Group Finance Director in Hampshire, Winchester

hackajob is collaborating with Arqiva to connect them with exceptional professionals for this role.

Overview

Shape and drive the vision for our financial accounting, reporting, controls, and tax strategy; playing a pivotal role in delivering outstanding financial outcomes for Arqiva. As the Group Finance Director, you'll set the strategic direction, elevate financial governance, and empower teams to deliver, instilling a high performance culture. This is a high-impact leadership role at the heart of our organisation, where your expertise will influence decision-making at the highest level and ensure our financial excellence.

Reporting directly to the CFO, you must be able to travel to our Crawley Court (Winchester) and Newman Street (London) offices 2 or 3 times per week.

The role

• Set and lead execution of the vision and strategy for finance operations.
• Be the senior point of contact for finance operations, liaising with the CFO and other key stakeholders.
• Provide financial insights and reporting to senior leadership, informing decision-making.
• Support the business in ensuring the financial and commercial performance required to meet targets and its long-term business plan.
• Identify and implement operating model, process and system improvements, and automation opportunities, as well as best practices in governance and reporting, to drive greater financial efficiency and effectiveness, working in partnership with the Head of Finance Transformation.
• Ensure the accuracy, integrity and timeliness of financial reporting for Arqiva and its subsidiaries and ensure compliance with all relevant reporting and regulatory standards.
• Plan and communicate the reporting cycle, executing it to first class standards.
• Lead the compilation of the Annual Report, statutory and regulatory accounts.
• Ensure the preparation of comprehensive documentation for the annual audit and participate in the Audit & Risk Committee, interacting and informing effectively with the Audit Chair and Committee.
• Work closely with the CFO and Investor Relations to ensure Group performance is clearly communicated and market expectations well-managed.
• Support the CFO in preparing for annual and interim results, as well as investor roadshows and interactions with the regulatory.
• Manage effective relationships with external auditors, regulators, and other financial stakeholders.
• Design and operate an effective financial control environment, commensurate with a business of this scale with publicly listed financial instruments.
• Work closely with the Directors of Business Finance and Corporate Finance, and financial controllers, to ensure a robust control framework is in operation.
• Ensure compliance with all internal, regulatory and statutory financial requirements.
• Set and lead the end-to-end strategy, governance, and lifecycle management of Finance data across Arqiva to maintain compliance with statutory, accounting and regulatory rules; produce detailed financial reports; and to inform strategic decision-making.
• Define and drive the Finance data strategy, aligned with business priorities and reporting needs.
• Establish and maintain a Finance data lake, whilst ensuring scalability, traceability, and alignment with enterprise architecture.
• Lead the design of enterprise-grade Finance data models and semantic layers to support analytics, regulatory and statutory reporting, and operational Finance needs.
• Establish and enforce data governance standards, policies, and stewardship processes for Finance data.
• Work closely with Finance, Audit, and Technology leaders to align on priorities and data needs.
• Work closely with the Directors of Business Finance and Corporate Finance to establish KPIs, dashboards, and operating mechanisms to measure data quality, controls effectiveness, and team performance.
• Oversee tax strategy, compliance, planning and reporting for the entire Group, ensuring timely filing and payment of all taxes.
• Working alongside the Head of Tax, liaise with tax authorities and provide high-level advisory on commercial and M&A/restructuring transactions.
• Effectively manage and mitigate tax risk in line with Arqiva's risk management policies and strategy.
• Manage self & task: role model Arqiva's culture goals with the team, building respect and credibility; set a high-performance bar and challenge the team to deliver sustainable results, by developing the skills and capabilities of the team and focusing on outcomes.

The person

• Experienced finance leader in a business of commensurate scale & complexity.
• Broad finance skill set covering: financial accounting & reporting, financial controls, financial data management and tax.
• Experience operating a best-in-class finance operation & delivering high-quality, consistent finance outcomes.
• Experience in a product driven, capital intensive and/or regulated industry.
• A successful track record of driving change & transformation.
• An accountable, agile and strategic thinker with courage.
• Fully qualified (or with equivalent experience) in a relevant accounting qualification (e.g., ACCA, CIMA).

As a leader at Arqiva we believe a great director level candidate will bring:

• The ability to Create Followship across the organisation.
• Bring the 'outside in' - coming with new ideas, encouraging new approaches and creativity.
• Come with extensive Technical Credibility and Expertise – a track record in creating and executing multi-year functional strategies.

Why Arqiva

We enable a switched-on world to flow. As the UK's leader in TV and radio broadcast and the country's top smart utilities platform, we are shaping the future of connectivity. Our infrastructure delivers media and data exactly where they're needed - whether that's bringing TV and radio to your home or sending smart meter data to your utility provider. Our technology works quietly behind the scenes, connecting millions every day.

But it's not just what we do, it's how we do it. At Arqiva, you'll find real connection: supportive teams, active colleague networks and plenty of ways to get involved and feel part of our community. We'll give you the space and support to grow - whether that's developing your skills, trying something new or taking on fresh challenges. And because there is more to life than work, our rewards and benefits are designed to support your wellbeing, your lifestyle and what matters most to you.

Our commitment to Diversity & Inclusion

At Arqiva, we're committed to building a workplace where everyone feels valued, heard and empowered to succeed. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and experiences, and we work hard to remove barriers so every colleague can thrive. If you need any adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process, please reach out to us.

If this sounds like the right next step for you, we'd love to hear from you!