Assistant Financial Controller

About Selecta

Selecta is Europe's leading provider of unattended self-service coffee and convenience food solutions. Operating across 16 European countries, we serve over 12 million people every day through innovative vending and specialist coffee services.

In the UK, we provide a nationwide service to approximately 3,500 businesses, delivering high-quality beverages and snacks to workplaces, schools, universities, hospitals, and a wide range of other customer locations.

About the Role

As Assistant Financial Controller you will report to the Head of Financial Control and be accountable for the accuracy, integrity and timeliness of the UK entity's financial reporting to Group. You will own the reporting of Technical and Wholesale revenue and margin – two of the five revenue streams in the business – delivering monthly actuals, variance analysis and commentary. You will help lead the month-end close, own a defined portfolio of balance sheet reconciliations (both preparing and reviewing) and deliver the monthly, quarterly and annual Cognos submissions to Group. You will act as the day-to-day point of contact for the external auditors and support the preparation of the year-end statutory accounts, ensuring the UK meets all Group deadlines. The role carries a clear improvement remit: strengthening the control environment, driving automation, and supporting the transition to a new ERP.

12 month fixed term contract

Month-end close and management reporting

• Help lead the UK month-end close, ensuring the timetable is met and results are accurate, complete and fully understood
• Own the reporting of Technical and Wholesale revenue and margin, providing monthly actuals and variances to budget and forecast
• Prepare and review journals, with monthly variance analysis and provide insight to wider business
• Own the payroll journal and related reconciliations, liaising with the HR Business Partner and SD Worx
• Provide detailed commentary on variances between actual and budgeted results for both the P&L and the balance sheet

Group reporting

• Prepare and submit the Cognos submission to Group on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis, within deadline

• Complete intercompany reconciliations and the netting submission to Treasury
• Own IFRS 16 reporting and ensure Group receives the information it requires

Balance sheet and controls

• Own a portfolio of balance sheet reconciliations – preparing, reviewing and clearing reconciling items and maintaining Floqast (BS reconciliation tool)
• Operate, evidence and monitor key financial controls, escalating and resolving control gaps

Audit and statutory reporting

• Act as the day-to-day point of contact for the external auditors, ensuring all deliverables are provided on time
• Lead the preparation of the year-end statutory accounts and the audit process

Planning, cash and change

• Work alongside Treasury and support the Head of Finance Control with free cash flow reporting and forecasting
• Support the transition to the new ERP, including data validation, process mapping and testing

• Drive process improvement and automation across the reporting cycle
• Support the annual budget, liaising with and supporting FP&A where required
• Deputise for the Head of Financial Control where required and assist with ad hoc requests from senior management

This list is not exhaustive. Responsibilities may develop over the term of the contract in line with business needs and will be reviewed with your manager.

Your core skills/attributes:

Knowledge

• Strong technical accounting knowledge as applied to group reporting, including leases (IFRS 16)
• Experience of month-end reporting and group reporting across multiple subsidiaries
• Controls background – understands balance sheet management, movements, and the link to cash and working capital
• Working knowledge of statutory accounts preparation and the external audit process
• Able to identify control and process weaknesses and implement best practice within a changing accounting function

Experience

• Fully qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA or CIMA, or equivalent) with approximately 3–5 years' post-qualification experience
• Experience of working in a fast-paced, deadline-driven finance function
• Track record of owning balance sheet reconciliations, including reviewing the work of others

Attributes

• Driven by accuracy and attention to detail, with excellent analytical and numerical ability
• Able to explain financial results clearly to finance and non-finance stakeholders at all levels
• Well organised, able to prioritise competing demands and consistently meet reporting deadlines
• Confident in challenging existing processes and articulating improvements
• Sound business and commercial understanding
• Self-motivated team player who adapts well to a fast-moving finance environment

Technical Skills

• Strong Excel skills (lookups, SUMIFS, pivot tables) applied to large and complex data sets
• Ability to apply systems knowledge to solve problems
• PowerPoint capability for reporting packs

Knowledge

• Experience of automating processes and controls
• Awareness of a formal internal control framework and how it is evidenced

Experience

• Experience working within a Private Equity-backed business
• Multi-currency reporting and foreign currency translation experience
• Involvement in an ERP implementation or migration
• Experience coaching or reviewing the work of junior finance colleagues

Attributes

• Ability to step back from the detail and provide commercial insight into results
• Composed under the pressure of deadlines

Technical Skills

• Experience of Infor M3 and/or Cognos
• Experience of FloQast or a comparable balance sheet reconciliation tool
• Power Query, Power BI or similar data tools

Your desirable skills:

Knowledge

• Experience of automating processes and controls
• Awareness of a formal internal control framework and how it is evidenced

Experience

• Experience working within a Private Equity-backed business
• Multi-currency reporting and foreign currency translation experience
• Involvement in an ERP implementation or migration
• Experience coaching or reviewing the work of junior finance colleagues

Attributes

• Ability to step back from the detail and provide commercial insight into results
• Composed under the pressure of deadlines

Technical Skills

• Experience of Infor M3 and/or Cognos
• Experience of FloQast or a comparable balance sheet reconciliation tool
• Power Query, Power BI or similar data tools

What’s in it for you?

• 25 days of annual leave plus bank holidays
• Life assurance equivalent to 2x your yearly salary
• Five weeks of occupational paid sick leave for added security
• Free parking at our Head Office and other depot locations
• Unlimited coffee and tea at our offices to keep you refreshed
• Clear career progression paths with development opportunities
• Strong leadership support to help you thrive
• Employee recognition scheme to celebrate your contributions
• Mental health and wellbeing support, including access to mental health first aiders
• Health Cash Plan

At Selecta, we are committed to equal opportunities, diversity and inclusion, embracing our differences to achieve our common goal. We are united in our principle of making people feel great and we are grounded by our purpose to create more moments of joy for everyone through our ways of working.