Senior Finance Manager

**Senior Finance Manager**

Job Family: Finance
Start Date: As agreed
Company/Division: Transportation
Project/Location: Various Location
Dynamic/Project Specific
Reporting to: Sector/Portfolio Finance Lead (FD/HOF)
Direct Reports: TBC

**Overview**

The Senior Finance Manager is the embedded finance lead within project(s) acting as business partner to the project / portfolio team. The role holder will work in partnership with project teams, including commercial and project managers, delivering reporting, robust forecasts and provide challenge and insights on performance through a solid understanding of business / project deliverables. The role holder will have responsibility for P&L, cash and balance sheet performance, understanding risk and supporting finance best practice.

**Accountabilities**

As business partner, support the project delivery teams on all financial matters, including cost and cash control, risk management and project end value and profit forecast

Provide accurate financial reporting and forecasting for the project / portfolio, working closely with the commercial team to challenge and advise on the impact of change and identifying and mitigating financial risks and delivering opportunities.

Act as a catalyst for change, and identifying and delivering opportunities for improvement to financial processes.

**Responsibilities**
- Lead financial reporting and month end close process for the project/portfolio
- Support the Project Director and work with the commercial team in the production & review of the Contract Leaders Report (CLR) highlighting any performance variances
- Produce and review the monthly management accounts pack with project leadership
- Support internal project reviews, challenging to ensure project risks, opportunities and forecasts are accurate and fully understood
- Provide support and challenge for business forecasting and budgeting
- Ensure reporting & forecasting represents a fair & accurate reflection of contract and cost performance in line with accounting standards. Cash
- Ensure accurate and timely billing of costs to the client, supporting commercial teams to minimise WIP and achieve cash collection targets.
- Manage cash balances and ensure cash forecasts robust, accurately reported and provide insight into actual variances from forecast
- Ensure prompt payment of suppliers with appropriate approvals in line with company targets Financial Control and Administration
- Lead period end processes in line with project & group timetables
- Maintain and review balance sheet reconciliations ensuring all items remain current and recoverable
- Control and manage the contract Project Bank Accounts
- Ensure costs are accurately accrued within E1 and oversee/maintain accurate processes and records to manage plant, material and subcontract ledgers, weekly timesheet records and expense payments
- Lead as required on external client audits and financial audits. Commercial
- Provide financial input into and support analysis of any commercial change proposals
- Provide analysis to highlight any areas for efficiency and input to any associated business cases.
- Support other analytical or process development exercises as necessary.

**Essential**
- Qualified accountant with 4+ years post-qualified experience
- Excellent Excel spreadsheet and analytical skills
- Proven experience in business partnering & influencing business decisions
- Good communicator and self-starter, able to work remotely
- Strong systems skills.
- Dynamic Working offered, some roles may require location specific working or travel
- Professional Accounting qualification.

**About Costain**

Costain helps to improve people's lives with integrated, leading edge, smart infrastructure solutions across the UK's energy, water, transportation and defence markets. We help our clients improve their business performance by increasing capacity, improving customer service, safeguarding security, enhancing resilience, decarbonising and delivering increased efficiency. Our vision is to be the UK's leading smart infrastructure solutions company. We will achieve this by focusing on blue chip clients whose major spending plans are underpinned by strategic national needs, regulatory commitments, legislation or essential performance requirements. We offer our clients leading edge solutions that are digitally optimised through the following five services which cover the whole lifecycle of their assets: future-shaping strategic consultancy; consultancy and advisory; digital technology solutions; asset optimisation and complex programme delivery. Our culture and values underpin everything we do.

We welcome all applicants regardless of age, race, faith, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, socioeconomic background and physical or neurological disabilities.

We welcome you to ask about the flexibility you need for dynamic working. Such as, working part-time, remote working, or compressed hours. In return, we will explore what is possible.

To find out more about our Inclusion strategy, please visit our ED&I page:
**Right to Work & Security Checks**

Understandably given the nature of our business, everyone who is employed at Costain must undergo thorough referencing checks. We will need different information depending on the job we have offered you. For all roles, we'll carry out a criminal record check and we'll ask to see evidence that you have the legal right to work in the UK.

For some of our roles, you may be required to obtain and maintain security clearance of at least Security Check level (or SC clearance). To satisfy the requirements, you will need to have been a legal UK resident for a minimum of 5 years and have successfully complete all stages of the vetting process.

**Closing date**

A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people.
For more details please go to the Disability Confident website:
LI-CS1