Finance Manager

About the job
Salary: £58,507 - £61,745 a year plus £3,203 car benefit allowance
Hours per week: 37
Contract type: Permanent

"Are you looking for a rewarding role within Luton Rising, the Luton Council group company that owns London Luton Airport and is at the forefront of delivering Luton's inspiring 2040 vision? This role could be for you!"

We are looking for a skilled and forward-thinking Finance Manager to provide critical business partnering support to the Head of Commercial Operations and oversee accounting activities across our Commercial departments. As a key member of the finance team, you will take the lead on financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting, and management accounting, ensuring that Luton Rising's business interests are always safeguarded and strategically supported.

You will be responsible for delivering accurate and timely monthly management accounts, monitoring revenue and capital budgets, and preparing comprehensive financial reports that support decision-making at Board level. This role also involves developing and commissioning economic and financial elements of business plans and investment cases through complex financial modelling and scenario analysis.

Your responsibilities will span the full finance cycle, from budget setting and profiling, through to year-end reporting and audit management. Acting as a trusted advisor to stakeholders across the organisation, you'll work collaboratively with internal teams and external partners, applying strategic insights and detailed financial scrutiny to inform and shape commercial decision-making.

Please note this role does not attract sponsorship.
About you
You are a qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, or CIMA) with substantial post-qualification experience in a full-cycle finance leadership role. With a deep understanding of accounting principles and financial management in a commercial context, you thrive on balancing the detail with the bigger picture. You bring strong technical skills, particularly in financial systems (including Sage) and advanced Excel-based modelling, and are comfortable developing robust, integrated financial tools to support strategic planning and investment cases.

Your experience includes leading on budgeting, forecasting, and year-end closure, as well as producing high-quality financial and strategic advice at a senior level. You're someone who's comfortable with complexity, able to analyse data, draw insights, and develop practical solutions that drive business success.

You have a track record of working in dynamic, multi-stakeholder environments and can communicate complex financial information in a clear, concise and engaging way. You understand the importance of confidentiality and governance, and you act with integrity, always protecting the interests of the business and its stakeholders.

An understanding of equality legislation and the ability to embed inclusive practices into business strategies and operations is essential. You'll also need to be flexible to commute between sites when required.
About us
Our ambitious Luton 2040 Vision - that no-one in Luton will have to live in poverty - is at the heart of everything we do. We recognise that our people are remarkable, talented, committed and passionate about serving our residents.

The people of Luton depend heavily on this council - and that means our workforce! Are you ready to realise the remarkable and help us deliver our vision?

We welcome applications from all sections of the community and are committed to developing a workforce thatreflects the diversity of our borough
Application Process
Because of the nature of this job, it will be necessary for the appropriate level of criminal record disclosure to be undertaken. This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare all unspent cautions and convictions; and also any adult cautions (simple or conditional), and spent convictions that are not protected as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020). A person's criminal record will not in itself prevent a person from being appointed to this post. Applicants will not be refused posts because of offences which are not relevant to, and do not place them at or make them a risk in, the role for which they are applying. However in the event of the employment being taken up, any failure to disclose such offence, as detailed above, will result in dismissal or disciplinary action by the Authority.

On occasions, we may close a vacancy early due to a very high number of applications being received.

Benefits
We offer a range of excellent staff benefits which include:

- From 25 to 32 days' annual leave: linked to length of service and grade
- Buying annual leave scheme: buy up to 20 days additional annual leave
- Career Pathways: step up in your career or move into a specialist area
- Pension scheme: with generous employer contributions of up to 20.2 per cent (at July 2023) and 3x salary death in service grant
- Generous relocation package: up to £8,000 (subject to eligibility)
- Employee Assistance Programme: a free, 24/7 confidential counselling and wellbeing support service available to all employees, their partner or spouse and dependent children over 16 still living at home
- Work/life balance: flexible working options including working from home where possible. We welcome requests for flexible working arrangements including part-time hours and alternative working patterns
- Training and support: unlimited access to development courses, mentoring and support and clear career pathways
- Staff offers: includes discounts on your MOT, gym and fitness, restaurants and salons
- Arriva Travel Club: great value savings on local bus travel