Project Accountant

South East Water; Snodland; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 55,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension

Holiday allowance

Leave flexibility

Volunteering days

Cycle to work

Health plan

Life assurance

Wellbeing benefits

Job summary

South East Water is seeking a Project Accountant to support the Financial Performance Manager and delivery teams. You will own cost tracking for major capital projects and provide variance analysis to optimise financial management.

You will work with senior managers, ensure robust internal controls, and contribute to cost-saving initiatives while supporting procurement and external suppliers. This role requires a strong accounting background and experience with large capital programmes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting & Finance or equivalent.
• Experience with large capital programmes and tracking benefits.
• Knowledge of IAS 16 and IAS 38 in asset recognition and disclosure.
• Proficiency with Workday Finance and advanced Excel/Google Sheets.
• Strong analytical and communication skills for senior management.

Responsibilities

• Support financial planning, budgeting and forecasting aligned with targets.
• Provide financial analysis with insightful commentary to influence decisions.
• Track KPIs and support cost control across the programme.
• Assist contract negotiations and commercial deliverables.
• Maintain internal controls and collaborate with auditors.

Skills

Variance analysis

Finance systems (Workday)

Advanced Excel

Cost tracking

Financial reporting

Stakeholder management

Negotiation

Contract management

Data analysis

Financial planning

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting & Finance

Part-Qualified Accountant (CIMA, ACCA, ACA)

Qualified by Experience

Tools

Workday Finance

Google Sheets

Job description

Summary: Reporting to the Financial Performance Manager, you will serve as a supporting Project Accountant for our senior programme and delivery manager teams. In this role, you will take ownership of tracking and managing the costs of major projects and capital enhancement schemes. By collaborating closely with senior managers and project teams, you will monitor expenditure, conduct variance analysis, and deliver proactive solutions to optimise financial management. Your work will directly help our teams manage their costs effectively and drive operational and financial efficiencies within a complex, evolving industry.

Main responsibilities

Support financial planning, budgeting and forecasting processes to align with corporate targets, internal controls and compliance with all regulatory standards. Provide financial analysis with insightful commentary to influence key business decisions, enhance operational efficiency and optimise financial performance across the business. Track and analyse financial key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics, supporting insights that drive accountability and continuous improvement. Support value creation by providing financial and commercial support during contract negotiations and the execution of commercial deliverables. Help develop full project financial lifecycle plans and providing synergy solutions between initiatives. Help support the costing and valuing of SoWs and raising subsequent Purchase Orders in collaboration with project managers, procurement, and external suppliers to effectively manage costs. Support key business transformation initiatives, including digital and automation projects, to enhance reporting capabilities and operational financial efficiency. Act as a trusted financial advisor to senior management and cross‑functional teams, translating complex financial data into manageable financial actions. Ensure the integrity of financial data and systems by maintaining a robust internal controls framework, and ensure strict compliance with all regulatory and accounting standards. Help maintain meticulous records, managing the invoice query process and ensuring accurate cost coding. Proactively collaborate with internal and external auditors to manage and mitigate financial risks, ensuring transparency and accuracy in all financial reporting. Advise and educate the finance team and wider business, fostering a culture of innovation, continuous improvement and professional growth. Supporting the finance team in adapting processes with new tools & technology to optimise and drive productive ways of working. Elevate the organisation's financial acumen by helping to design and deliver targeted training programs.

Skills / Qualifications / Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting & Finance, Part-Qualified Accountant (CIMA, ACCA, ACA) or Qualified by Experience.
• Demonstrable experience within large capital programmes, managing and tracking the benefits of enhancement infrastructure delivery and applying capitalisation rules.
• Good understanding and knowledge of IAS 16 and IAS 38 pertaining to the recognition, measurement and disclosure of assets in financial statements.
• Knowledge of IT/OT Convergence projects.
• The ability to review financial data, conduct in-depth variance analysis and leverage expertise in tools like Workday Finance with advanced Excel (and Google Sheets) to translate and present large datasets into clear actionable business insights for senior project & programme managers.
• Good verbal and written communication skills to present financial information with authority and confidence, enabling you to clearly and simply convey key variance commentary that is transparent for senior leaders.
• The ability to ensure budget compliance via strong reporting and analytical skills.
• Tracking actual costs against forecasts whilst providing potential solutions for savings and identifying any potential overspends.
• The ability to monitor and control costs and to anticipate future challenges and opportunities and develop a proactive, solutions-oriented mindset to solve complex problems and navigate ambiguity whilst ensuring that your client group is kept informed, involved and supported in their projects.
• An ability to build strong relationships, influence key stakeholders and negotiate effectively without direct authority, acting as a trusted project advisor to the programme management office.
• The ability to support the delivery of projects, including finance transformation, finance process improvement initiatives and system implementations, by helping to support and drive the change.
• Support major project initiatives and/or enhancement schemes, helping to track and follow up on cost saving initiatives.
• An understanding of Lean and Six Sigma methodologies to help identify and implement process improvements that drive financial efficiency.
• Experience in a junior cost controller role, driving key business decisions and influencing the optimisation of financial performance.
• An ability to support end-to-end financial planning cycles, including annual budgeting and rolling month forecasts with variance analysis.
• Experience in supporting projects to improve efficiency and reduce costs, including multiple process improvement initiatives.
• An ability to ensure compliance with procurement processes and helping to manage vendor invoices within tolerance levels.
• An ability to collaborate and synergize within the department whilst supporting a high-performance culture across the programmes.

We know the communities we serve are diverse. We recognise creativity comes from diversity not similarity. That’s why we are enthusiastic about creating inclusion across age, race, gender, ethnicity, religion and identity. You will experience our dedication to equal opportunities and fair treatment for all: through your recruitment, employment and career progression with South East Water.

Benefits package

• Excellent Stakeholder pension scheme, up to 10% employer contribution.
• 5 weeks holiday plus bank holidays per annum, increasing to 6 weeks with length of service.
• Flexible annual leave policy to buy or sell holiday leave.
• Paid volunteering days.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Health cash plan.
• Life assurance.
• Wellbeing related benefits.

Compensation package

£45,000 - £55,000 p.a. (dependent on experience)

It is necessary for you to have the legal right to work in the UK when you begin employment with South East Water. Additionally, as part of the employment offer, you will need to pass background, identity, and employment referencing checks.

We supply top-quality drinking water to 2.3 million customers in the southeast of England. Through a network of 9,000 miles of pipe, we deliver 544 million litres of water every day. It's the skill and expertise of our employees that ensures our water meets the highest standards. We make sure we can meet the needs of our customers both now and in the future.

Why work with us

• Come to work to be safe, valued, and trusted.
• We’ll encourage you to create and pursue new opportunities for personal growth.
• A place to be the real you, build deeper connections and enjoy a sense of belonging.
• Be invested in helping us to create a sustainable water supply for now, and in the future.

Be you, belong and valued.

Grow a career with a meaningful purpose.