Finance Manager in Harlow

Raytheon UK has an exciting new opportunity for a Finance Manager to join our team, largely based in Harlow. As Finance Manager, you will manage and develop a small team of qualified and/or part qualified accountants within our Weapons Programme finance team. It will be your responsibility to provide high quality business partnering and accurate, actionable financial analysis and insight to the business team and to finance leaders across Raytheon UK and US. Our Finance Manager will be relied upon to provide proactive strategic input and leadership across the Weapons Programme. The individual will ensure compliance with financial governance and policy requirements; monthly business forecasting; AOP and 5‑year strategic planning; project accounting (EACs); investment; balance sheet reviews; cash and foreign exchange management.

Key Responsibilities

• Partner and act as the Strategic Finance Business Partner for the Programme Team and its Functional leaders, ensuring that finance is at the heart of the business.
• Responsible for financial management, reporting and forecasting on key metrics including but not limited to Bookings, Sales, Profit, Cash, Productivity, Cost of Sales mix and New business investment.
• Understand and communicate the link between programme and financial performance across the business, providing insight into the numbers for business leads and key stakeholders, helping shape decision making and business strategy.
• Support the Programme in establishing Annual Operating Plans (AOP) and Long‑Range Plans (LRP) ensuring interlock with functions.
• Support new business proposals for Gate Reviews, including pricing strategy, basis‑of‑estimate generation, foreign exchange management, risk and opportunities management, investment and contract negotiation support.
• Manage Quarterly Estimate at Completion (EAC) processes for high‑profile fixed‑price programmes with complex commercial and financial arrangements.
• Ensure financial processes are delivered on time and well understood by the business and other key stakeholders, including Risk and Opportunity Management, Earned Value Management, Forecasting.
• Manage and develop team members to maintain a high‑performing business partner team.
• Act as the “financial conscience” of the business and ensure business and financial policy adherence.
• Champion best practice and look to improve systems and processes.
• Work closely with the wider Finance Team and collaborate on cross‑functional improvement projects.
• Actively promote the importance of accuracy, predictability and value‑add analysis across all finance deliverables, promoting where possible the importance of financial data and information.

Required Experience

• Qualified accountant (CIMA/ACCA) with relevant commercial experience in a similar defence or complex contracting environment.
• Previous experience in a business partnering role, interfacing and conducting business with various functional disciplines across a matrix organisation.
• Commercially astute and adept at strategic planning.
• Line management experience.
• Current holder of or eligibility to obtain security clearance.

Desirable Experience

• Proven ability to actively drive resolution on critical business challenges and key issues.
• Excellent systems skills – SAP, COGNOS Enterprise Planning and Business Intelligence, Power BI.
• Experience in programme environment with knowledge of accounting for long‑term contracts, including Estimate at Completion.
• Excellent presentation skills.
• Comfortable with data and detail, but able to extract high‑level messages to support business decisions.

Benefits and Work Culture

• 37‑hour working week with early finish Fridays.
• An informal, flexible working culture that is output‑focused.
• 25 days holiday + statutory public holidays, plus opportunity to buy and sell up to 5 days and up to 5 paid days volunteering.
• 10.5% company pension contribution with 6% employee contribution.
• Annual company bonus scheme (discretionary).
• Private Medical Insurance (grade dependent).
• Life Assurance with pension.
• Flexible Benefits scheme with extensive salary sacrifice programmes, including Health Cashplan, Dental and Cycle to Work.
• Enhanced sick pay.
• Enhanced family‑friendly policies, including enhanced maternity, paternity and shared parental leave.

Equal Employment Opportunity

RTX adheres to the principles of equal employment. All qualified applications will be given careful consideration without regard to ethnicity, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.