Management Accountant

Working at the RFU means being part of the ‘bigger picture’ at England Rugby: to be rooted in our purpose, which is to enrich lives, introduce more people to rugby union & develop the sport for future generations. If our purpose resonates with you, and you recognise the value that sport can bring to people’s lives, we’d love to work with you. An opportunity has arisen for two Management Accountants (one qualified, one part-qualified) to join our Finance team on a fixed term basis, with the potential to move to a permanent contract.

Job Title : Management Accountant
Department : Finance
Reports to : Financial Control Manager
Salary Banding : c.£40,000-£58,000 per annum, depending on experience
Job Level : Guide
Location : HQ - This role is contractually based at Allianz Stadium
Employment Type : 12-month Fixed Term Contract, with the potential of moving into a permanent position
Working Hours : This is a full-time role, covering 35hrs per week

Application Information:

• Please submit an anonymised CV (i.e. remove personal details).
• The closing date for applications 11th February at 5pm.

The Role:

We are seeking two Management Accountants (one qualified, one part-qualified) to join our Finance Team and play a key role as the RFU begins its journey to deliver its new strategy, Plan 2030, and begin its stadium masterplan project. 

The position offers a broad range of accounting responsibilities across both month-end and year-end cycles. It requires close collaboration with colleagues across the business and wider finance team to ensure accurate reporting and high-quality financial outputs.

The Team:

The Finance team compromises Financial Control, Strategic Finance and Procurement. Our purpose is to ensure the RFU remains financially strong and able to support its organisational objectives. We maintain robust financial controls to provide insight and support effective decision making and optimisation of the RFU’s assets.

We work collaboratively to achieve our goals, continuously seeking opportunities for improvement while fostering a supportive and inclusive team environment. We typically operate in a hybrid working model, with time split between office and home. 

Some key responsibilities include:

Financial Accounting & Reporting

• Working with finance business partners and stakeholders across the business to prepare and post monthly, quarterly and year-end journals.
• Develop and maintain models, reconciliations and suitable evidence to support the external audit process.
• Assist with Finance activities across various entities, including but not limited to:
  • Balance sheet reconciliations
  • Preparation of statutory accounts
  • Information requests from various internal and external stakeholders
• Act as a key point of contact for the internal and external auditors.
• Maintain accuracy and integrity of the general ledger.

Financial analysis and support

• Work alongside the finance business partners by providing insight into the numbers through variance analysis, cost reviews and trend reporting to impact business decisions.
• Highlight risk and opportunities, and drivers of financial performance.
• Contribute to budgeting and periodic reforecasts.
• Work with cost centre owners to review expenditure, understand variances, and identify cost savings or revenue generation opportunities.
• Track and monitor key cost categories e.g. overheads, staffing, project spend and support the business partners in challenging unexpected fluctuations.

Stakeholder engagement

• Work with internal departments to ensure accurate financial results are reported.
• Communicate accounting impacts and results to non-finance colleagues in a clear and accessible manner.
• Gather and challenge information provided to the business to ensure accurate reporting.

System and process improvement

• Maintain and update ERP and finance systems with accurate financial information.
• Assist in implementing to changes to financial processes, including automation, workflow improvements, and system upgrades.
• Identify opportunities to streamline month-end close activities and improve reporting efficiency.
• Provide training or guidance to the business on the system.

General

• Actively collaborate with colleagues to contribute to the development and delivery of the current strategic, business and operational plans.
• Act as an ambassador for, and promote the best interests of the RFU, including the promotion of our culture and core values – This Rose Means Everyone: Put The Team First, Shape The Future, Respect Each Other.
• Undertake other duties as may be required from time to time as are consistent with the responsibilities of the post and the needs of the organisation.

Qualifications, Skills & Experience:

The skills and attributes outlined in this description are not exhaustive and we welcome candidates who can bring different relevant experiences to the role.

Essential:

• Part-Qualified/Qualified/Qualified through experience
• Comprehensive understanding of best practice and trends in finance
• Ability to work independently and with high levels of autonomy.
• Proven time management and prioritisation skills.
• Effective interpersonal, and relationship management skills.
• Strong collaboration, influencing and partner management skills with the ability to challenge constructively.
• Proven stakeholder management skills with an ability to influence at all levels.
• Self-aware; committed to continuous professional and personal development.
• Proficient in working with Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint and proficiency with Smartsheet.
• Committed to embodying the ethos our culture by using our three core values – Put The Team First, Shape The Future, Respect Each Other – to guide your day-to-day decisions, actions and interactions.
• Committed to actively contributing and building an inclusive culture in your role and day to day behaviours.

Additional Information:

• We want you to have every opportunity to demonstrate your skills, ability and potential. If there is anything we could do to support you through your application or to provide the best environment for your interviews, including assistance or adjustment, please reach out to recruitment. 
• During your application, we will ask questions about your identity. This information is considered highly confidential and will not be seen by hiring managers. You can find out more about why we ask these questions here.

Feel free to download a copy of the job description here.

About England Rugby
England Rugby or Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for rugby in England. We deliver three core activities, and our purpose is to enrich lives, introduce more people to rugby union and develop the sport for future generations.
Our core activities are:

• Rugby – supporting rugby from grassroots to performance level
• Commercial – building partnerships and hosting matches and events
• Running the business - ensuring our organization and people can thrive

Our Culture
At England Rugby, one of our core objectives is to drive rugby union to better reflect the diversity of society. We are aware that rugby, and sports in general, has not always been as welcoming an environment for everyone as we would like, and we are working hard to make rugby a more inclusive space for all identities.
We believe hiring people from underrepresented groups into positions at all levels is vital to creating spaces and initiatives that better support those identities. We would love to see applications from disabled people, LGBTQ+; people, people from ethnically diverse communities, people of faith, people from lower socio-economic backgrounds, and women and non-binary people.
We know that representation is more than just getting people through the door, it’s about keeping people by responding to structural barriers relating to identities and valuing the insights that different lived experiences bring. We have network groups that provide peer-to-peer support and drive forward change internally. We support colleagues to develop, and each colleague has access to a personal coaching platform that can provide same-day one-to-one coaching. We are pushing ourselves to create a more inclusive culture every day through role modelling our culture and core values; This Rose Means Everyone: Put The Team First, Shape The Future, Respect Each Other.
We know that flexible working is important to our colleagues, so our guiding principles are designed to support everyone to work in the way that suits them, their teams, and the organization in the best way.
We want you to have every opportunity to demonstrate your skills, ability and potential. If there is anything we could do to support you through your application or to provide the best environment for your interviews, including assistance or adjustment, please reach out to recruitment@rfu.com.
What we can offer you
We are proud of the range of benefits we can provide:

• A variety of corporate discounts
• Priority access to purchase match tickets
• 25% discount in Rugby Store and EnglandRugby.com
• 25 days of annual leave
• Your birthday day off
• Free access to the stadium gym
• Life assurance of 4x your basic salary, income protection scheme and Employee Assistance Programme that offers anonymous and confidential, emotional and practical support 24/7
• Pension Scheme; the RFU will double match your individual contribution up to 10% of salary
• Ride-to-work scheme, eyecare vouchers, season ticket loans and so much more.
• If you would like to find out more about our diversity and inclusion work or the culture at England Rugby, please visit our website here: https://www.englandrugby.com/about-rfu/rfu-policies/diversity-and-inclusion/our-approach