Finance Transformation and Integration Lead in Hebburn

This is not your typical finance role; we are not your typical business. We are looking for a Finance Transformation & Integration Lead to help bring financial clarity, challenge and control to a fast-moving transformation environment. This is not a routine finance role and it is not for someone who wants to sit quietly behind the numbers. It is for someone curious, commercially minded and confident enough to ask why while building trust, bringing people with them and keeping the conversation constructive.

With a combined workforce of over 2,000 employees and operations spanning Gibraltar, Padstow, Tyne, Birkenhead, and Falmouth, Balaena is one of the UK’s most dynamic and regionally anchored maritime groups - combining industrial agility, innovation, and community partnership to support national resilience, commercial competitiveness, and sustainability across both naval and merchant ship sectors.

The integration of Balaena’s modern facilities in Gibraltar and Padstow with APCL’s infrastructure on Tyne, Birkenhead and Falmouth create one of the world’s most capable ship repair and shipbuilding groups - with a network of 12 dry docks and strategic reach across the UK and the Mediterranean. We respond quickly to defence and commercial requirements and deliver consistent quality and reliability to clients worldwide.

Change is not coming here. It is already happening. We are an ambitious UK organisation with a practical, sleeves-rolled-up culture, and we need someone who can help turn ideas into evidence, plans into measurable value, and transformation activity into clear financial outcomes.

The personality matters

The right person will have a bit of grit. You will need the confidence to test assumptions, challenge weak evidence and spot where a project is spending money without delivering value. But just as importantly, you will know how to do that without switching people off. We are not looking for a blocker, a critic from the sidelines or someone who enjoys being difficult. We are looking for someone who can be positive, direct and fair; someone who listens first, asks better questions, and helps teams make stronger decisions.

What you will be doing

• Reviewing integration and transformation projects from a financial perspective.
• Testing business cases, savings assumptions, costs, payback and value.
• Tracking benefits so we can see what has genuinely been delivered.
• Providing clear reporting for senior leaders, finance teams and project owners.
• Supporting group-level finance reporting and helping decision-makers see the real financial picture.

What we are looking for

• Commercial curiosity and the confidence to ask why.
• Strong finance discipline, whether gained through qualification or relevant experience.
• The ability to work with incomplete information and still bring structure, logic and judgement.
• Clear communication skills and the credibility to influence people across finance, operations and senior leadership.
• A constructive style: resilient, positive, collaborative and able to challenge without alienating others.

Why join us?

You will be close to the decisions that matter. You will work with the Group Integration and Transformation Director, Group CFO, senior leaders and project owners on work that has real visibility and impact. This is a chance to be part of change while it is happening, not after the decisions have already been made.

If you are the kind of finance person who wants to understand the business, improve the way things work and help people make better decisions, we would like to hear from you. Be part of one of the UK’s most ambitious organisations. Bring your judgement, your curiosity and your grit and help us make change count.