Head of Finance - Systems
Salary: Competitive Plus Benefits
Location: London Store Support Centre and Home, London, EC1M 6HA
Contract type: Permanent
Business area: Finance & Transformation
Closing date: 20 August 2026
Requisition ID: 400074712
Location: London, Coventry or Manchester Store Support Centre & Home – colleagues go into the office 1-2 days per week on average.
Why join us
Joining Sainsbury's as the Head of Finance Systems offers a unique opportunity to lead a talented team and drive the Finance Systems strategy to support the company's vision and strategic aims. With a focus on governance, systems development, user support, and data integrity, you will play a crucial role in shaping the future of Finance operations. Collaborating with cross-functional teams and senior stakeholders, you will have the chance to make a significant impact and contribute to the success of a leading retail organisation, while gaining valuable experience in a dynamic and innovative environment.
What you'll do
You will be leading the Finance Systems team in developing and implementing Finance Systems strategy and governance, systems administration, development, user training and support, access controls, and data integrity. Your role will involve collaborating with Sainsbury's Technology and Finance leaders to align systems strategy with the organisation's strategic aims, overseeing the implementation of programmes and projects, leading governance processes, and ensuring the integrity and security of financial data. Your expertise in leading a Finance Systems team, programme and project management, change management, and stakeholder engagement will be critical in driving the success of Finance Systems within a large and complex organisation like Sainsbury's.
Who you are
You are an accomplished leader with a proven track record of managing and developing Finance Systems teams within large, complex organisations. Your expertise in programme and project management, coupled with change management experience, enables you to drive the implementation of strategic initiatives that align with the organisation's vision and goals. With a recognised Finance qualification and a strong background in senior stakeholder management in Finance and Technology, you possess the necessary skills to lead governance processes, ensure data integrity, and optimise financial systems to support the operational and strategic needs of the business.
Essential Criteria
- Recognised professional finance qualification (e.g. ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent)
Demonstrable understanding of finance systems and technology, including the ability to lead the adoption, optimisation, and governance of technology-enabled finance processes
- People management expertise with proven experience leading a Finance Systems team within a large, complex organisation – retail is desirable
- Demonstrable experience delivering finance-related programmes and projects, including planning, governance, and implementation
- Evidence of leading and managing organisational change, including the adoption of new systems, processes, or ways of working
- Proven ability to manage and influence senior stakeholders across Finance and Technology functions to achieve business outcomes
Desirable
- Knowledge of key products in use such as OneStream, Blackline & Oracle
- Knowledge of data analysis & presentation tools
- Group / Technical Finance experience
#LI-CE1
We are committed to being a truly inclusive retailer so you’ll be welcomed whoever you are and wherever you work. Around here, there’s always the chance to try something new — whether that’s as part of an evolving team or somewhere else across the business - and we take development seriously and promise to support you. We also recognise and celebrate colleagues when they go the extra mile and, where possible, offer flexible working. When you join our team, we’ll also offer you an amazing range of benefits. Here are some of them: Starting off with colleague discount, you'll be able to save 10% on your shopping online and instore at Sainsbury's, Argos, TU and Habitat, and we regularly increase the discount to 15% at points during the year. We've also got you covered for your future with our pensions scheme and life cover. You'll also be able to share in our success as you may be eligible for a performance-related bonus of up to 65% of salary (which may vary for Nectar360), depending on how we perform (in cash and shares). Your wellbeing is important to us too. You'll receive an annual holiday allowance, and you can buy up to an additional week's holiday, and we provide private healthcare. We also offer other benefits that will help your money go further such as season ticket loans, cycle to work scheme, health cash plans, salary advance (where you can access some of your pay before pay day) as well access to a great range of discounts from hundreds of other retailers. You'll also receive a company car cash allowance unless you are going to travel 10,000 business miles in your role, then you'll be able to choose a car. And if you ever need it there is also an employee assistance programme. Moments that matter are as important to us as they are to you which is why we give up to 26 weeks’ pay for maternity or adoption leave and up to 4 weeks’ pay for paternity leave. Please see www.sainsburys.jobs for a range of our benefits (note, length of service and eligibility criteria may apply).
