Finance Director [North West] in Manchester

Network Rail operates and maintains the railway infrastructure 24/7 365 days a year. Our purpose is to connect people and goods with where they need to be and our vision is for a simpler, better, greener railway. Our North West route covers Cheshire to Cumbria, including key cities like Liverpool and Manchester, and destinations such as Blackpool and the Lake District. Major stations include Crewe, Liverpool Lime Street, Preston, and Manchester Piccadilly and Victoria. This busy region sees 1.3 million daily passengers and moves 700,000 tonnes of freight weekly, with 571 stations making up a quarter of Britain's rail network.

In the North West & Central Region, we're proud to be building a workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve. We know that inclusive teams make better decisions, drive innovation, and help us create a safer, more accessible railway for everyone. Even if you don't meet every single requirement, we encourage you to apply. If you're passionate about making a difference and believe you have the skills or potential to thrive in this role, we'd love to hear from you. We're committed to creating an open, supportive environment where everyone feels they belong. Your unique perspective and experience could be exactly what we need to keep Britain moving safely and sustainably.

About the role

The North West Route is seeking a Finance Director who can provide strategic financial leadership across a complex operating environment, balancing customer, operational, commercial, and organisational priorities. The successful candidate will drive financial performance, support informed decision-making, and ensure robust governance and accountability as the railway transitions to Great British Rail.

No two days will be the same in this dynamic leadership role. You'll provide the necessary expertise, guidance and challenge to the Route Managing Director and their management team for the financial and commercial control of all business activities. You will also lead and motivate the finance and contracts & procurement teams to achieve world class levels of business partnering. Whilst this will be challenging, it will be professionally rewarding.

Salary and benefits:

• Salary: Band 1C, starting at £116,753 and increasing to £150,696 plus car allowance and other benefits.
• Generous annual leave (28 days plus bank holidays *contract type dependant), with the option to buy/sell days.
• Defined benefit pension scheme.
• 75% subsidy on rail and underground season tickets.
• Up to 75% off leisure travel. (Discretionary)
• Interest-free travel loan for train and car park season tickets.
• Discounts at stations with your Network Rail pass.
• Flexible/hybrid working arrangements.
• Volunteer leave to make a positive impact.
• Healthcare Scheme, GymPass discounts, Cycle to work plus more.
• We offer generous maternity, paternity, and adoption leave to support our employees during significant life moments.

Network Rail adheres to a structured pay framework, any salary offered will be within the pay range advertised.

Your experience and skills:

• Act as a trusted advisor to the Route Managing Director, providing strategic financial leadership to drive business performance, efficiency and long-term sustainability.
• Lead the route's financial and business planning activities, ensuring alignment with organisational objectives and the successful delivery of operational and commercial outcomes.
• Drive commercial excellence and innovation across the route, identifying opportunities to improve performance, efficiency and value for money.
• Provide financial oversight of investment decisions, business cases and major programmes, ensuring robust appraisal, governance and effective allocation of resources.
• Lead financial governance, risk management and assurance activities, maintaining strong controls, regulatory compliance and accountability across the organisation.
• Build and maintain influential relationships with internal and external stakeholders, providing commercial expertise in negotiations, partnerships and funding opportunities.
• Oversee supply chain and commercial activities, including contract performance, claims resolution and the optimisation of supplier relationships.
• Inspire and develop a high-performing finance team, fostering a culture of collaboration, continuous improvement and exceptional business partnering.

In order to be successful in this role, we would like you to have/to be:

• Full membership of relevant professional body with demonstrable relevant post qualification experience.
• Strong functional leadership with proven success in the business planning process that requires extensive stakeholder communication and relationship management.
• Proven success in building and leading high performing teams on major initiatives including capital development programmes.
• Experience of working within a regulated environment or with an interface to government, or government owned bodies.
• Experience within at least 2 different finance disciplines within Network Rail and/or external organisations.
• Relevant experience in procurement, negotiation and the commercial management of suppliers.
• Strong commercial focus and experience of developing commercial strategies.

Key Information:

• Number of Positions: 1
• Contract Type: Permanent
• Hours: Full Time
• Location: Geographical Area: North West England
• Closing Date: 02-OCT-2026
• Job Category: Finance
• Function: North West & Central Region
• Organisation: SC North West Route Finance Director (NW&C) (338352)