Blackpool Transport is looking for a qualified Financial Accountant to help reshape how finance works across a busy and complex bus and tram company.
This is a rare opportunity to combine technical accounting leadership with genuine transformation. Working closely with the Finance Director, you will have the mandate to simplify processes, remove unnecessary paper, improve the use of technology and give managers faster, clearer insight.
What you will transform
- Lead the move towards a predominantly paperless finance function, replacing manual processes with digital workflows.
- Redesign purchasing, approvals, expenses, reconciliations, reporting and document retention so that work is simpler and better controlled.
- Create reliable dashboards, standard reports that help managers act on performance.
- Bring people with you: involve users, test solutions, embed new ways of working and measure the benefits delivered.
What you will own
- Management and statutory accounts, month-end and year-end close, balance-sheet integrity and external audit.
- Budgeting, forecasting, cash visibility, financial modelling and clear advice on risks, opportunities and investment decisions.
- Reports for the Finance Director, Executive Team, Board and budget holders across the business.
- The performance and development of the Finance Manager, who leads Finance and Payroll, alongside the IT Manager.
What you will bring
- A professional accountancy qualification and full membership.
- Strong technical experience across management and statutory reporting, audit, controls and balance-sheet management.
- The confidence to lead managers, build capability and challenge established ways of working constructively.
- Clear communication and the ability to make financial information useful to operational colleagues, senior leaders and Board members.
Why this role stands out
- You will have visible sponsorship from the Finance Director and genuine scope to shape the finance transformation agenda.
- The role combines professional accounting, people leadership, systems thinking and operational influence - not just month-end delivery.
- Your work will reach across a public transport business where better information and simpler processes can make a practical difference every day.
- Exposure to business functions that would not happen in corporate environments.
- Opportunity to develop and the potential to become the next Finance Director.
- Transport experience is welcome, but it is not essential. We are more interested in your ability to deliver sustainable change in a complex organisation.
Ready to make a visible difference?
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Financial Reporting, Statutory Accounts and Audit.
- Management and statutory accounts, with an explanation of key variances.
- Principle contact for annual audit and data provision.
- Maintain appropriate accounting policies and controls.
- Prepare or review VAT and other relevant statutory returns.
- Coordinating the annual budget, medium-term financial plan and in-year forecasts.
- Identify and quantify financial risks and opportunities.
- Maintain short- and medium-term cash-flow forecasts.
- Line-manage the Finance Manager, who leads the Finance and Payroll teams, setting clear objectives, reviewing performance and ensuring accurate, timely and compliant service delivery.
- Line-manage the IT Manager with support from the Finance Director and align the technology roadmap with finance transformation and wider business priorities.
- Represent Blackpool Transport professionally, communicate confidently at all levels and deputise for the Finance Director on agreed financial matters.
Qualifications
Essential
- Professionally qualified and a full member of a recognised accountancy body.
- Evidence of relevant continuing professional development.
Knowledge, Skills and Experience
Essential
- Proven leadership of month-end and year-end close, management and statutory accounts, balance-sheet control and external audit in a complex organisation.
- Strong experience of budgeting, forecasting, cash-flow management and financial modelling.
- Sound knowledge of UK accounting requirements.
- Advanced spreadsheet skills and confidence using finance systems, reporting tools.
- Strong analytical, communication and prioritisation skills, including the ability to challenge constructively and explain financial information to non-finance colleagues and senior decision-makers.
Desirable
- Experience in passenger transport, a local-authority-owned company, another regulated industry or a similarly complex operational environment.
- A track record of improving a finance function through process redesign, digitisation, automation or system implementation, with evidence that changes were adopted and delivered measurable benefits.
- Experience of line-managing managers or finance professionals, setting clear expectations and building team capability through change.
- Experience of high-volume transactional income, such as fare collection, contactless payments, mobile sales or payment-service-provider data.
- Experience implementing finance systems, workflow or document-management tools, or integrations across finance, payroll, procurement and revenue systems.
Behaviours
- Acts with integrity, discretion, objectivity and professional scepticism.
- Curious and improvement-focused, with the energy to challenge established ways of working.
- Accountable, organised and dependable, with high standards of accuracy and follow-through.
- Collaborative and confident, bringing colleagues with them while providing constructive challenge.
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33 days’ holiday per year inclusive of 8 public holidays.
- Free travel on all our bus and tram services (with additional passes available for a few of your nearest and dearest).
- Learning and Development opportunities.
- Enrolment into the Blackpool Transport pension scheme and access to pension advice if needed.
- Work/life assistance offering help and support available 24 hours a day through our Employee Assistance Programme.
- Exclusive Discounts on shopping, days out and much more through Spark.
- Discounted Gym membership at all Blackpool Council gyms.
Proudly serving Blackpool, Fleetwood, Thornton Cleveleys, Lytham St Anne’s and Poulton-le-Fylde with friendly and reliable transport for over 100 years
