Finance Apprenticeship

About the roleDo you have a passion for Finance and a genuine desire to learn and grow? If so, our Level 7 Finance Apprenticeship scheme may be for you.

In a challenging retail world, the demand for a high performing Finance function is more important than ever. The role of Finance in the Partnership is to work at the heart of the business, providing great insight and control to strengthen our position and grow value. As a Partner and Professional Finance Apprentice, you will seek to actively drive our performance and influence key decisions using data and commercial acumen. You will be encouraged and respected for your opinions and ideas. We will give you access to the tools to build your knowledge and technical skills, giving you the opportunity to influence our performance and strengthen the role of Finance.

Our aim will be to give you the fullest experience of our Finance function so you will work flexibly between our Head Offices in Bracknell and London and home working.

• Salary - £33,800 - £51,000. The salary offered to successful candidates will depend on individual experience.

• Contract type - This position is a permanent contract. This is an Apprentice position and the course takes 36 months to complete.

• Working pattern/flexible working - The Partnership has adopted a hybrid working approach, meaning you'll be able to work a mixture between the office and home based upon your personal needs whilst balancing the needs of the business. The Finance team aims for 2 days a week in the office to connect and on a more ad-hoc basis to attend key meetings. 

• Location - The role could be based at either our Bracknell campus or London head office depending on your preference, with occasional travel to the other location as required.

• Please note the Assessment Centres for our Apprenticeship will be held in-person in Bracknell on Tuesday 15th April 2025 and Pimlico, London on Tuesday 22nd April 2025.

• Please see our FAQs document for further details about the scheme (please access using the link here if you are an internal candidate, or via the attachment at the bottom of the advert if you are an external candidate).

Key responsibilities

We will support you to become a qualified Accountant during your apprenticeship and you will choose to study for either a CIMA qualification (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) or an ACCA qualification (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants).

This apprenticeship scheme will involve a series of modules and exams, learning activities and reflection tasks which are based around the skills, knowledge and behaviours set out by the national apprenticeship standard. 

You will develop excellent technical skills, as well as the organisational and leadership skills necessary to thrive as a finance professional within the Partnership. As with all apprenticeships, this programme requires commitment and self managed learning from the apprentice. 

You will have three different roles, across the three years of the scheme, in different areas of the Finance function. This will allow you to broaden your knowledge, skills and experience, and build a strong network. Your day to day responsibilities will depend on the nature of your role, but your line managers will work closely with you throughout the scheme to support your career and empower you to unlock your potential. You will also be allocated a mentor from the senior Finance leadership team to support your career development. 

Essential skills/experience you’ll need 

Eligibility criteria for this scheme - you will need to possess at least one of the following:

• Degree 2:1 or above (or predicted for 2025) in Finance, Accounting, or related business fields OR

• L4 Finance/Accounting Apprenticeship OR

• Significant relevant work experience with demonstrable evidence of: 

- analytical skills; particularly with regard to financial data management and/or analysis 

- commercial experience in a retail or similar fast-moving industry

- the ability to work accurately and at pace, the ability to evaluate risk 

- the ability to assimilate, comment on, and make proposals, influencing key decisions 

- the ability to produce coherent reports using appropriate language and allocation of words 

Please note:

• You must not have attained a finance qualification higher than CIMA Certificate Level or ACCA Knowledge Level

• You must have level 2 Maths and English (equivalent to GCSE grade C or above)

• You cannot be in any other form of education when the scheme commences in July 2025.

Desirable skills/experience you may have

• Self motivation and a commitment to your development and achievement of the scheme objectives

• A collaborative approach to working and developing relationships across the Partnership

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About The Partnership

We’re the largest employee owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose. We’re not just employees, we’re Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world. As we look to our future, there’s never been a more exciting time to join us.

We’re ruthlessly focused on being brilliant at retail. We continue to innovate, adapt and diversify. Never Knowingly Undersold on price, quality and service in John Lewis and passionately serving food-lovers in Waitrose.

As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and in its rewards. We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect.

We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong. Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we’re free to be ourselves and can THRIVE. Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective.

As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it.

Important points to note:

It’s important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre-employment vetting. If required, you’ll find out more about vetting throughout the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays.

We also recommend that you apply as soon as possible as vacancies can close early if we see a high number of applicants.

We want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview.