Senior Finance Manager - Group Reporting (9 Month Fixed Term Contract)

Marks and Spencer; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading UK retailer is looking for a Senior Finance Manager in Group Reporting. In this role, you will deliver high-quality financial reporting, provide technical accounting expertise, and support strategic programmes and transactions. You will engage with auditors and governance bodies, improving processes across Group Finance. Ideal candidates are Chartered Accountants with relevant experience, strong communication skills, and a commitment to ethical practices. The position offers a collaborative work environment and inclusive culture.

Benefits

20% colleague discount

Competitive holiday allowance

Discretionary bonus schemes

Strong pension and life assurance

Tailored induction and training

Exclusive perks and savings

Market-leading family policies

24/7 wellbeing support

One paid volunteer day

Qualifications

• Chartered Accountant with post-qualification experience ideally within a FTSE-listed environment.
• Strong understanding of IFRS and UK Corporate Governance Code.
• Experience in handling complex transactions and challenging accounting issues.

Responsibilities

• Ensure timely and accurate financial reporting for stakeholders.
• Provide technical accounting expertise to finance teams.
• Support corporate transactions and strategic programmes.

Skills

Chartered Accountant

Deep knowledge of IFRS

Problem-solving skills

Strong communication skills

High integrity

Education

Post-qualification experience at Senior Manager level

Job description

All the details

Summary

This is a 9 month Fixed Term Contractor role

At M&S, we're more than a retailer, we're a household name trusted by 32 million customers worldwide. Our Finance team sits at the heart of this transformation, driving accuracy, insight, and innovation to support growth across Food, Fashion, Home & Beauty. As part of Group Reporting, you'll play a pivotal role in telling the financial story of M&S, ensuring transparency, compliance, and impact at every level.

As Senior Finance Manager in Group Reporting, you'll be at the centre of M&S Finance, ensuring timely, accurate, and relevant financial information reaches our ExCo, Audit Committee, Board, and shareholders.

You'll have the opportunity to provide technical accounting expertise across a number of areas such as, supporting strategic programmes, potential new business initiatives and corporate transactions, and play a key role in preparing annual, interim, and monthly Group results. This is a high-profile opportunity with exposure to senior leadership and responsibility for critical outputs that shape how M&S communicates its performance externally.

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 may include:

• Delivery of high-quality financial reporting: Ensure timely, accurate, and relevant information is prepared for the ExCo, Audit Committee, Board, and shareholders, covering annual, interim, and monthly Group results.
• Providing technical accounting expertise: Act as a key contact for commercial finance teams, advising on complex accounting matters such as impairment reviews, pensions, share schemes, and segmental reporting.
• Supporting strategic programmes and transactions: Work closely with senior finance leaders to provide pragmatic technical advice on corporate transactions, joint ventures, property deals, and new business initiatives.
• Engagement with auditors and governance bodies: Liaise with the external auditors on technical matters, prepare Audit Committee papers, and contribute to Board-level reporting, ensuring compliance with IFRS and governance codes.
• Driving process improvement and innovation: Lead statutory account delivery for subsidiaries, enhance reporting processes through automation and data analytics, and embed best practice across Group Finance.

Who you are

Your skills and experience will include:

• A qualified finance leader: Chartered Accountant with post-qualification experience at Senior Manager level, ideally within a FTSE-listed environment.
• Technically strong and commercially minded: Deep knowledge of IFRS, UK Corporate Governance Code, confident in approaching technical accounting judgements such as, asset impairment reviews, onerous contracts and experience in handling complex transactions such as acquisitions and joint ventures.
• Resilient problem solver: Confident in exercising judgement on complex accounting issues, challenging the status quo, and driving continuous improvement across finance projects.
• Collaborative communicator: Skilled at translating technical issues into clear concepts, building strong relationships across finance teams, and influencing senior stakeholders.
• Ethical and forward-thinking: High integrity, proactive in keeping up with regulatory changes, and committed to doing the right thing while preparing M&S for future reporting requirements.

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.

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