Head of Finance - Water & Infrastructure
Location: Haydock / Warrington
Employment type: Full Time
Working Hours: Monday to Friday
What’s in it for you…
We believe in looking after our people, and it shows. When you join Ipsum, you’re not just taking a job — you’re starting a career with real support behind it.
About the role…
As a Head of Finance, you will lead and manage the day-to-day financial operations for the Water and Infrastructure Division, providing strategic and operational support to the Finance Director.
You will take ownership of financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting and team leadership, ensuring strong financial governance while acting as a key business partner to operational leaders.
You will be responsible for developing and mentoring the finance team, supporting their growth and ensuring the function operates effectively to meet business objectives.
You will…
• Oversee the month end process from start to finish, ensuring deadlines are met and monthly business reviews are prepared and presented
• Review and challenge balance sheet reconciliations to ensure accuracy and completeness
• Lead divisional budgeting and forecasting processes, identifying risks and opportunities to achieve full year targets
• Present financial forecasts and budgets alongside Operations Directors to senior leadership
• Lead, manage and develop the finance team, including recruitment and mentoring
• Work collaboratively with other departments to identify cost savings and revenue opportunities
• Lead external and customer audits across the division
• Support operational strategy by providing financial insight and acting as a critical friend to senior stakeholders
• Review and approve divisional payroll and VAT calculations
• Support acquisitions and integration activity in partnership with the Head of Finance Acquisitions
• Validate CRM system data prior to management review
• Drive continuous improvement in reporting, automation and data quality
• Support business cases, investment appraisals and financial modelling for strategic initiatives
About you…
We are looking for an experienced and commercially minded finance leader who is confident working in a fast-paced environment and influencing senior stakeholders.
• Fully qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA or CIMA)
• Strong background in commercial finance and management accounting
• Proven experience managing or mentoring others
• Advanced Excel skills, including modelling and analysis
• Strong analytical mindset and ability to work with complex data
• Confident communicator with the ability to challenge and influence stakeholders
• Highly organised with strong attention to detail
• Able to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment
• Leadership capability with a collaborative and team-focused approach
• Ability to provide constructive feedback and support development
Our commitment to Equal Opportunities...
We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and experiences, and we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce.
Before applying, please review our Privacy Policy to understand how we process your data in line with GDPR.
Next steps...
If you are interested in this opportunity, please apply or reach out to the Careers Team for more info
At Ipsum, we provide specialist engineering services across the UK’s regulated water and energy companies and private sector businesses.
We work with our customers to maintain, optimise and develop their above and below ground assets to ensure security and resilience, and with our smart systems and ways of working, we ensure we deliver on time, on budget and safely.
At Ipsum, we develop long-term working relationships with our customers by providing essential utility services on both public and private networks. We have many long-term contracts and framework arrangements in place which are built upon great customer service, safe working practices and the ability to flex and deploy specialist skillsets at short notice.
The growth of Ipsum has been built upon our people and our ability to meet the demanding and ever-changing needs of our customers. The UK utility sector is evolving and expanding to meet increasing customer demand, regulatory-driven outcomes and to exploit new innovative technologies, at Ipsum we will continue to grow in this sector by being a reliable, flexible and agile service partner that helps customers meet these new challenges.
As we know, utility service provision is not a 9 to 5 business, our customers don’t switch off their networks or assets at night, or at the weekends, or on holidays, or when things are quiet. They need them to work round the clock – and we at Ipsum are right beside them 24/7 to make sure they do.
We pride ourselves in providing specialist scheduled maintenance services, being able to respond to an individual call-out or mobilise onto a major upgrade project and that our customers can rely on Ipsum 24/7/365.
