Senior Financial Accountant – Accounting Centre of Excellence
Contract type: Permanent
Location: Hatfield (Hybrid working – 3 days in the office)Working hours per week: 40 hours
Level: Associate
Reports to: Senior Finance Manager – Accounting Centre of ExcellenceApplication Closing Date: Wednesday 2nd September 2026
About Us Our mission is to deliver joy in every shop, through unbeatable choice, unrivalled service, and reassuringly good value. We’re also on a mission to empower our business with smart technology; we’ve recently launched our AI Academy, providing a tailored AI learning journey for every colleague.
We’re Ocado Retail , a market-leading joint venture between Ocado Group and M&S, and the world’s largest dedicated online supermarket, ocado.com . Not only is Ocado the only place to shop a full range of M&S food online, it’s also the home to the widest online supermarket range in the UK and champion of small, independent brands. We’re also the brains behind Zoom by Ocado , our same-day grocery delivery service.
About The Team And The Role At Ocado Retail our Finance team plays a critical role in supporting the business to drive forward. Reporting to the Senior Finance Manager – Accounting Centre of Excellence, the Senior Financial Accountant plays a key role in delivering our accounting and reporting for the business, driving and delivering process improvement/system implementation projects and upholding integrity in our financials.
The Senior Financial Accountant – Accounting Centre of Excellence is a key member of the team with a focus on our balance sheet and P&L positions for Operations, Treasury, Marketing, and Leases, responsible for month-end delivery of those areas. Alongside those areas, this role is expected to drive project delivery and continuous improvement within the Accounting Centre of Excellence following our consolidation change to M&S.
What You’ll Do
- Ownership of Accounting Areas –You will have responsibility for the month-end processes and wider reporting to finance business partners for your core remit: Operations, Treasury, Marketing, and Leases. You will also gain exposure to other areas of the business, supporting peers in the team to deliver on their focus areas in an agile way. You will also support the Senior Finance Manager in running the end to end month end close by owning several workflow processes and files.
- Finance to Finance Business Partnering – Work closely with key stakeholders in your focused areas to support them to improve the quality of their output in contributing to business performance as well as ensuring they are completing adequate reviews and having clear understanding of their financials.
- Lease System Optimisation: Partner closely with the Financial Reporting team to drive continuous improvement, efficiency, and best practices in how we utilise our leasing accounting software
- Continuous Improvement – Contribute to the team’s heavy focus on process optimisation and improvement ahead of the consolidation change to M&S. A primary objective for the Accounting CoE team is to deliver ESSA framework improvements as well as improving quality of reporting.
- Leadership of a direct report – This role will have a finance graduate as their direct report, responsible for coaching their development and giving them the platform to drive tangible improvements in their rotation in the team.
- Qualified accountant (ACA/ACCA or equivalent)
- Proficient in Microsoft Excel and Word
- Experience of Finance systems (Oracle Fusion/EPM) would be advantageous but not essential
- Ability to build strong relationships with key stakeholders
- Ownership of results with a motivation for continuous improvement and self-development
- Organised individual that thrives in a team environment
- Experience of delivering and managing changes to month-end processes
- Continuous improvement mindset
Health & Wellbeing: Private medical insurance with option to add your family, Digital GP appointments, market-leading family policies, mental health support, discounted gym memberships, dental insurance, and more.
Spend & Save: Annual bonus scheme split between personal and business objectives, recognition with reward platform, up to 7% matched pension contributions, 15% Ocado discount, 20% M&S discount, free breakfast every day in the office, electric vehicle leasing scheme, and free shuttle bus from Hatfield station to the office.
Never miss the moments that matter: Hybrid working, 26 days holiday plus 8 flexible bank holidays, options to buy extra holiday, 2 weeks work from anywhere, and lifestyle break opportunities.
Our Hiring Process Lucky for us, we receive a high volume of applications and genuinely appreciate the time and effort invested by every candidate. To ensure a fair and thorough process, every application is reviewed by a member of our team. If your skills and experience are a strong match, a Talent Partner will contact you to discuss the role and guide you through the next steps of our hiring process.
Your Application and AI In the spirit of innovation, we welcome you to use AI tools in your application, just as we use them in our own business at Ocado Retail. However, as you leverage this technology, please don’t lose sight of the most important element: your unique self. Your experiences, passions, and personality are what truly set you apart. Ensure that your application still authentically conveys who you are and why you’re a great fit for us.
Everyone’s welcome We’re an equal opportunities employer, which means that we make sure all potential colleagues are treated fairly and equally. We want to ensure everyone has a fair chance to apply; if you need this job description in an alternative format (e.g., larger print, different document type, etc.), please reach out to us at careers@ocadoretail.com and we’ll be happy to assist you, and if you require reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know on the application form.
