- Competitive Salary
- Onsite Parking
Design Group plc is a global designer, innovator and manufacturer across various celebration and creative categories. The Group partners with leading retailers worldwide, offering an integrated end-to-end proposition across design, sourcing, manufacturing and distribution.
Design Group simplified the group in 2025 and sharpened its focus on its core operations in the UK, the Netherlands, Poland, Australia and Hong Kong, following the divestment of the Americas business in May 2025. The Group operates a well-invested manufacturing footprint across Europe and Australia, enabling to concentrate its resources on markets where it has strong capabilities and attractive long-term growth prospects, while supporting sustainable growth.
Following the disposal of Americas in May 2025, the underlying Group is generating nearly £300 million revenue and remains well positioned for sustainable growth. The Group operates a diversified portfolio across multiple categories and seasonal occasions, supplying customers in more than 70 countries with over 550 million units annually.
There are three core elements to Design Group’s business model: Product Design and Development, Manufacturing and Sourcing, and Distribution and Fulfilment. The Group’s strategy is built around key pillars: partnering with winners (growing organically with existing and new customers across product areas), driving design and innovation into new channels and adjacent categories, and enhancing efficiency and scale to improve margins and unlock further value through selective strategic opportunities.
The innovation and skill of the Group is showcased through the development of SmartwrapTM, a unique, shrink-free giftwrap solution, which we believe to be best in market. SmartwrapTM is not only an environmentally-friendly design which helps to drive global, positive change but also reinforces our position as category innovators.
Design Group prides itself on delivering high-quality products and service excellence. The Group has been recognised by major retail partners for execution, innovation and reliability, reflecting its commitment to customer success and long-term partnerships.
More at: https://www.thedesigngroup.com/
Key Purpose Statement
The Group Finance Improvement Lead owns the improvement of finance processes and systems across the Group. The role includes a number of potential improvement initiatives including redesigning the month-end accounting, consolidation and reporting cycle, project managing a Group consolidation system change, and providing ad hoc data analysis support to the Commercial Finance Controller.
This is a fixed-term role for an initial 12 months, where performance and ongoing business need will be reviewed at month 9 to determine whether the role converts to a permanent position.
Organisational Context
Key internal stakeholders are:
- Group Financial Controller
- Commercial Finance Controller
- Finance Directors & Financial Controllers of Group companies
Key external stakeholders are:
- Consolidation system provider (Adaptive)
Key Accountabilities and Outputs
Reporting & Systems Improvement
- Lead Group Finance improvement projects, including but not limited to the following:
- Lead the redesign of the month-end Business Unit submission timetable, with the objective of working with the BUs to materially shortening the BU-to-Group reporting cycle
- Redesign Group month-end accounting, consolidation and reporting processes to remove duplication and strengthen control
- Design and implement process automation across the Group reporting cycle, using appropriate tools, to reduce manual effort and improve data quality
- Act as project manager for the Group consolidation system (Adaptive) change/upgrade project, including scoping, delivery planning, testing and stakeholder communication
- Drive improvements to treasury reporting, including forecasting accuracy and cash-related reporting templates
- Support process improvement in the business units, including improvements to ERP processes, data structures and reporting outputs
- Proactively identify, propose and implement best-practice improvements to Group reporting processes and tools
Commercial Finance Support
- Partner with the Commercial Finance Controller in pulling, structuring and preparing data to allow for improved commercial insight
Other Responsibilities
- Contribute to ad hoc finance and cross-functional projects as required
- Share process and system improvements with business unit finance teams so the benefits are adopted across the Group
- Support other Group functions as required
Skills and Experience:
- Qualified accountant (ACA / ACCA / CIMA or equivalent)
- Demonstrable experience of driving process improvement and automation within a finance function
- Experience of group consolidation and management reporting processes
- Experience managing or supporting system implementation, change or improvement projects
- Experience of a group consolidation or planning platform such as Workday Adaptive Planning
- Strong analytical capability, with the confidence to interrogate and challenge financial information
- Experience working within, or alongside, an international Group finance function
Key attributes of the successful candidate
- Self-starter, comfortable owning a programme of work with a defined end point and clear milestones
- Ability to engage effectively with stakeholders at all levels, including senior management and overseas finance teams
- High attention to detail combined with the ability to see the wider commercial picture
- Strong project management discipline — able to plan, sequence and land change without close supervision
- Advanced systems literacy, including financial models and consolidation tools
- High degree of self-reliance, accountability and personal drive
Competence Requirements
Generate real insights:
- We are deeply curious about our business, consumers and the market. We use this curiosity and our analytical skills to build a deep understanding of the business and the market, and to identify new solutions to business problems.
- We know when to and are willing to deduce insights and make recommendations based on the data available, even when some ambiguity still exists, to enable decision making at the right time.
Commit to excellence:
- We are constantly raising the bar for our function, looking to add value to the business.
- We engage with our internal customers to understand their challenges and what they need from us, and we adapt to meet their needs.
Challenge constructively:
- We bring financial analysis and insights to our colleagues across the business, and this is a key way in which we add value.
- We take a thorough, data based approach coupled with a broad and deep understanding of the value chain
- We bring this thoroughness to the table in a way that helps the business make the right decisions.
Communicate and influence:
- We debate objectively.
- At the same time, we understand the concerns and expertise level of the people we’re communicating with, and we adapt and tailor our messages so they resonate with others and have the desired impact.
- Through our clarity of communication, we help the business make value adding commercial decisions.
Build relationships:
- We influence the business and its decisions by developing strong, trusting relationships with our colleagues.
- We build these relationships by understanding different perspectives and ways of working and thinking.
- We are insightful about others unspoken concerns.
Develop people:
- We are committed to people development within the function to help our teams make the shift required to deliver on the Finance Vision.
- We give quality feedback, ensure challenging development is provided and actively support the role of personal development in launching and sustaining the transition
About our people and the recruitment process
We’re an inclusive employer and we welcome applications from everyone!
We are guided by our values – purpose, pace, passion and people. We are committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity and to create an inclusive working environment. We believe this can be achieved through attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse range of staff from many different backgrounds.
If you would like any support with your application or to discuss any adjustments that you may require to support you to application process, please contact [email protected]
Benefits:
- Free parking
- On-site parking
Work Location: In person
