Commercial Finance Manager

Job Introduction

Reporting to the Finance Director, as Commercial Finance Manager you’ll be a strategic partner, who will lead and co-ordinate the financial planning and analysis, reporting processes and outputs for Sodexo’s UK Healthcare Division.

Based in our Salford office, close by Media City, you’ll look to continually improve business processes which will ultimately drive efficiencies, improve margins and embed controls whilst managing and developing a team of 2 ensuring that departmental objectives are delivered.

Sodexo Healthcare is a leading provider of services to the NHS and private healthcare organisations in England. We provide quality of life services that improve patient and staff experience, raise standards and deliver financial benefits to our clients. We help to enhance the patient environment (including patient dining, cleaning/housekeeping, retail services), provide clinical support (equipment sterilisation) and manage technical estates teams (estates management, asset management, land maintenance and energy management).

Role Responsibility

• Provide timely and accurate reporting of the monthly accounts with detailed analysis highlighting trends, (including analysis of actual vs. budget, actual vs. forecast and actual vs prior year). Obtaining explanations for significant variances and ensure that risks and opportunities are identified
• Build close links with the segment Financial Controller, BSS team, segment finance team and operational teams to facilitate the production of the monthly management accounts
• Shape and develop the month end outputs to support the Finance Director, and Healthcare Executive team, directing and influencing them to issue areas and decision points.  Production of visual slides for review of monthly results with UK CEO and UK CFO
• Build a good working relationship with the UK&I FP&A team, ensuring timely and accurate reporting of quality outputs in accordance with the timetable and specific requirements
• Review month end overhead analysis, obtaining explanations for any significant variances with the Overhead Accountant
• Coordinate and consolidate segment financial budgets and forecasts.  Lead the planning, monitoring and delivery of the budgeting and forecasting process
• Design and develop standardised budget and forecast packs for use in the segment budget review meetings, ensuring that key drivers and initiatives are visible
• Lead and action Project work.  Ensuring output is on time, rolled and trained out robustly to all.

The Ideal Candidate

• Fully Qualified Accountant (ACA/ACCA/CIMA) with extensive post qualification experience and demonstrable expertise of understanding and resolving technical issues
• Experience in managing people and have strong relationships with finance and operational people
• Strong commercial acumen with experience of helping resolve commercial business challenges
• Good conceptual understanding of business and finance systems and experience of project managing systems change would be an advantage
• SAP strong knowledge required
• Ability to find solutions, lead change, seek continuous improvement in reporting processes – with a pragmatic approach that takes due consideration of the ability of teams to absorb change
• Highly driven with demonstrable success in a high pressure, tight deadline environment.

Package Description

Grade G2 - Competitive salary, plus benefits you would associate with a leading global services organisation - including flexible benefit fund, (healthcare, dental plan etc.), bonus, car allowance and pension scheme.

40 hours per week, flexibility is a must

About the Company

In the UK and Ireland, Sodexo employs some 35,000 employees to deliver integrated facilities management services to clients at over 2,000 locations in the corporate, healthcare, education, leisure, defence and justice sectors. With an annual turnover of over £1bn, we provide everything from catering, cleaning and reception to security, laboratory and grounds maintenance services, enabling our clients to focus on their core business.

We are building on our support to the Armed Forces community through the development of specific pathways within our recruitment process to support ex-forces personnel and reservists, those applying for jobs with us who meet the ideal candidate criteria for the role advertised are guaranteed to progress to the selection process.

Sodexo and our clients are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults within a regulated activity. Certain roles will require applicants to undergo screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and/ or Disclosure Scotland.