Head of Finance, Commercial

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Job Description

The main objectives of this role are to maximise competitive, sustainable value generation, delivering insight, and an assessment of risks, while working with Customer and the wider business to optimise financial performance and drive change.

The Head of Finance for Customer (our commercial team) will be a key member of the Customer Leadership Team, influencing the group to deliver maximum sustainable value, meet financial targets, making them aware of potential risks and working with the leadership team to mitigate them. The incumbent should demonstrate strong leadership in developing the finance team and influencing the agenda across the Customer leadership team.

The incumbent is required to lead the team to produce monthly reporting of financial and non-financial data. This role will also lead planning activities across Customer, delivering a meaningful MBP process, and long-term business plan. The insights delivered will link through to Strategy and Regulation to ensure that financial targets are consistent with the business strategy and deliver requirements for the Regulator.

Business Partnering with Customer will bring clarity and insight to our business decisions, providing constructive challenge, quantify trade-offs and enable business transformation while protecting affordability at an acceptable level of risk. This role will focus on simplifying complex information, clarity of communication to deliver on a no surprises basis.

The Head of Finance Customer will lead, develop and motivate their team in the context of the changes driven by the Magenta programme to deliver financial excellence for the overall business. They will also develop excellent working relationships across Customer, the Finance function, as well as the FLT, leveraging these relationships to deliver sustainable value and a culture of continuous improvement.

Responsibilities

• Business Partnering - Customer, wider Finance Function, Regulation / Strategy to provide insight and analysis to drive decisions
• Reviewing and challenging cost base, drivers and identifying opportunities
• Benchmarking performance - financial, non-financial vs. other airports / industries, investment analysis and benefits tracking
• Supporting and influencing key commercial and strategic decisions balancing customer service with cost / revenue
• Delivering regular reporting across operations, that is high quality, concise and insightful
• Ownership of planning process, assisting in target setting and deliverables to provide challenging, achievable plan
• Benchmarking of costs and revenue across Heathrow and externally to provide greater insight into cost reduction and growth opportunities

Qualifications

• Qualified accountant with a CIMA, ACCA or ACA qualification with managerial experience operating at an operational and strategic level.
• Driven, with significant energy. Strong influencer with the ability to structure and deliver persuasive arguments at Director and Executive Director levels.
• Reflective with the demonstrable ability to learn from and adapt to environment to deliver results.
• Knowledge and experience of a complex commercial environment (preferably an airport but not essential)
• Strong leadership skills with a demonstrable track record of leading high-performance teams toward the successful attainment of challenging goals

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About Us

There's something so special about working at the world's most iconic airport. Its sights. Its sounds. Its constant air of excitement. Heathrow is an amazing backdrop to a career filled with unique opportunities.

Every day, you'll discover a world full of fresh possibilities and end the day buzzing with stories to tell, as you encounter people from all cultures, nationalities and experiences. A world full of pride for what we do and no end of exciting career prospects to explore.

It brings out the best in all of us. And inspires everyone to deliver on our ambitious plans. Together, we're working to welcome millions more passengers while ensuring aviation can continue to be a force for good by leading global efforts in sustainability.

Join us on that journey and we'll help you achieve your ambitions too. Supporting you to learn, encouraging you to be yourself, backing you to achieve more than you might ever have imagined. Because there's no place like Heathrow.

Our rewards

We offer competitive salaries and excellent benefits that will support you now and in the future. As well as performance-based annual bonuses and our longer-term Share in Success Bonus plans, we also offer generous annual leave allowances and market-leading pensions. With family friendly policies, access to private health insurance and a wide range of wellbeing tools, we'll support you to be at your best inside and outside work. And of course, we'll provide varied learning and development opportunities too. Here you'll find everything you need for a fulfilling career journey that can take you in exciting directions.

Working Location

Our Hybrid working approach offers the opportunity for colleagues in some roles to work from home for an average of two days a week, providing the flexibility to work in an agile way whilst ensuring we deliver for the operational needs of Heathrow. Working arrangements vary from team to team and will be confirmed during the recruitment process. You'll need to be based in the UK and within a commutable distance to Heathrow.

Sustainable Travel to work

Heathrow's Sustainable Travel Guide sets out easy and sustainable travel options that everyone can access.

Equal Opportunities

As an equal opportunities employer, we encourage applications from all. We believe that diverse talent makes us stronger - not least because we welcome passengers from all corners of the globe, every single day. Heathrow is an accessible place to work. With four diversity networks, we champion inclusivity and celebrate individuality.

About the Team

Discover a one-of-a-kind career. Our vision at Heathrow is to be an extraordinary airport, fit for the future. In the Finance team we know that generating income is critical to driving our business forward, but it's also vital that we create positive passenger and customer experiences that make every journey better. You'll help us to get the balance right so we can continue investing in our world-class environment.

There's something so special about working at the world's most iconic airport. Heathrow's size, scale, and reputation for innovation translates to exciting opportunities for everyone. Finance here is about more than numbers. It's about being influential, developing trusted relationships, and showing the world that we're a responsible investment with a bright future; a place that embraces digital innovation and has a sustainable mindset. You'll become part of a team that drives excellence across everything from insurance to investment, treasury to business partnering, as you collaborate widely to deliver projects that directly impact millions of passengers each year.