Financial Accountant

Application Deadline: 8 September 2026

Department: Finance

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Rigby Road Depot

Reporting To: Finance Director

Compensation: £65,000 - £75,000 / year

Description

Blackpool Transport is looking for a professionally qualified Financial Accountant to help reshape how finance works across a busy and complex bus and tram business.

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 secure, predominantly paperless finance function, replacing manual hand-offs and duplicate processing with clear digital workflows.
Redesign purchasing, approvals, expenses, reconciliations, reporting and document retention so that work is simpler, faster and better controlled.
Create reliable dashboards, standard reports and self-service information that help managers act on performance.
Bring people with you: involve users, test solutions, train teams, 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.
Develop a control environment covering banking, payments, fraud prevention and financial governance.
Produce high-quality financial insight 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, and the IT Manager, with support from the Finance Director.

What you will bring

A professional accountancy qualification and full membership of ACA, ACCA, CIMA or CIPFA.
Strong technical experience across management and statutory reporting, audit, controls and balance-sheet management.
Evidence that you have improved a finance function through process redesign, digitisation, automation or system implementation.
The confidence to lead managers, build capability and challenge established ways of working constructively.
Advanced spreadsheet, finance-system and data skills, combined with the judgement to turn technology opportunities into practical and controlled improvements.
Clear communication and the ability to make financial information useful to operational colleagues, senior leaders and Board members.

What success will look like

'Fewer paper-based processes. Less rekeying and chasing. Stronger controls. Faster reporting. Better-connected systems. Clearer insight. A confident Finance and Payroll team with more capacity to analyse, improve and support the business.'

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.
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?

If you are excited by the idea of turning a capable but paper-heavy finance function into a modern, digitally enabled service, we would like to hear from you. When applying, tell us about a finance transformation or process improvement you have led, how you brought people with you and the difference it made.

Key Responsibilities

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 returns.
Coordinating the annual budget, medium-term financial plan and in-year forecasts.
Prepare financial models, scenarios and sensitivity analysis.
Monitor projects and funded activities and support robust grant, subsidy and funding claims.
Identify and quantify financial risks and opportunities.
Maintain short- and medium-term cash-flow forecasts and oversee receivables, payables and other working-capital balances.
Ensure bank, control-account and key passenger-revenue reconciliations are completed promptly.
Lead the move towards a modern, secure and predominantly paperless finance function, with clear priorities, ownership, milestones and measurable benefits.
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.
Build capability, resilience and a culture of ownership and continuous improvement across the teams within the role's remit.
Represent Blackpool Transport professionally, communicate confidently at all levels and deputise for the Finance Director on agreed financial matters.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

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.

Benefits

33 days’ holiday per year inclusive of 8 public holidays.
'Recruit a friend' scheme.
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.
Free Parking

Key Responsibilities

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

Benefits

About Blackpool Transport Services