Senior Business Controller

Thales; Glasgow; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading defense technology firm in Glasgow is seeking a Senior Business Controller for the Integrated Combat Systems Mast team. The role involves managing a high-value program related to the Dreadnought submarine project, ensuring accurate forecasting and financial reporting. Candidates should possess significant project accounting experience, excellent analytical skills, and the ability to interact with senior stakeholders effectively. This position offers tremendous growth opportunities in a dynamic environment.

Benefits

Market-leading training and development

Flexible working hours

Career progression opportunities

Mentoring and coaching from industry leaders

Qualifications

• Several years of experience in project accounting, ideally within the defense sector.
• Ability to manage multiple competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong analytical skills with high levels of accuracy and detail.

Responsibilities

• Ensure costs to completion estimates align with Thales policies.
• Monitor financial risks and complete program dashboards.
• Manage forecasts, budgets, and invoicing for the ICSM project.
• Prepare and present financial summaries for senior stakeholders.
• Interface with cross-functional teams to validate plans.

Skills

Analytical skills

Communication

Project accounting

Financial management

Attention to detail

Education

Professional accounting qualification (CIMA/ACCA/ACA)

Degree in finance or related discipline

Tools

Excel

Oracle

TM1 Planning

Job description

Location: Glasgow, United Kingdom. Thales people architect solutions that are relied upon to deliver operational advantage at every decisive moment throughout the mission. Defence and armed forces customers rely on us to deliver the full range of defensive systems for land, sea and air. From early warning to threat neutralisation, our platforms cover all levels from very short‑range systems to extended protection across the entire battle‑space including airspace mobility solutions, vehicles and tactical systems and missile defence, optronics and radar. Together we offer fantastic opportunities for committed employees to learn and develop their careers with us. At Thales UK, we research, develop and supply technology and services that impact the lives of millions of people each day to make life better and keep us safer. We innovate across the major industries of aerospace, defence, security and space. Your health and well‑being matters to us and that’s why we offer you the flexibility to do what’s important to you; whether that’s part‑time hours, job sharing, home working or the ability to flex your start and finish times. Where possible, we support a working pattern that suits your lifestyle and helps you reach your ambitions.

Job Title

Senior Business Controller

Location

Glasgow

Are you a finance project professional with high levels of accuracy and diligence? Are you inquisitive and enjoy a challenge? Do you enjoy working on large and complex projects and helping the business to achieve the desired results? Got your interest… look no further!

Opportunities that the role has to offer

• To gain senior level experience and further your career in finance
• Scope to drive continuous improvement within a highly visible role within OME BL / Thales UK
• To work in a team delivering a £250m+ programme into BAES (with £200m+ further orders expected)
• To join an exciting business during a period of strong growth
• A fantastic opportunity to learn from and contribute to a high performing cross‑functional team
• To engage with multiple stakeholders across the project, business line and Thales UK
• To work in a fast paced, exciting and dynamic environment delivering innovative systems
• Chance to control a large multi‑entity programme, transitioning from development stage into IVVQ test and production

Our Opportunity

Thales UK currently has an exciting opportunity for a Senior Business Controller to join the Integrated Combat Systems Mast (ICSM) team. The project is a high value and high complexity critical project in support of the Dreadnought submarine project being delivered by our customer BAE Systems. The project brings together capability from three areas of the Thales Group (Visuals/ EW/ Comms) to support the Dreadnought Programme and this role has financial responsibilities for the consolidated position, as well as the OME content.

The project is reviewed on a quarterly basis at Thales Group level and forms part of the Thales Group audit scope, therefore the role is highly visible to a wide range of senior stakeholders. The successful candidate will not only be highly skilled in the technical content of the role (ideally with experience in the defence sector) but will be an accomplished communicator with the potential to progress further in their career.

Key responsibilities of the Senior Business Controller

Programme Control

• Partner closely with Programme Director and CAM leads to ensure costs to completion estimates and estimates at completion (EAC) are correctly reflected and are in accordance with Thales policies and procedures.
• Monitor and challenge the integrated financial risks, cost risks & contingencies across the Programme.
• Ensure the completion of the Programme Dashboards/CSR for OME content and consolidated CSR.
• Present complex programme financial summaries in monthly critical Programme reviews to large senior level audiences, providing clear and consistent messaging.
• Support Programme Managers to understand actual costs incurred through weekly cost actual reporting and analysis.
• Proactively identify cost savings and mitigation strategies within regular EAC review cycles.
• Support Programme team in ensuring EVM Metrics are consistent with EAC review evolutions.
• Ensure that the financial terms of the commercial contract and any new bids won (e.g., VOP/VOC) are accurately applied to the selling price, CBB and EAC on ICSM.

Budgeting & Forecasting

• Manage forecast of orders, sales, margins, invoicing and cash leveraging T360, Oracle and TM1 Planning tools.
• Monitor and control ICSM customer POs & billing plan and ETC cost phasing to effectively manage OCF forecasts.
• Coordinate and produce the full spectrum of budget and forecast deliverables, including Multi‑Year Budget, Monthly Budget and regular in‑year reforecasts for ICSM.
• Partner with cross‑functional teams such as procurement, tactical buyers, industry, PMO, commercial and sales/bids to build and validate phased plans.
• Ensure that all financial planning cycles are built in conjunction with the Programme team and latest forecast deliverable/contractual dates and are well balanced in terms of both risk and opportunity.

Month End & Management Reporting

• Complete ICSM month end including full P&L and balance sheet reconciliations with associated variance analysis commentary circulated to the programme team.
• Diligently review & challenge Business Operational Review (BOR) project status & monthly risks and opportunities register.
• Prepare consolidated project financials submitted to Anaplan and be the key point of contact for consolidated project reporting into the BL in France.
• Assess project efficiency via quarterly Project Portfolio Dashboard (PPD), as well as contribution to PP&E essentials sign‑off with Quality team and Programme Director.

Financial and Internal Controls

• Be the primary point of contact for ICSM audit activity, delivering accurate information in a timely fashion to external audit partners via the audit portal.
• Digest complex process/control documents and leverage key learnings to ensure Thales policies and procedures are complied with on ICSM Programme.
• Present to external audit teams at intermittent audit points throughout the year, documenting and explaining in‑year evolutions with clear and consistent communications.
• Respond to Thales UK and BL level queries in a concise and accurate manner on contract overview.

Other Key Responsibilities

• Participate & challenge in bid process and support ongoing commercial on claims with the customer.
• Support Programme team in identifying and quantifying margin improvement initiative opportunities.
• SSRO/DEFCARS annual reporting via the portal for the ICSM Programme.
• Support ad‑hoc projects as required for Finance/Programme leadership (e.g., IFRS15 assessments, crafting financial memos to communicate key messages).

About You

Passionate and driven with:

• A good understanding of commercial and financial aspects of the business.
• Ideally coming from a defence domain with experience of SSRO/DEFCARS.
• Ability to work efficiently and manage multiple competing priorities.
• Significant depth of long‑term project accounting experience, ideally in a defence domain.
• Comfortable working with ambiguity and proposing solutions to complex issues.
• Inquisitive and hungry for new knowledge.
• Ability to present and explain the implications of complex business issues as they arise.
• Confidence interacting with cross‑functional managers and individuals at all levels in the business.
• Flexibility to work in a changing environment.
• Hold a professional accounting qualification (CIMA/ACCA/ACA/equivalent).
• Ideally educated to degree level (preferably in finance or a related discipline) and/or proven experience of project accounting within an engineering/manufacturing background.
• Highly proficient in Excel. Oracle and TM1 experience preferred.

Security Clearance statement

In line with Thales’ baseline security requirements, candidates will be asked to provide evidence of identity, eligibility to work in the UK and employment and/or education history for up to three years. Some vacancies may require full security clearance which can require further evidence to be provided. For further details of the evidence required to apply for baseline and security clearance please refer to the Defence Business Services National Security Vetting (DBS NSV) Agency.

What We Can Offer

We’re committed to giving you opportunities to be your best. We believe in embracing the passion and potential of our people, and to achieve this we offer market‑leading training, development and experiences, along with the opportunity to be mentored and coached by some of the smartest minds in the industry. We hire from within as our first priority, so you’ll have a myriad of opportunities within our diverse, global organisation.

Flexibility

Your health and well‑being matters to us and that’s why we offer you the flexibility to do what’s important to you; whether that’s part‑time hours, job sharing, home working or the ability to flex your start and finish times. Where possible, we support a working pattern that suits your lifestyle and helps you reach your ambitions.

Equal Opportunity and Inclusion

Thales is an equal opportunities employer and diversity and inclusion are integral to the success of Thales.

Accessibility and Reasonable Adjustments

Thales UK is committed to providing an inclusive and barrier‑free recruitment process. We will provide reasonable adjustments and support to ensure neuro‑diverse applicants or those with a disability or long‑term condition can be their best during the recruitment process. To request an adjustment, if you need this job advert in an alternative format or if you have any questions about the recruitment process, contact Resourcing Ops for mid to senior roles, or the Early Careers Team for graduate and apprentice roles.

Great journeys start here, apply now!