probation
• Competitive holiday allowance with the option to buy more
• Discretionary bonus schemes linked to your performance and ours
• Strong pension and life assurance to help plan for the future
• Tailored induction and training to support your development from day one
• Exclusive perks and savings through our M&S Choices portal
• Market-leading family policies, including parental, adoption and neonatal leave
• 24/7 wellbeing support, including virtual GP access and mental health services
• One paid volunteer day a year to support a cause that matters to you

Everyone’s welcome

We are ambitious about the future of retail. We’re disrupting, innovating and leading the industry into a more conscientious, inspiring digital era. We’re transforming how we work together and offering our most exciting opportunities yet. Marks & Spencer strives to be an inclusive organisation, trusted and admired by our colleagues, customers and suppliers. Join us and make change happen.

We are committed to building diverse and representative teams, where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and be at their best. We support each other and work together to win together.

If you feel you'd benefit from any support or reasonable adjustments during any stage of the recruitment process, please don’t hesitate to let us know when completing your application. This information will be picked up by our team, so we can try and put steps in place to help you be at your best through this process.