Job Description

Arriva is a leading European passenger transport partner, operating in 11 countries across the UK and Europe. With around 35,000 colleagues delivering more than 1.5 billion passenger journeys each year, we connect people and communities safely, reliably and sustainably. With strong roots dating back to 1938 and an ambitious growth and sustainability agenda, Arriva is focused on building a strong and sustainable future.

We are looking for a Finance Modeller / Analyst – Bids & Franchising to join our UK Bus team. This role will play a critical part in strengthening Arriva’s ability to compete and succeed in the UK bus franchising and tendering market.

This is a fantastic opportunity for a qualified or part-qualified accountant who enjoys working at the intersection of finance, strategy and operations. The role will focus on delivering high-quality financial modelling and commercial insight to support franchise bids, contract renewals and long-term strategic decisions across the business.

Working closely with colleagues across operations, engineering, network planning and the central bid team, the successful candidate will help translate complex operational data into robust financial models and clear commercial insight. The role requires someone who can combine strong analytical capability with commercial awareness and who is comfortable working within fast-paced bid cycles and tight deadlines.

Through accurate modelling, scenario analysis and clear financial insight, this role will support senior leaders in making informed decisions that shape Arriva’s future in the UK bus market.

This role will be on a hybrid working basis, a minimum of 3 days per week in either the Thurmaston, Lacon or Aintree offices, with the remainder focused on where you can best deliver for your colleagues while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

Key Responsibilities

Franchise Bid Financial Modelling

• Build, maintain and enhance complex financial models used to support UK Bus franchise and contract bids.
• Translate operational data such as driver costs, engineering costs, mileage, depot performance and asset requirements into commercially robust financial models.
• Run scenario planning, sensitivity analysis and risk assessments to support bid strategy and margin analysis.
• Ensure financial models meet governance, auditability and investment evaluation standards.

Commercial Finance Insight

• Provide high-quality commercial insight into cost drivers, revenue performance and operational efficiency.
• Review historical operational and financial performance to inform future bid assumptions.
• Prepare clear outputs and presentations to support senior stakeholder discussions and bid decision-making.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Operations, Business Finance, Engineering, Network Planning and the central Bid Team to ensure financial assumptions align with operational realities.
• Act as a finance business partner within the bid process, translating operational inputs into clear commercial implications.
• Support collaborative working across multiple stakeholders to ensure a joined-up approach to bids and tenders.

Governance & Continuous Improvement

• Contribute to the ongoing development of modelling tools and forecasting processes used in franchise bidding environments.
• Maintain strong financial controls to ensure accuracy, consistency and compliance with Arriva governance frameworks.
• Support the development of standardised templates and processes across the bidding function.

Stakeholder & Deadline Management

• Operate effectively within high-pressure bid timelines, balancing changing priorities while maintaining a high level of accuracy and attention to detail.
• Coordinate inputs from multiple stakeholders across finance, operations and commercial teams.
• Communicate complex financial outputs in a clear, structured and concise way.

What we’d like from you

We welcome applications from individuals who are commercially minded, analytically strong and comfortable working in complex and fast-paced environments. You will be someone who enjoys solving problems, working collaboratively with operational teams and translating financial information into meaningful insight.

Candidates will preferably:

• Be a qualified or part-qualified accountant (CIMA, ACCA, ACA or equivalent).
• Have strong financial modelling skills, including experience managing large or complex models.
• Demonstrate strong commercial awareness and the ability to interpret financial data through both operational and strategic perspectives.
• Be comfortable working to tight deadlines and adapting quickly in bid-driven or fast-paced environments.
• Have excellent stakeholder management skills and the ability to influence and collaborate with both operational and senior teams.
• Possess strong analytical capability, high attention to detail and strong numerical skills.
• Be able to communicate complex financial information clearly and effectively.

It would also be beneficial if candidates:

• Have experience within the transport sector (bus, rail, aviation or logistics) or other franchised or contract-led industries.
• Have experience supporting competitive bidding, tendering or contract environments.
• Have familiarity with business intelligence tools such as Power BI or Tableau, and ERP systems.
• Have experience working within multi-site operational environments or cost allocation models.

Finally, we are looking for candidates who align with Arriva’s values and who are motivated to play a key role in strengthening our competitiveness and supporting the continued growth of our UK Bus operations.