Are you ready to shape the future of financial controls in a dynamic FTSE 250 retail environment? If so, this could be the role for you!
Role Purpose:
This position is a critical role that moves beyond traditional framework maintenance. As a strategic partner to the Finance Leadership Team (FLT), the Senior Financial Controls Manager is the commercial and operational engine behind our Key Financial Controls framework.
Reporting to the Head of Controls, you will actively optimise and modernise our control environment for a fast-paced retail business. We are looking for an inquisitive, creative challenger who won't just execute testing but will deep-dive into near-misses, drive automated preventative solutions ahead of our ERP transition, and boldly call out risks when things are wrong. You will take full operational ownership of the framework’s lifecycle, driving a culture of continuous improvement, commercial accountability, and first-line ownership across the business.
What you’ll be doing:
- Challenge & Optimise: Lead the ongoing, strategic review and rationalisation of the Key Financial Controls framework. Don't just maintain the status quo; collaborate with senior stakeholders to challenge legacy processes, eliminate redundancies, and close risk coverage gaps.
- Automate & Prevent: Be the driving force behind modernising our controls ahead of the upcoming ERP system implementation. Shift the dial from manual/detective controls to sustainable, automated, and preventative mechanisms that keep pace with a dynamic retail business.
- Dynamic Testing Execution: Directly execute an annual testing strategy (Design and Operating Effectiveness) that goes beyond the surface. Run deep dives into near misses and root-cause failures to provide actionable, value-add insights to the business.
- Quality & Rigour: Lead high-risk testing personally and ensure all workpapers (including those of the Controls Analyst) meet stringent, audit-ready standards without getting bogged down in bureaucracy.
- Bold Stakeholder Engagement: Build high-trust, high-challenge relationships with Directors and the FLT. Have the confidence and commercial acumen to identify issues and hold senior leaders accountable for open audit actions.
- Creative Remediation: Partner with business control owners to design creative, pragmatic remediation plans that resolve systemic control failures without slowing down commercial operations.
- Leveraging Corestream: Transform Corestream from a static repository into an active workflow engine. Ensure 100% current content integrity, including the production and maintenance of Risk and Control Matrices (RACMs), while leveraging the system's data to track automation metrics and remediation workflows.
- Empower the Analyst: Oversee the Controls Analyst in executing day-to-day administration, enabling them to manage the procedural workload so you can focus on strategic business partnering.
- Impactful Reporting: Produce comprehensive, narrative-driven reporting for the FLT and Audit & Risk Committee (ARC). Move beyond basic RAG statuses to highlight control transformation metrics, ERP transition milestones, and strategic risk insights.
- Seamless Delivery: Maintain a rigorous annual delivery plan that balances multi-phase testing, risk assessments, and executive reporting milestones, ensuring zero surprises and total year-end audit readiness.
What we’re looking for:
- Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA, or similar).
- University Degree or equivalent.
- 5+ years PQE working for Big 4 or FTSE 250 organisations in finance, audit, risk, or internal controls.
- Proven track record operating at a Senior Manager level within a complex, fast-moving operating environment (retail experience is a bonus).
- Demonstrated ability to drive control scope rationalisation and automation, ideally during ERP implementations.
- Experience deep-diving into business processes to identify root causes and near-misses, not just executing routine OE/DE testing.
- A history of successfully identifying, designing, and executing pragmatic remediation activities.
- Production and maintenance of Risk and Control Matrices (RACMs) to capture detailed risk and control information.
What can we offer you?
You’ll be supported with fantastic learning and development and have the opportunity to grow and develop your career with us. We also have an early-career network to support you if you’re in your first few years of your career.
We’ll also equip you with a benefits package that includes:
- Competitive bonus
- Save-as-you-earn scheme
- Private Medical and Life Assurance
- Enhanced contributory pension scheme
- Colleague discount
- Discount platform including savings and cash back at numerous retailers, savings on gym membership, cycle-to-work scheme
Our widely recognised wellbeing strategy is something we’re proud of at Wickes. As part of this, we offer a range of health and wellbeing benefits and support, including an Employee Assistance Programme, financial education & loans, and access to parental, menopause and fertility support.
By giving you the support you need to do well at work and the flexibility to make life work for you. We are giving you a career that doesn’t put your life on hold. Where you can be yourself, do your best work, and make a positive difference every day.
