Head of Financial Control

Location: Based in one of our office locations (London, Manchester, Ipswich)

Contract: Permanent

What’s in It for You

• Salary: £110,000 – £130,000 per annum, depending on experience
• Car Allowance: £8,400 per annum
• Bonus: 15% annual incentive
• Pension: Up to 7.5% employee / 15% employer contribution
• Hybrid Working: Typically, 3 days in the office per week, with flexibility based on business needs

Your Impact

Reporting to the CFO, the Head of Financial Control is responsible for leading the financial control function, ensuring the delivery of accurate, timely, and compliant financial reporting, robust financial processes, and a strong internal control environment. The role provides leadership across financial reporting, finance operations, and internal controls to ensure a single, reliable source of financial truth, supporting effective decision-making by senior management, shareholders, auditors, and other stakeholders. The post holder will play a key role in embedding a culture of financial discipline, control, and continuous improvement, ensuring compliance with statutory requirements, accounting standards (IFRS), and governance frameworks.

Principal Accountabilities

As Head of Financial Control, you’ll provide senior leadership across accounting, financial control, and governance during a major construction programme. This role is a key link between SZC and its shareholders and will act as the subject matter expert on the IFRS accounting implications of major infrastructure construction. You will bring strong technical accounting expertise, ideally from regulated utilities, construction, or complex capital programmes, alongside experience in assurance, financial reporting, and process improvement. You will oversee financial reporting, audit management, accounts payable and receivable, and broader financial control activities, ensuring suppliers are paid on time and regulated revenues are collected efficiently. The role also leads finance transformation initiatives, strengthening governance, internal controls, and assurance as SZC operates as a standalone organisation. Reporting lines include senior managers responsible for financial reporting, financial operations, finance projects, and digital systems. You will work closely with the CFO and Executive Team, providing clear, confident advice on key accounting judgements, risks, and strategic decisions.

The role-holder’s principal responsibilities will include:

• Oversee the preparation of statutory financial statements, ensuring compliance with IFRS and Companies Act requirements
• Lead the consolidation process and ensure accurate and timely group reporting to DESNZ, Centrica and EDF
• Own the relationship with external auditors and manage the audit process end-to-end
• Ensure high-quality technical accounting analysis and robust documentation of key judgement
• Deliver clear and reliable financial information to internal and external stakeholders

Financial Control & Balance Sheet Integrity

• Ensure strong balance sheet governance, including oversight of reconciliations and review processes
• Drive improvements in the quality, transparency, and auditability of financial data
• Establish and enforce financial control standards across the organisation
• Own key close processes (monthly, quarterly, year-end), ensuring efficiency and accuracy

Finance Operations (P2P, O2C, R2R)

• Oversee finance operations processes including procure-to-pay, order-to-cash, and record-to-report
• Ensure efficient, scalable, and well-controlled processes aligned to business needs
• Drive continuous improvement and automation across finance operations

Internal Controls & Governance

• Own and continuously develop the internal financial controls framework
• Ensure controls are designed and operating effectively, with appropriate testing and evidence
• Lead remediation of control deficiencies and drive continuous improvement
• Support broader governance and compliance obligations (e.g. audit, regulatory, shareholder requirements)

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead and develop a high-performing financial control function across:
• Financial Reporting
• Finance Operations
• Internal Controls
• Digital development
• Set clear objectives, performance expectations, and development plans for direct reports
• Build capability across technical accounting, process excellence, and control disciplines
• Foster a collaborative, high-accountability culture

Stakeholder Management & Business Partnering

• Act as a trusted advisor to the CFO and senior leadership on financial control matters
• Provision of financial reporting to the SZC Economic Regulation team, who are responsible for providing regulatory reporting to Ofgem. The ability to reconcile from IFRS accounts to regulatory reports requires strong collaboration between teams.
• Partner with key stakeholders across finance, commercial, tax, and project teams
• Provide insight and challenge to improve financial performance and risk management
• Support Board, Audit Committee, and shareholder reporting requirements
• Lead finance transformation initiatives relating to:
• Systems and data improvement
• Process standardisation and automation
• Control environment enhancement
• Ensure finance is fit for purpose as the organisation evolves (e.g. scale, regulation, funding changes)

Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications & Experience

• Qualified accountant (ACA / ACCA / CIMA or equivalent)
• Significant experience in financial control, reporting, and governance within a large, complex organisation preferably in a regulated environment
• Proven leadership of multi-disciplinary finance teams
• Experience managing external audits and regulatory requirements
• Experience of finance transformation and process improvement
• Strong knowledge of IFRS
• Deep understanding of financial control environments and internal controls frameworks
• Experience across finance operations and transactional processes
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities

Behavioural Competences

• Humility: Recognises the value brought from different cultures and experiences. Open to others’ points of view and ideas, willing to debate and to compromise.
• Positivity: Positively challenges poor quality and performance. Identifies solutions at the lowest possible level. Encourages tier 1s and others to bring new ideas forward.
• Respect: Values the rules and environment in which we operate. Gives and receives feedback with respect. Embraces and engages with new people and ideas. Operates as ‘One team’, working closely together and helping each other. Empowers team – empowered teams always looking forward. Shares responsibility for delivering the project outcomes.
• Clarity: Communicates clearly and consistently. Promotes collaboration and team alignment. Clear and fast decision making. Drives simplification at all levels.

We encourage diversity and require candidates to have the right to work in the UK. To be appointed to this role, you will need to meet the criteria for Security Vetting, which will, ordinarily, require you to have been a resident of the UK for at least three of the past five years.