Interim Financial Controller

Location: Warrington (Hybrid)
Contract: Fixed Term (Maternity Cover) – 9 months
Salary - £80,000 - £85,000 (Pro Rata) + Bonus, Company Allowance, PMI and Pension

The Asylum Accommodation and Support Services (AASC) contract, comprising two regional contracts, has grown significantly since mobilisation in 2019 and continues through to 2029. With that growth comes increased complexity – and the need to ensure our financial control environment remains robust, consistent and fit for purpose.

We are seeking a qualified Financial Controller within the AASC finance team. This is a critical role focused on safeguarding the integrity of financial information, strengthening the control environment and driving process excellence across the contract.

Working closely with the Senior Finance Business Partner (SFBP), Business Unit Finance Director, onshore and offshore finance teams (including our BPO partner), and UK&E Group Finance, you will ensure financial information is complete, accurate and delivered right first time. A key emphasis of the role will be balance sheet integrity, IFRS16 lease accounting for circa 10,000 property leases, and embedding effective end-to-end financial processes and controls.

This role will suit a proactive, detail-oriented self-starter who thrives in a complex, matrix environment and is motivated to drive meaningful process improvement.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Ensuring the effectiveness of the financial control environment across the contract


• Maintaining robust and fully reconciled balance sheets with appropriate monthly support


• Owning lease accounting and forecasting processes in line with IFRS16 and reporting timelines


• Working closely with the Property team to ensure accurate, complete and timely lease data


• Reducing process variation and embedding improvements across end-to-end financial processes


• Supporting smooth external and internal audit cycles and minimising audit findings


• Reviewing monthly cash distribution across the contract and providing clear reporting to senior management


• Preparing quarterly financial reports for customer and senior stakeholder review


• Collaborating with global process owners and finance colleagues to enhance process effectiveness

What We’re Looking For

• Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA or CIMA)


• Experience in lease accounting and process improvement highly desirable

• Supporting external audit processes in a sizeable business


• Working with shared service centres and/or offshore finance teams


• Delivering change across a multi-stakeholder matrix environment

• Up-to-date knowledge of international accounting standards, particularly IFRS16


• Strong understanding of financial systems and standardised processes


• Experience of continuous improvement or operational excellence initiatives


• Advanced MS Office skills, particularly Excel

About You

You will be:

• Detail-focused with a passion for quality and data integrity


• Comfortable influencing across operational and finance stakeholders


• Able to operate strategically while remaining hands-on with detail


• Resilient and composed in a fast-paced, evolving environment


• Motivated to challenge inefficiencies and embed lasting improvements


• Collaborative and able to build strong relationships across teams and cultures

Why Join Us?

This is an opportunity to play a key role in strengthening financial governance within one of Serco’s most significant and complex contracts. You’ll work at the heart of a dynamic finance function transformation, influencing processes that impact thousands of properties and critical public services. If you are driven by control excellence, continuous improvement and delivering finance that the business can trust with confidence, this role offers real impact and visibility.

What we offer

• 
  
  
  
  • Company car / £4200 cash alternative
  
  
  • Private healthcare
  
  
  • Bonus scheme of up to 20%
  
  
  • Pension – 6%
  
  
  • A company passionate about diversity and inclusion
  
  
  • Serco discounts which include cinema, merlin entertainment and online shopping discounts, and discounts on mobile phone plans and leisure centre memberships.
  
  
  • A range of benefits to support the health and wellbeing of you and your family such as Employee Assistance Programme, Simply Health Cash Plans, and more.
  
  
  • A wealth of career development training to suit your future aspirations. These range from role specific training, leadership coaching, formal study and much more to support you to build your career with Serco.
  
  
  • A safe and supportive culture.
  
  
  
  

About Serco
At Serco, not only is the nature of the work we do important, everyone has an important role to play, from caring for vulnerable people to managing complex public services.  We are a team of 50,000 people responsible for delivering essential public services around the world in areas including defence, transport, justice, immigration, healthcare and citizen services. We are innovators, committed to redesigning and improving public services for the benefit of everyone.

By joining Serco you will have unlimited access to our Global Employee Networks – SercoInspire (Gender), SercoEmbrace (Multicultural), SercoUnlimited (Disability) and In@Serco (LGBT & Networks). Serco Employee Networks, led by colleagues who are passionate about diversity, inclusion and belonging. 

Apply
Please click on the apply button to complete your application. Occasionally we receive a large volume of applications for our roles and when that happens we sometimes bring the closing date forward, so please apply promptly to avoid disappointment. 

At Serco, we see people first and foremost for their performance and potential. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organisation that supports the needs of all. As such we will make reasonable adjustments at interview through to employment for our candidates and strongly encourage applications from a diverse candidate pool. We are open to discussions around flexibility and flexible working. We operate a hybrid work structure in many of our business areas. We are proudly Disability Confident Leader employers and holder of the Gold Inclusive Employer Standard. Disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job will be given the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities at an interview.  For help with your application please contact 0345 010 4000.
 

At Serco we support fair access to employment for those with unspent criminal convictions through the ‘Ban the Box’ pledge (some may be exempt due to the nature of the role and the security clearance required). Please contact our recruitment team directly on 0345 010 4000 to discuss.