Senior Financial Accountant

Job reference 341314
Senior Financial Accountant
Competitive salary, plus £4,000 car allowance, healthcare, 18% annual bonus potential, 27.5 days annual leave plus bank holidays rising with service and a company pension scheme with highly competitive contribution rates
Permanent, Full time

This role can be based from either our London Farringdon office (EC1A 1AA) or our Chesterfield Future Walk office (S49 1PF) operating on a hybrid basis.

Royal Mail is transforming, and we're looking for a talented Senior Technical Financial Accountant to join our Group Finance team at the heart of one of the UK's most iconic organisations.

This is an exciting opportunity for a technically strong accountant who enjoys solving complex accounting challenges, influencing senior stakeholders, and shaping high-quality external reporting. While pension accounting is a key part of the role, you'll also work across a broad range of technical accounting, reporting and finance transformation projects, contributing to some of the Group's most significant accounting matters.

If you're looking to combine deep technical expertise with meaningful business exposure and visible impact, we'd love to hear from you.

The Role
Reporting to the Financial Accounting & External Reporting Lead, you'll be the Group's expert on pension accounting and reporting, ensuring accurate accounting, robust governance, and high-quality disclosures.

You'll also partner with Finance, Tax, Treasury and wider business teams to provide technical accounting guidance on complex transactions, new accounting standards and key reporting initiatives.

This role offers a unique blend of technical depth, stakeholder engagement and strategic influence within a large, complex organisation.

Key Responsibilities

Pension Accounting & Reporting
• Lead accounting and reporting for the Group's pension arrangements.
• Own pension month-end processes, journals and reconciliations.
• Prepare pension disclosures for the Annual Report and statutory accounts.
• Manage year-end pension audits and relationships with auditors, actuaries and trustees.
• Support reporting and analysis for senior leadership, the Audit & Risk Committee and Board.

Technical Accounting & External Reporting
• Provide expert IFRS advice on complex transactions and emerging issues.
• Prepare technical accounting papers and guidance on significant judgements and standards.
• Support Group financial statements and external reporting requirements.
• Partner with Tax, Treasury and specialist teams to ensure compliant accounting treatment.
• Contribute to statutory reporting, forecasting and subsidiary reporting activities.

Projects & Continuous Improvement
• Drive improvements in reporting processes, controls and governance.
• Support implementation of new accounting standards.
• Contribute to finance transformation and technical accounting projects.
• Identify opportunities to simplify processes, strengthen controls and enhance reporting quality.

About You
You're a qualified accountant who thrives in a technically challenging environment and enjoys translating complex accounting requirements into practical business solutions. You're proactive, commercially aware and confident engaging with stakeholders at all levels.

Essential Skills & Experience
• ACA, ACCA or CIMA qualified.
• Strong technical accounting and IFRS reporting expertise.
• Experience preparing or reviewing financial statements and disclosures.
• Excellent analytical and advanced Excel skills.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to deliver under pressure.
• Clear communicator with the ability to explain complex issues to non-finance audiences.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and build strong stakeholder relationships.

Desirable
• Pension accounting experience (IAS 19).
• Knowledge of IFRS 15, IFRS 16, IFRS 9 and related reporting standards.
• Experience in a listed, multinational or regulated environment.

Extra Benefits

• Family friendly support - enhanced maternity pay, paternity leave, adoption leave and shared parental leave
• Supportive and generous company sick pay
• Funded Dental – As a manager you are eligible to a level of employer funded dental insurance*
• Health Assessment – As a manager you are eligible to an employer funded health assessment every 2 years*
• Benefits Account – You will have access to your personal benefits account on our ‘My Bundle+’ platform. There are more than 800 retail offers to help you save on things like groceries, days out, holidays and your household bills as well as employer provided and voluntary benefits to suit your lifestyle.
• Your Wellbeing - you and your family have 24/7 access to services and tools to help you get the most out of life. From your physical and mental health to financial and social support and advice. It’s free, and it’s for everyone.

*Available only to permanent employees

Next Steps

The next stage of the selection process will be a virtual meeting followed by a face to face interview consisting of competency based and role specific questions.

Trust is the foundation of Royal Mail. We aim to be transparent about the qualities we seek and what a career with us entails, building trust from the start of your journey with us. Your interview is the first step, and we want you to shine. To help you prepare, we’ll provide your interview questions in advance, so you can have your best examples ready. At Royal Mail Group, we value trust and our people.

We understand that candidates may not meet all the criteria for the role. If your experience is different, but you have relevant skills we’d love to hear from you.

Royal Mail Group is committed to inclusion and representing the diverse communities we serve. We welcome applications from all individuals. As a proud Gold signatory to the Armed Forces Covenant, we especially encourage applications from the Armed Forces community, including cadet instructors and spouses/partners.

We are committed to ensuring an inclusive recruitment process. If you require any adjustments to support you during the hiring process, please discuss these with your recruiter when contacted.

For more information on Royal Mail Group and our values please click here: https://www.internationaldistributionsservices.com/en/about-us/

Closing Date: Sunday 9th August.. Please note, this advert may close early if the appropriate number of applications has been reached.

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