Head of Finance, Financial Reporting and Control

Heathrow Airport; Hounslow; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading international airport in the UK is seeking a Head of Finance to lead a high-performing finance team. The role involves overseeing financial reporting, managing internal controls, and driving strategic change in financial processes. Candidates should be qualified accountants with strong leadership experience and a proven track record in complex financial environments. This position offers competitive salaries and flexible hybrid working arrangements.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Performance-based bonuses

Market-leading pensions

Private health insurance

Generous annual leave allowances

Learning and development opportunities

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in statutory reporting and internal financial controls.
• Demonstrable experience influencing at senior levels.
• Ability to learn and adapt to deliver results.
• Strong track record leading a high-performance team.
• Experience in complex operational environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead team to deliver financial reporting and oversight.
• Support finance processes ensuring effectiveness and compliance.
• Communicate complex accounting concepts to stakeholders.
• Manage distributable reserves strategy.
• Develop a high-performing finance team.

Skills

Qualified accountant (ACA)

Extensive experience in a senior finance role

Strong leadership skills

Experience in driving effective change

Education

Qualified accountant (ACA)

Job description

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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.

#LI-Hybrid

About Us

There's something so special about working at the world's most iconic airport. Its sights. Its sounds. Its constant air of excitement. Heathrow is an amazing backdrop to a career filled with unique opportunities.

Every day, you'll discover a world full of fresh possibilities and end the day buzzing with stories to tell, as you encounter people from all cultures, nationalities and experiences. A world full of pride for what we do and no end of exciting career prospects to explore.

It brings out the best in all of us. And inspires everyone to deliver on our ambitious plans. Together, we're working to welcome millions more passengers while ensuring aviation can continue to be a force for good by leading global efforts in sustainability.

Join us on that journey and we'll help you achieve your ambitions too. Supporting you to learn, encouraging you to be yourself, backing you to achieve more than you might ever have imagined. Because there's no place like Heathrow.

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.