Head of Finance, Financial Reporting and Control

Heathrow Airport; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading international airport is seeking a Head of Finance to lead financial reporting and control. This role requires strong leadership, financial governance, and the ability to influence stakeholders. The successful candidate will oversee comprehensive financial and regulatory reporting and ensure effective finance processes within the organization, driving change and automation to support operational growth.

Benefits

Performance-based annual bonuses

Share in Success Bonus plans

Generous annual leave allowances

Market-leading pensions

Private health insurance

Learning and development opportunities

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in a senior Finance role, particularly in Statutory Reporting and internal financial controls.
• Demonstrable ability to influence and structure persuasive arguments at a senior level.
• Strong leadership skills with a track record of leading high-performance teams.
• Experience driving effective change in complex operational environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead a finance team to deliver external financial and regulatory reporting.
• Oversee core finance processes ensuring compliance and efficiency.
• Communicate complex accounting concepts to various stakeholders.
• Take ownership of key accounting process issues and ensure resolution.
• Lead the management of distributable reserves.

Skills

Leadership

Financial Governance

Technical Accounting

Change Management

Education

Qualified accountant (ACA)

Job description

Job Description

The Head of Finance - Financial Reporting and Control centres on leading a high-performing finance team to ensure robust financial governance at Heathrow. Key responsibilities include delivering insightful and technically sound external financial reporting, designing and evaluating the effectiveness of core financial controls, and overseeing Heathrow's accounting policies. The person will demonstrate strong leadership and act as a trusted strategic partner, fostering a culture of technical financial awareness and providing clear, relevant advice that supports Heathrow's value objectives. The ability to simplify and communicate complex financial matters to diverse stakeholders is essential, as is the capacity to challenge constructively. The role also requires a forward-thinking approach, driving ongoing change by transforming financial reporting and control processes through further automation and systematisation. This position is ideal for someone with a clear strategic vision for the future of financial reporting and control, who can build on recent simplification achievements and support Heathrow's continued financial and operational growth.

Responsibilities

• The role is responsible for leading a team to deliver comprehensive external financial and regulatory reporting, providing technical accounting support, managing key judgements and internal controls, driving climate-related financial disclosures, and overseeing the relationship with external auditors.
• Supporting the Finance Director, Financial Control in overseeing the Group's core finance processes-Service to Cash, Record to Report, Source to Pay, and Project to Retire-ensuring they are effective, manage risk, and comply with policies. These processes are managed and delivered through a separate directorate based in Glasgow.
• Communicating complex accounting concepts to stakeholders, including Finance Business Partners, and presenting key accounting judgements to the Audit Committee, the Executive Committee and the Finance Leadership team, with support from the Director of Finance, Financial Control.
• Early identification of key accounting process issues, in collaboration with the Business Services team (process owners and service delivery). The role holder has ownership for ensuring all such issues are prioritised and ultimately resolved.
• Taking the lead on distributable reserves strategy and management to ensure there are sufficient distributable reserves for the payment of dividends in the short, medium and long term.
• Leading and developing a high performing finance team, fostering effective communication, ongoing professional development, and a culture of meritocracy, inclusivity, and adaptability, all aligned with Heathrow's values.

Qualifications

• Qualified accountant (ACA) with extensive experience most recently in a senior Finance role involved in Statutory Reporting, internal financial controls and technical accounting. A background in external auditing is preferable.
• Demonstrable experience of acting as a strong influencer with the ability to structure and deliver persuasive arguments at a senior level.
• Reflective with the demonstrable ability to learn from and adapt to an environment to deliver results.
• Strong leadership skills with a demonstrable track record of a leading high-performance team toward the successful attainment of challenging goals.
• Experience in driving effective change, and proven delivery in complex, operational environments.

Our rewards

We offer competitive salaries and excellent benefits that will support you now and in the future. As well as performance-based annual bonuses and our longer-term Share in Success Bonus plans, we also offer generous annual leave allowances and market-leading pensions. With family friendly policies, access to private health insurance and a wide range of wellbeing tools, we'll support you to be at your best inside and outside work. And of course, we'll provide varied learning and development opportunities too. Here you'll find everything you need for a fulfilling career journey that can take you in exciting directions.

Working Location

Our Hybrid working approach offers the opportunity for colleagues in some roles to work from home for an average of two days a week, providing the flexibility to work in an agile way whilst ensuring we deliver for the operational needs of Heathrow. Working arrangements vary from team to team and will be confirmed during the recruitment process. You'll need to be based in the UK and within a commutable distance to Heathrow.

Sustainable Travel to work

Heathrow's Sustainable Travel Guide sets out easy and sustainable travel options that everyone can access.

Equal Opportunities

As an equal opportunities employer, we encourage applications from all. We believe that diverse talent makes us stronger - not least because we welcome passengers from all corners of the globe, every single day. Heathrow is an accessible place to work. With five diversity networks, we champion inclusivity and celebrate individuality.

About the Team

Discover a one-of-a-kind career. Our vision at Heathrow is to be an extraordinary airport, fit for the future. In the Finance team we know that generating income is critical to driving our business forward, but it's also vital that we create positive passenger and customer experiences that make every journey better. You'll help us to get the balance right so we can continue investing in our world-class environment. There's something so special about working at the world's most iconic airport. Heathrow's size, scale, and reputation for innovation translates to exciting opportunities for everyone. Finance here is about more than numbers. It's about being influential, developing trusted relationships, and showing the world that we're a responsible investment with a bright future; a place that embraces digital innovation and has a sustainable mindset. You'll become part of a team that drives excellence across everything from insurance to investment, treasury to business partnering, as you collaborate widely to deliver projects that directly impact millions of passengers each year.