At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead financial governance and strategic planning for a major UK project.
- Company: Join Sizewell C, a key player in the UK's energy sector.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, car allowance, bonus, pension, and hybrid working.
- Other info: Dynamic role with opportunities for career growth and influence.
- Why this job: Make a significant impact on one of the UK's largest capital programmes.
- Qualifications: Qualified accountant with strong leadership and stakeholder management skills.
The predicted salary is between 110000 - 110000 £ per year.
The Sizewell C Jobs Service supports local people into exciting, long-term careers across our Project.
Location: Orwell, Ipswich, Leiston, Suffolk, on a hybrid basis
Contract: Permanent, full-time.
Closing Date: Friday 8th May 2026
What’s in It for You
- Salary: Starting £110,000 per annum, depending on experience
- Car Allowance: £8,400 per annum
- Bonus: 15% annual incentive
- Pension: Up to 7.5% employee / 15% employer contribution
- Leave: 28 days holiday plus bank holidays
- Hybrid Working: Typically, 3 days in the office per week, with flexibility based on business needs
About the Role
As Head of Finance – Site Delivery, you will lead financial governance and strategic financial planning across the project’s Site delivery programme. You will be responsible for ensuring transparency, financial discipline, and value for money within one of the UK’s largest capital programmes. Acting as a crucial interface between Finance, Operations, the Executive team, and Government partners, this role offers both influence and impact at an organisation‑wide level.
Key Responsibilities
- Financial Governance & Oversight: Lead programme cost control, cash flow management, and financial reporting. Ensure expenditure aligns with budgets, funding obligations, and HMG requirements.
- Performance & Insight: Deliver high-quality analysis of cost performance, risks, and forecasts. Drive financial discipline and ensure timely escalation of issues to senior leadership.
- Strategic Partnership: Develop business cases and commercial proposals. Support long-term financial planning and ensure value for money across delivery programmes.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Act as the senior financial interface for Site Delivery team and its delivery partners. Ensure seamless and transparent information flows across all stakeholder groups.
- Leadership & Influence: Advise, challenge, and upskill operational leaders to improve financial capability. Embed a culture of accountability and support the modernisation of the Finance function.
- Programme & Commercial Alignment: Oversee financial reporting, contract governance, and alignment to programme milestones. Ensure forecasts and budgets align with investor requirements and project schedule.
Leadership Impact
As part of the CFO’s leadership team, you will play a key role in shaping the future of SZC’s Finance function. This includes driving integration across delivery teams, strengthening financial capability, and ensuring SZC meets its financial, regulatory, and strategic commitments. This is a high‑profile and career‑defining role for a finance leader motivated by scale, complexity, and national significance.
Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications & Experience
- Exceptional stakeholder management, with a proven ability to build strong relationships across internal teams, delivery partners, and external stakeholders to remain fully aligned with organisational, industry, and financial developments.
- Outstanding influencing, negotiation, communication, and presentation skills, with the ability to distil complex financial information for senior and non‑financial audiences.
- Expert business partnering capability, demonstrating a customer‑focused, proactive, and action‑oriented approach to supporting delivery teams and executive stakeholders.
- Advanced strategic problem‑solving skills, with the ability to evaluate complex issues, identify risks and opportunities, and recommend decisive courses of action.
- Strong commercial acumen, with experience managing business performance and driving financial outcomes within large‑scale, complex environments.
- Excellent prioritisation and organisational skills, with the ability to balance competing demands across multiple programmes and teams.
- Highly analytical mindset, able to interpret data, challenge assumptions, and drive improvements in financial and operational performance.
- Up‑to‑date industry and sector knowledge, including awareness of external factors, regulatory change, finance sector trends, and emerging technologies that influence business performance.
- Adaptability and resilience, with the ability to respond effectively to changing market, regulatory, or programme conditions.
- Strong technology awareness, with the capability to leverage digital tools, data, and systems to improve decision‑making and financial insight.
- Broad understanding of end‑to‑end financial processes, ensuring effective governance, forecasting, reporting, and performance tracking.
- Sound judgement and decision‑making, considering a full range of factors, balancing competing viewpoints, and constructively challenging plans, performance, and assumptions.
Qualifications & Experience
- Qualified accountant with recognised Accounting Professional Organisation or equivalent (e.g. ACCA, ICAEW, ICAS, CIMA).
- Strong leadership experience within a large/complex organisation
- Excellent experience of managing internal and external relationships, providing both support and challenge to business performance.
- Experience of Major programmes
- Experience of regulated industry (desired)
Behavioural Competences
- Humility: Recognise the value brought from different cultures and experiences. Be open to other’s points of view and ideas, be willing to debate and to compromise.
- Positivity: Positively challenge poor quality and performance. Identify solutions at the lowest possible level. Encourage others to bring new ideas forward.
- Respect: Value the rules and environment in which we operate. Give and receive feedback with respect. Embrace and engage with new people and ideas.
- Solidarity: One team, working closely together and helping each other. Empowered teams always looking forward. Shared responsibility for delivering the project outcomes.
- Clarity: Communicate clearly and consistently. Promote collaboration and team alignment. Clearer and faster decision making. Drive simplification at all levels.
For this role you must have evidence of right to work in the UK. As a project, we do not discriminate on the grounds of age, gender, race, colour, religion, disability or sexual orientation, and we welcome applications from all sections of the community.
Head of Finance (Sizewell C) employer: EDF
At Sizewell C, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work culture that fosters collaboration and innovation. With competitive salaries, generous benefits including a substantial pension contribution and hybrid working options, we are committed to the professional growth of our employees, providing opportunities to influence significant national projects while working in a supportive environment that values diversity and inclusion.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Head of Finance (Sizewell C)
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Get out there and connect with people in the finance sector, especially those involved in large projects like Sizewell C. Attend industry events, join relevant online forums, and don’t be shy about reaching out on LinkedIn. You never know who might have the inside scoop on job openings!
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for interviews by researching the company and its projects. Understand their financial governance and strategic planning needs. Be ready to discuss how your experience aligns with their goals, especially in managing complex financial environments. Show them you’re not just another candidate, but the right fit for their team!
✨Tip Number 3
Practice your pitch! You’ll want to clearly articulate your skills and experiences that relate to the Head of Finance role. Focus on your stakeholder management and commercial acumen. A confident, well-prepared presentation can make all the difference in landing that dream job.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, it shows you’re genuinely interested in being part of the Sizewell C project. Let’s get you on board!
We think you need these skills to ace Head of Finance (Sizewell C)
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application:Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter for the Head of Finance role. Highlight your experience in financial governance and strategic planning, as these are key aspects of the job. We want to see how your skills align with what we're looking for!
Showcase Your Stakeholder Management Skills:This role involves a lot of interaction with various stakeholders, so be sure to include examples of how you've successfully managed relationships in the past. We love seeing candidates who can communicate complex financial information clearly!
Demonstrate Your Analytical Mindset:We’re after someone who can interpret data and drive improvements. Include specific instances where you’ve evaluated complex issues or identified risks and opportunities. This will show us you have the analytical chops we need!
Apply Through Our Website:Don’t forget to submit your application through our website! It’s the best way for us to keep track of your application and ensure it gets the attention it deserves. Plus, it’s super easy to do!
How to prepare for a job interview at EDF
✨Know Your Numbers
As the Head of Finance, you'll need to demonstrate your financial acumen. Brush up on key financial metrics relevant to the Sizewell C project, such as cost control and cash flow management. Be ready to discuss how you've successfully managed budgets and ensured financial discipline in previous roles.
✨Showcase Stakeholder Engagement Skills
This role requires exceptional stakeholder management. Prepare examples of how you've built strong relationships with internal teams and external partners. Think about times when you had to influence decisions or negotiate outcomes, and be ready to share those stories.
✨Demonstrate Strategic Thinking
You'll be expected to drive long-term financial planning and develop business cases. Come prepared with examples of how you've evaluated complex issues and identified risks and opportunities in past projects. Highlight your strategic problem-solving skills and how they led to successful outcomes.
✨Emphasise Leadership Experience
As part of the CFO’s leadership team, your ability to lead and influence is crucial. Prepare to discuss your leadership style and how you've upskilled operational leaders in financial capability. Share specific instances where you've embedded a culture of accountability within your teams.
