Senior Project Accountant - Major Infrastructure Programme

Summary

We are seeking a qualified and experienced Senior Project Accountant to support a major strategic infrastructure programme within the regulated utilities sector on an initial six-month interim basis.

Reporting to the Head of Finance Assets, the role will establish and strengthen financial governance, provide financial challenge and assurance over programme business cases, and support robust reporting, forecasting and decision-making across a major capital investment programme.

The ideal candidate will bring strong capital project accounting experience, excellent financial modelling and business case review skills, and the confidence to work with senior stakeholders in a complex, regulated environment.

Role Purpose

We are looking for an experienced Senior Project Accountant to provide dedicated strategic financial leadership, challenge and assurance to a significant infrastructure programme.

Acting as the programme's senior finance lead and trusted adviser to the Head of Finance Assets and programme leadership team, the successful candidate will be responsible for establishing robust financial governance, strengthening financial controls and owning the financial aspects of business cases as the programme progresses through key internal and regulatory decision points.

The programme is a strategically significant infrastructure investment within the water and regulated utilities sector, focused on securing resilient, compliant and affordable essential services for customers.

Operating within a complex capital delivery, regulatory and commercial environment, the programme requires strong financial discipline to support value for money, affordability, risk management and effective decision-making.

Key Responsibilities

The Senior Project Accountant will be responsible for:

• Establishing and embedding appropriate financial governance arrangements for the programme, including reporting routines, approval processes, financial controls and clear accountabilities.

• Owning the financial content of programme business cases, with particular focus on cost estimates, assumptions, affordability, whole-life cost, contingency, risk allowances, funding treatment and value-for-money evidence.

• Leading financial assessment of affordability, financeability and value-for-money implications of programme options, ensuring recommendations remain supportable within the organisation's financial and regulatory framework.

• Providing financial challenge and assurance to programme teams, ensuring financial inputs are robust, internally consistent and aligned with corporate governance requirements.

• Supporting the development of financial models, cost forecasts, cash flow projections and scenario analysis to inform key programme decisions.

• Providing independent financial advice and challenge to Executive, Board and governance forums, ensuring decision-makers have a clear understanding of programme affordability, risk exposure, value for money and financial implications.

• Working with project managers, asset teams, commercial colleagues and finance stakeholders to ensure project costs are accurately captured, reported and understood.

• Supporting the design of budgetary control arrangements, including cost coding, commitment tracking, accruals, forecasting, variance analysis and change control.

• Identifying financial risks, opportunities and dependencies, ensuring these are appropriately reflected in reporting, governance and business case documentation.

• Reviewing programme financial information for completeness, accuracy and audit readiness.

• Advising on the financial implications of procurement, delivery routes, enabling works, regulatory commitments and programme options.

• Supporting interactions with regulators, external assurance providers, auditors and advisers, providing financial evidence and challenge as required.

• Supporting alignment between programme financial information and wider corporate planning, capital investment, regulatory and asset management processes.

• Helping to create a sustainable financial governance framework that can be maintained beyond the initial six-month assignment.

Essential Experience

• Fully qualified accountant, or equivalent, such as ACA, ACCA, CIMA or comparable qualification.

• Significant experience in project accounting, capital programme finance, commercial finance, infrastructure finance or a similar senior finance role.

• Proven experience supporting large-scale capital, construction, infrastructure, utilities, engineering, public sector or regulated investment programmes.

• Experience supporting major infrastructure programmes through stage-gate, Executive and Board approval processes.

• Strong understanding of project financial governance, including budgeting, forecasting, cash flow, cost control, commitment tracking, accruals, reconciliations and financial reporting.

• Experience reviewing or preparing business cases, investment appraisals or financial submissions, ideally using structured business case or five-case model principles.

• Ability to review and challenge financial assumptions, cost estimates, risk allowances, contingency, inflation, phasing and whole-life cost information.

• Strong financial modelling and scenario analysis capability, with advanced Excel skills.

• Experience producing high-quality financial reports and presenting financial information to senior stakeholders.

• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to work confidently with non-finance colleagues, project managers, senior leaders and external advisers.

• Ability to operate quickly and independently in a complex programme environment, bringing structure, pace and sound judgement.

• Strong attention to detail, combined with the ability to see the broader commercial and strategic context.

Desirable Experience

• Experience within the water, utilities, infrastructure, construction, regulated asset or public sector sectors.

• Experience of major capital programmes delivered through complex commercial or procurement models, such as DPC, PFI, alliance, framework or competitively appointed provider arrangements.

• Familiarity with regulatory investment submissions, regulated-sector governance or business cases prepared for external scrutiny.

• Experience of financial controls in SAP or a similar ERP system.

• Knowledge of capitalisation, fixed assets, work-in-progress, cost allocation and project ledger governance.

• Experience supporting audit, assurance, gateway reviews or independent challenge of business case financials.

• Understanding of risk, uncertainty and optimism bias in capital project financial appraisal.

• Experience developing finance processes, templates, reporting packs or governance frameworks from a relatively immature starting point.

Personal Attributes

The successful candidate will be:

• Commercially minded and able to balance financial control with practical programme delivery.

• Confident in challenging assumptions constructively and professionally.

• Able to translate complex financial information into clear, decision-useful insight.

• Comfortable working at pace and prioritising across multiple workstreams.

• Highly organised, structured and disciplined in their approach.

• Collaborative, credible and able to build trust quickly with operational, asset, commercial and finance teams.

• Outcome-focused, with a strong commitment to value for money, governance and customer affordability.

The Opportunity

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced Senior Project Accountant to play a key financial leadership role within a major strategic infrastructure programme in the regulated utilities sector, providing high-level financial challenge, governance and assurance across a complex and commercially significant investment programme.

The initial assignment is expected to be six months, with the opportunity to make a tangible impact by strengthening financial governance and supporting the programme through important investment and regulatory decision points.