Finance Systems Manager in Watford

At the heart of everything we do is our vision to change lives every day, and our mission to grow The National Lottery responsibly and champion its impact. We are Allwyn UK, part of the Allwyn Entertainment Group – a multi-national lottery operator with a market-leading presence across the USA and Europe. While the main contribution of The National Lottery to society is through the funds to good causes, at Allwyn we put our purpose and values at the heart of everything we do. Join us as we embark on a once-in-a-lifetime, large-scale transformation journey by creating a National Lottery that delivers more money to good causes.

A bit about the role: Reporting to the Head of Finance Gaming Systems, this role is the senior Finance-led change and delivery position supporting the end-to-end Gaming Systems roadmap. The primary focus of the role is to support the Head of Finance Gaming Systems in managing prioritisation and delivery of system enhancements and change requests across the SG gaming landscape, with particular emphasis on the digital back-end, digital player payments and system-enabled journeys that reduce friction for digital players. The role combines senior oversight of digital finance gaming system execution with enterprise-level finance change leadership, governing how Finance requirements are shaped, prioritised and delivered across SGPAM, ReconNet and digital payment providers.

Team/Department Description: The Finance department ensures the business is financially sound, has robust accounting and reporting processes, and delivers financial targets including profitability and returns to Good Causes. The Finance Gaming Systems team oversees the regulatory adherence to the reporting and financial monitoring requirements of Licence Condition 16, Trust Deed and Regulatory Handbook. The team supports colleagues across the Finance function, ensuring the core gaming systems are consistently maintained and developed.

• Participate in the development and then delivery of the finance systems roadmap.
• Act as the interface between the finance function and the IT/technology teams.
• Manage demand for system and data changes as a support and project control function.
• Drive and project manage enhancement projects across the finance systems to improve controls, efficiency, and effectiveness.

This role operates across both change delivery and business-as-usual domains, providing continuity, clarity and leadership across the gaming systems portfolio.

What you’ll be doing:

• Act as the senior Finance lead supporting the Head of Finance Gaming Systems in delivery of the end-to-end Gaming Systems change roadmap.
• Own Finance leadership of SGPAM, including player lifecycle design, settlement models, exception handling and assurance of financial outcomes.
• Lead the design, governance and delivery of enhanced digital payment methodologies.
• Act as the key finance representative for the Finance-related change request lifecycle across SG systems.
• Ensure financial, accounting, control and business-readiness impacts of system change are fully assessed and embedded into solution design.
• Support senior stakeholder management across Finance, Technology, Product, Operations and external suppliers.
• Provide senior Finance Systems leadership for payment service integrations and operations.
• Lead Finance engagement for system releases, upgrades and enhancements.
• Maintain oversight of risks, dependencies and control impacts arising from concurrent change activity across multiple platforms.
• Fulfil a senior Finance Systems Accountant remit, ensuring reconciliation, accounting integrity, balance sheet assurance and audit readiness.
• Manage stakeholder expectations while ensuring systems and processes remain efficient, effective, and aligned with operational objectives.
• Support Finance teams to ensure accurate, value adding retailer reporting is delivered and maintained within BI platforms.
• Support internal/external audit with evidence, control documentation, and walkthroughs.
• Document and prioritise Finance system enhancements and fixes.
• Liaise between Finance and Technology for requirements, testing, deployment.
• Lead UAT cycles and validate new features.
• Manage defects using tools such as Jira or Azure DevOps and ensure timely resolution.
• Ensure adherence to SDLC and Agile delivery practices.
• Develop dashboards, KPIs, and reporting models using BI platform.
• Contribute to assessment of new technologies and system capabilities.

What experience we’re looking for:

• ACA / ACCA / CIMA qualified, or equivalent senior experience in Finance Systems and change leadership roles.
• Extensive experience delivering Finance-led technology change within complex, regulated or high-volume transaction environments.
• Strong understanding of gaming systems, payment execution, claims processing and end-to-end financial data flows.
• Proven ability to lead through influence, governance and stakeholder management.
• Experience working with multi-platform estates and third-party providers.
• Ability to translate complex technical and delivery topics into clear financial, operational and risk-based insights for senior stakeholders.

About us: At Allwyn, we are dedicated to changing lives and growing the National Lottery responsibly, championing its positive impact on people, places, and the planet. We pride ourselves on innovation and are constantly looking for new ways to excite our customers. Our aim is to have doubled the amount generated for charities and good causes in the UK by the end of the first 10-year license. We aim to become a net zero national lottery by 2030 and have already transitioned to renewable energy providers. We believe in creating a culture where everyone feels they belong and can thrive for the benefit of good causes.

An inclusive reward offering with wellbeing at the centre: Our benefits and policies support colleagues and their families at every stage of life and career. By prioritising wellbeing and belonging, we create a workplace where everyone feels valued, rewarded, and empowered to succeed.

Benefits include:

• Company Bonus Scheme
• Matched pension contributions up to 8.5%
• 26 days annual leave + 2 Life Days (and bank holidays)
• Single Private Health Cover
• Complimentary Private Medical Income Protection
• Flexible Benefits
• Enhanced Family Leave
• Wellness Allowance £500
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Discounted Health Assessments
• Volunteering Days
• Matched Funding

We are a Disability Confident Leader which means we’ve taken proactive steps to ensure our workplace is accessible and inclusive for disabled and neurodivergent colleagues and candidates. If you need any assistance or adjustments to this job description or in the application process, please contact a member of the talent team.