Finance Graduate Early Careers · Bristol

Location: Bristol

Salary: £30,000

Start Date: September 2026

Application Deadline: 5th May 2026

Who we are

At Pennon, we literally bring water to life. We keep taps running, protect the environment, and support the communities we serve across the South West. Delivering this means taking smart financial decisions, investing responsibly, and ensuring every pound spent creates long‑term value. Our finance teams provide the insight, analysis, and governance that help the organisation operate effectively today while preparing for the challenges of tomorrow. We care about doing things safely, responsibly, and we’ll welcome your ideas from day one.

If you’re analytical, curious, numerate, and motivated to understand how financial decisions shape real‑world outcomes, you’ll thrive here.

What you’d be doing

• As a Finance Graduate, you’ll play a key role in supporting financial planning, performance analysis, and investment decision‑making across our business.
• You’ll gain exposure to everything from day‑to‑day finance operations to long‑term strategic planning, with real responsibility early on.

Deliver Financial Insight & Control

• Support budgeting and forecasting cycles, helping teams understand cost drivers and financial pressures.
• Analyse financial performance across departments and programmes, identifying trends, variances, and risks.
• Maintain accurate financial models, cost profiles, and reporting tools that inform decision‑making.
• Help ensure spend remains within controlled budgets and aligned to company priorities.

Support Strategic & Commercial Decision‑Making

• Evaluate the financial viability of investment proposals, new initiatives, and regulatory commitments.
• Work with commercial teams to analyse contracts, supplier performance, and cost efficiency.
• Contribute to business cases and financial appraisals supporting long‑term infrastructure investment.

Ensure Compliance & Good Governance

• Contribute to transparent reporting through clear documentation, evidence trails, and data accuracy.
• Uphold our integrity‑first culture in all aspects of financial management.

Collaborate & Influence

• Build relationships across finance, engineering, operations, and commercial teams.
• Translate financial insights into clear, meaningful updates for non‑financial colleagues.
• Contribute to discussions, challenge assumptions, and support informed decision‑making.

Learn & Develop

• Gain broad exposure to how the water industry operates and is regulated.
• Develop core finance skills, including modelling, forecasting, cost analysis, and commercial evaluation.
• Work toward relevant professional qualifications (e.g., CIMA/ACA/ACCA), should that be a path you choose.

Who you are

We’re looking for graduates who want to understand how a business works, who enjoy analytical problem‑solving, and who care about making thoughtful, evidence‑based recommendations. You don’t need to arrive as a fully formed finance professional – curiosity, and a proactive attitude will take you a long way.

You might be a great match if you:

• Have a degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business, Mathematics, or a similar analytical discipline.
• Are diligent, organised, and comfortable working with numbers and complex information.
• Enjoy understanding how systems and processes work - and are confident asking questions.
• Communicate well with different audiences, from operational teams to senior leaders.
• Can make sound judgements based on evidence, data, and risk awareness.
• Put integrity and accountability at the centre of your work.
• Care about delivering outcomes that support sustainability and long‑term value.
• Have the right to work in the UK.

This role also requires a full UK driving licence.

If this sounds like you – or if the role appeals but you’re unsure whether you tick every box – we’d still like to hear from you. The most important thing is your drive to learn, contribute, and grow.

What’s in it for you

• A structured graduate programme that builds core finance and commercial skills.
• Mentoring and support, including a dedicated buddy and access to experienced finance leaders.
• Real responsibility early on, with opportunities to deliver insights that shape operational and strategic decisions.
• Competitive salary and benefits package.
• Work with meaning, supporting essential public services, environmental protection, and long‑term regional value.
• A culture shaped by values: safety, integrity, collaboration, innovation, and customer care.
• Support toward professional finance accreditation (CIMA, ACCA, ACA, or other relevant pathways).

Applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK for the full duration of the 2‑year programme. We are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this programme.

We’re committed to building a team that reflects the communities we serve and ensuring everyone can participate in our recruitment process fully and fairly. If you need any adjustments or face any barriers in our processes, just let us know. We’ll work with you to make sure you can show us what you can do.