Assistant Management Accountant in Bristol

Fantastic challenges. Amazing opportunities. GKN Aerospace is reimagining air travel: going further, faster and greener! Fuelled by great people whose expertise and creativity sets the standards in our industry, we’re inspired by the opportunities to innovate and break boundaries. We’re proud to play a part in protecting the world’s democracies. And we’re committed to putting sustainability at the centre of everything we do, opening up and protecting our planet.

With over 16,000 employees across 32 manufacturing sites in 12 countries we serve over 90% of the world’s aircraft and engine manufacturers and achieved sales of £3.6bn in 2025. There are no limits to where you can take your career.

Job Summary: It’s great to know you’re making a difference to the future of aviation! Whatever part you play you’ll be helping us deliver operational excellence to our customers. At our GKN Western Approach site, we specialise in the manufacture of advanced composite wing structures for both civil and military aircraft.

We're looking for an ambitious Part-Qualified Management Accountant who is eager to take the next step in their finance career, combining core management accounting responsibilities with increasing exposure to business partnering, commercial analysis and decision support. This is an opportunity for someone who is naturally curious, challenges existing ways of working and thrives on improving processes, simplifying complexity, and influencing outcomes. You’ll take ownership of key areas of the monthly management accounts, while working closely with operational stakeholders to understand performance, identify risks and opportunities, and turn financial information into meaningful business insight.

How You'll Contribute In This Role, You Will:

• Prepare accurate and timely monthly management accounts, including journals, accruals, prepayments and supporting analysis.
• Own balance sheet reconciliations, ensuring balances are accurate and appropriately supported.
• Analyse financial performance, explaining key variances, risks and opportunities.
• Support budgeting and forecasting, providing clear financial analysis and insight.
• Partner with operational stakeholders to understand performance and support informed business decisions.
• Monitor KPIs and business performance, translating data into clear, actionable insight.
• Support senior finance colleagues with financial analysis, reporting and business partnering.
• Drive process and reporting improvements to increase efficiency, consistency and visibility.
• Maintain strong financial controls and governance across areas of responsibility.

What You'll Bring:

We're looking for someone to bring a strong foundation in finance, an analytical mindset and a desire to develop your career, alongside the following skills, experience, qualifications and attributes:

Essential:

• Management accounting experience with a good understanding of month-end processes and balance sheet control.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret financial information and identify key trends and variances.
• Good Microsoft skills and confidence working with financial data.
• A proactive approach, with the confidence to question information and challenge existing ways of working constructively.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to explain financial information clearly to non-finance stakeholders.
• Ability to build effective working relationships across different functions and levels of the organisation.
• Strong attention to detail combined with the ability to understand the wider commercial picture.
• A mindset focused on continuous improvement, ownership and accountability.

Desirable:

• Previous working experience of SAP.

What We'll Offer:

Once you’re on board you’ll get the following perks and benefits:

• A Comprehensive salary dependent on experience.
• Support towards professional qualification.
• Access to a salary sacrifice EV scheme giving tax and national insurance savings.
• Industry Leading Pension Scheme = we’ll match your contributions up to 8% on a 1 : 1.5 basis.
• Life Assurance 8 x salary.
• 25 days holiday + bank holidays.
• Flexible working hours including the ability to finish at 12noon on a Friday.
• Income protection.
• Shopping discounts.
• Cycle To Work Scheme.
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• Virtual GP Clinic for you and immediate family.
• A collaborative, dynamic working environment.

As well as a competitive package we’ll offer you a world of opportunity. We want to see your career fly! We’ll support your career progression by providing you with learning and development opportunities. That’s the beauty of being part of a global business, once you’re on board you never know where your career journey may take you!

We’ll offer you fantastic challenges and amazing opportunities. This is your chance to be part of an organisation that has proven itself to be at the cutting edge of our industry; and is committed to pushing the boundaries even further. And with some of the best training on offer in the industry, who knows how far you can go?

A Great Place to work needs a Great Way of Working. Everyone is welcome to apply to GKN. We believe that we can only achieve our ambitions through a coming together of diverse minds who enjoy collaborating in an inspirational environment. Through our commitment to diversity, inclusion and belonging and by living our five powerful principles we’ve created a culture where everyone feels welcome to contribute. It’s a culture that won us ‘The Best Workplace Culture Award’. By embracing and celebrating what makes us unique we encourage everyone to bring their full self to work.

We’re also committed to providing an accessible recruitment process, so if you require reasonable adjustments at any stage during our recruitment process please get in touch and let us know. We are the place where human dreams, plus human endeavour, shape the future of aerospace innovation and technology.