Senior Service Charge Accountant

Landsec; Greater London; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Performance bonus

25 days annual leave

Private medical insurance

Pension scheme

Flexible working

Job summary

Landsec in London is seeking a Senior Service Charge Accountant to oversee service charge accounting across flagship assets, report monthly, budget, and perform year-end reconciliations. You will partner with asset management and operations to drive cost control, improve data quality, and deliver value for customers, while adopting new systems to streamline processes and enhance governance.

This hybrid role requires strong Excel and Power BI skills, and a proactive mindset to shape service

Qualifications

• Strong accounting knowledge and ability to analyse financial data.
• Excellent collaboration with stakeholders and data-driven decision making.
• Experience with monthly close, budgets and reconciliations.

Responsibilities

• Take full accountability for ensuring service charge expenditure is accurately accounted for.
• Prepare and post monthly service charge accruals, prepayments and journals.
• Review expenditure against budget and drive cost efficiencies.
• Produce variance analysis and insight reports with key stakeholders.
• Lead data quality improvements and system optimisation initiatives.

Skills

Problem solving

Change management

Agile working

Communication

Accounts reconciliation

Tools

Excel

Power BI

ERP systems

Job description

WE ARE LANDSEC

We identify and shape places that create opportunity, enhance quality of life, and bring joy to the people connected to them. This is how we’ve created the UK’s leading portfolio of urban places and one of the largest real estate companies in Europe. Our £10 billion portfolio is built around premium workplaces, the country’s pre-eminent retail platform, and a residential pipeline that will redefine urban life. We’ve honed this ability over 80 years. Spotting the opportunities, building the partnerships, and continually adapting to shape the places that meet the needs of a changing world. Places where life happens. Where businesses grow. And where cities are defined.

LOCATION

This role is based at London, Victoria and offers hybrid working with a minimum of 3 days in the office.

THE TEAM

You will join the Service charge accounting team within Group Finance, working closely with colleagues across Finance Operations, Financial Reporting, Commercial Finance as well as our Operations and site teams based at head office and at our shopping centres and office assets across the country. The team sits at the heart of the Finance department and plays a key role in supporting Landsec’s internal and external financial reporting including service charge reporting to customers. The team culture is collaborative, supportive, and focused on continuous improvement. You will work alongside experienced finance professionals who value clear communication, teamwork, strong analytical skills, and a proactive mindset that embraces accountability and delivers positive change.

THE ROLE

This role plays a pivotal part in ensuring service charge expenditure for our most complex assets is accurately accounted for on a timely basis, robustly governed, and transparently reported utilising systems to create streamlined processes and automation. Partnering closely with asset management, operational teams and customers, the Senior Service Charge Accountant is responsible for overseeing service charge accounting and performance throughout the year, from monthly reporting and budgeting through to year-end reconciliations. The role supports value-for-money outcomes for customers, provides analysis and insight to drive cost control and efficiency, and contributes to the performance and reputation of Landsec’s flagship assets.

What makes this role unique? You will play a key role in ensuring service charges deliver value for money and transparency for our customers. You will gain a deep, practical understanding of how large-scale, flagship assets and shopping centres operate, from day-to-day expenditure through to long-term planning. You will work on some of the UK’s most iconic retail and mixed-use destinations (e.g. Bluewater), giving you exposure to complex, high-profile assets. You will build strong partnerships with asset management, property management, operations and other internal and external stakeholders, influencing decision-making across the business with the ability to positively challenge. You will contribute to enhancing trust with customers and well-governed service charge processes. You will be tech-literate, proactively utilising new systems to streamline, automate and improve current ways of working, challenging the status quo. You will be part of a team that plays a meaningful role in the performance, reputation and long-term success of our flagship assets.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Take full accountability for ensuring service charge expenditure is accurately, consistently, and timely accounted for throughout the year.
• Prepare and post monthly Service Charge expenditure accruals, prepayments and asset-specific journals.
• Review Service Charge expenditure vs budget and challenge where appropriate, to drive cost efficiencies.
• Produce variance analysis and insight reports leveraging the new systems, conducting monthly performance meetings with key internal stakeholders, identifying risks and opportunities.
• Influence stakeholders ensuring service charge expenditure understood, prioritised and offers good value.
• Be brave enough to challenge the expenditure as part of managing and stewarding cost control to enhance value for the business and customers.
• Play an active role in supporting timely preparation, review, and monitoring of service charge budgets, including data preparation, analysis, and stakeholder engagement.
• Proactively partner with the Operations team to ensure life cycle replacements and forward funding projects are accurately accounted for throughout the year, included within the budget setting.
• Take full accountability for accurate and timely year-end reconciliations of Service charge expenditure and calculation of balancing charges to customers in accordance to agreed SLAs.
• Pro-actively assist internal stakeholders to respond tenant queries and support expenditure reviews.
• Driving data quality improvements of the underlying data and taking initiatives to ensure data is correct at source.
• Driving system optimisation initiatives by promoting best practice, supporting adoption, and reinforcing that efficient system use is a shared team responsibility.
• Support with the creation of SLAs including support with setting clear framework for deliverables (internal and external).
• Ability to proactively simplify complex processes seeking continuous improvement.
• Challenging inefficiencies in current ways of working and keen advocate cross-functional collaboration to positively influence end to end business processes.
• Lead by example and role model positive, growth mindset leaning into challenges with a can do attitude.

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA

• Strong and proactive problem-solving capability with the ability to challenge existing status quo and improve processes.
• Strong ability and willingness to drive change.
• Agile and flexible, willing to champion new systems and ways of working.
• High level of accountability and ownership of deliverables and outcomes.
• Demonstrated ability to critically evaluate information and existing processes, and confidently challenge ways of working to drive successful outcomes.
• Keen interest in systems and proven ability to work effectively with system planning tools.
• Experienced in utilising system-led solutions to automate, standardise and create efficiencies.
• Demonstrated ability to manage detail pragmatically, balancing accuracy with efficiency and business priorities.
• Resilient in the face of challenges and adversity whilst demonstrating integrity and courage through decision making.
• Strong understanding of accounting principles, including the accurate recording and interpretation of financial transactions.
• Strong understanding of budgeting and variance analysis.
• Attention to detail and analytical skills with the ability to distil complex information concisely and ability to spot errors and identify corrections.
• Demonstrated ability to work under pressure and deliver to challenging deadlines.
• Effective Business partnering skillset and ability to build strong stakeholder relationships.
• Excellent communication skills (written and verbal) across all levels of the organisation.
• Advanced Excel skills.
• PowerBI experience desirable.
• Understanding of Service charge accounting is desirable but not essential as training will be provided.

#INDHP Life and Benefits at Landsec

We have a great benefits package, there to support you with your work-life balance and in moments that matter. Below are some of our core benefits, make sure to visit our My Total Reward page for more information.

• Performance based annual bonus plan.
• 25 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) rising to 27 days after 2 years and the option to purchase up to 10 additional days each year.
• Enjoy an additional three-day December festive break on top of your leave and a special 'My Day' to take off for whatever you choose.
• Enhanced pension contributions – Landsec will contribute up to 10.5% subject to your contribution.
• Private medical insurance, Health Cash Plan, Life assurance and income protection.
• Enhanced maternity, adoption, shared parental leave policies (view our Family policies page for more details).
• Two different share plans enabling you to share in the success you will help to build.
• Up to 4 working days to volunteer per year and 'Give As You Earn' programmes allowing you to donate to charities straight out of your pay and we top up by 20%.
• And when it comes to your health and wellbeing you will also have access to other benefits: our employee assistance programme, digital GP, cycle to work scheme, a mindfulness app and a health app supporting fertility and menopause.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and we do not discriminate on the grounds of age, disability, gender identity and gender expression, sexual orientation, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy and/or parental status, ethnicity, race, nationality, citizenship, cultural background, socio-economic background, religion or belief.

Depending on the nature of your role, Landsec may be able to offer different ways of working to fit around your lifestyle. We know that flexible working can make a real difference to your wellbeing and professional development, and in turn can benefit us as an employer and our customers. The flexible working options available to you is something that can be discussed at the interview stage during the recruitment process.

We identify and shape places that create opportunity, enhance quality of life, and bring joy to the people connected to them. This is how we’ve created the UK’s leading portfolio of urban places and one of the largest real estate companies in Europe. Our £10 billion portfolio is built around premium workplaces, the country’s pre-eminent retail platform, and a residential pipeline that will redefine urban life. We’ve honed this ability over 80 years. Spotting the opportunities, building the partnerships, and continually adapting to shape the places that meet the needs of a changing world. Places where life happens. Where businesses grow. And where cities are defined.