Our Finance function plays a key role in supporting the Partnership. We provide insight, challenge and control, so that we make better decisions. Our Finance Partners work in partnership with our stakeholders to drive performance based on the strategic challenge, advice and insight we can offer them.
As we all co-own the business, our Finance team plays a key role in looking after the numbers to ensure the long-term financial sustainability of the business. But it’s not just the numbers. We manage and report on every aspect of our business, safeguarding our assets and operating appropriate financial controls.
Our Finance team has an opportunity for every finance professional to learn, grow and prosper with us. Our function supports the breadth of the John Lewis Partnership across Waitrose, John Lewis, Financial Services and new business ventures.
Find out from current Partners about the opportunities that working in Finance has to offer:
The Partnership is an exciting and interesting place to work and we think our co-ownership, industry and team set us apart for a career that will bring out the best in you.
– The unique nature of the John Lewis Partnership. This means we are co-owners of the Partnership. We have responsibilities beyond our job outlines to act and make decisions on behalf of the business and Partners past, present and future. It also means that we are privately owned so we aren’t constrained by shareholder demands or the short term focus that regular reporting to the city requires. As co-owners, we all participate in our democracy-led forums which are a critical way to challenge leadership and hold them to account. This means your voice is heard and Partner opinion is represented all the way through our organisation, even on our Board where there are three Elected Directors.
– We are going through a retail and digital revolution. JLP has successfully navigated through a challenging external market as customers’ needs and preferences change. The business constantly adapts to face those changes and build long term relationships with its customers through our existing shops and new ventures in Financial Services or Property. Therefore it’s an exciting and interesting place to work, with many finance roles at the heart of driving that strategy.
– Our Partners combine hard work, dedication, imagination and community spirit and this contributes to our bottom line. It’s this Partnership culture that makes the team a great place to work and meet new colleagues and friends.
Being AICPA-CIMA and ACCA accredited, we’re showing our commitment to supporting CIMA CGMA and ACCA students and members further develop their careers. Making us an employer of choice for CIMA and ACCA students and members.
As an accredited organisation, our CIMA CGMA and ACCA members have a simplified process for completing their annual CPD requirements. Also, should they be selected for random CPD monitoring by CIMA or ACCA, they would only need to confirm that they are employed by the Partnership (an accredited employer) and are not required to submit a record.
For trainees, they can follow a simplified process for signing off performance objectives, as a result of working for an accredited organisation.
We welcome people into our team of any and all backgrounds and our aim is to nurture as diverse and inclusive an environment as possible where all talent can thrive. All we ask for is an aptitude for working with both numbers and people, a positive and challenging mindset as well as a passion for our business.
Finance continues to open its eyes to diversity and we are an eclectic bunch, a mix of genders, religions, ethnicities, sexual orientation and neurodiverse thinking. We embrace the challenge, the ideas and the innovation that comes from diversity of thought and how we can harness the passions that individuals within the function have.
We are proud to embrace flexible working and would be happy to discuss any particular arrangements with potential applicants. Finance fully embraces the Partnership’s flexible working philosophy and our team is made of Partners who work in a variety of different ways, whether that is through part-time hours, job shares or more ad-hoc flexible working.
Within our Finance team, you’ll find a varied and interesting career, whether it’s as a Financial Analyst, Finance Manager or a more senior position such as Head of Finance. No matter what path you take, you’ll be supporting the Partnership which you will be a co-owner of. We’ll also give you the necessary training and development you need to fulfil your potential with us.
Our teams are based in Bracknell and London, Pimlico but with increased flexibility for blended working in the offices, at home or in another location. Within each of these teams, you’ll positively make a difference in the Partnership and meet the varying business demands.
Our teams are structured within four directorates:
Within each team each role is different and so, when applying for roles, do check out the essential and desirable skills required in the Job Outline. But more importantly we are looking to be an agile Finance team where Partners move around teams so we welcome people with a wide breadth of experience as well as specialists in areas such as Treasury and Tax.
We work together across the Finance function in agile teams and in many areas there will be opportunities for you to develop yourself across many different teams.This could be either through project work, short-term moves or more formal moves. Even though JLP is a big organisation, it feels much more connected with strong collaboration across Finance and with the wider business.
You can discover more about some of our roles below.
The Partnership’s Centre for Accounting (CfA) is a dynamic, agile function with around 150 Partners that delivers end to end accounting services for our business and our brands, as well as cash management and all core transactional processing. It is also home to the Finance Service Centre. We have a diverse range of specialists in CfA and routes into our function include entry-level, apprenticeships and experienced hires.
What will I do in the Centre for Accounting?
The key areas of focus for the CfA team are:
Activity is organised into ‘pillars’ representing specific areas of discrete commercial activity. Each pillar is responsible for delivering E2E financial processing, accounting and reporting for their area of expertise.
Whilst each Partner will be ascribed to a particular ‘pillar’, we expect all members of the team to work in a flexible and agile manner, with talent ‘pooled’ across areas depending on the needs of our business.
We also play a leading role in driving and supporting change within the business, from process improvement to new commercial initiatives, using our expertise to design optimal solutions for the Partnership with a focus on ‘lean, simple, fast’.
Career progression
Our Centre for Accounting is an excellent place to learn and develop a broad range of core finance skills, understand our core business processes, as well as developing technical specialisms in areas such as financial accounting and treasury management.We have an excellent track record of developing talent from a diverse range of backgrounds from both inside and outside the Partnership, from school leavers to retail professionals to experienced finance specialists.
The Tax team is based in London, Pimlico and Bracknell. Roles range from Analyst to Tax Lead (Deputy Head of Tax).
What will I do in Tax?
Like with most of our financial roles, we look for individuals with relevant experience and qualifications. For most of our tax roles, you should be a qualified accountant or tax adviser but for some positions we accept relevant experience. Qualities we look for are self-motivation, great people skills and a curious mind.
Projects & Controls is a team of around 10 Partners with some based in Bracknell and others in London. Roles range from Senior Finance Analyst to Finance Lead.
What will I do in Controls?
You will be responsible for providing expert financial controls knowledge and advice to assist in developing, maintaining and evolving a robust financial control environment to protect the Partnership. You provide independent assurance to senior finance Partners, Finance Directors and the Audit and Risk Committee over the effectiveness of the Partnership’s internal financial control environment in mitigating the key financial risks.
What will I do in Projects?
You will be responsible for providing expert knowledge and advice on financial controls to ensure strategic change and initiatives are designed, implemented and embedded effectively addressing the requirements of Finance and providing the link into specialist teams (e.g Tax,Treasury, Centre for Accounting) where required.Both teams demonstrate a strong understanding of risks and controls, and a willingness to identify and fix the root cause of issues coupled with a good understanding of key finance processes. Communication skills are key, you will be influencing at all levels.
Career progression in Projects & Controls?
This role is a great opportunity to gain experience across finance and play a key role in key projects and strategic initiatives. As you grow in experience and knowledge there is the opportunity to take on more complex areas and or projects as well as these roles being a great springboard into other areas of Finance.
Policy & External Reporting is a team of five Partners with some based in Bracknell and others in London. Roles range from Senior Finance Analyst to Finance Lead.
What will I do in Policy & External Reporting?
You will be part of the team that is responsible for all aspects of the Partnership’s external financial reporting including half year, year end, statutory accounts and working with our external auditors. The team works in a changing and fast-paced environment with a high level of attention to detail and able to navigate stakeholders all the way up to the Board as well as our external auditors.
Outside of these peak times, you will work closely with other Finance teams on projects as well dealing with accounting issues, policy and how to communicate performance to our Partners. The team also has a lot of interaction outside of Finance, working particularly closely with the Communications, Legal and Property teams.
Career progression in Policy & External Reporting
Policy & External Reporting is a team of five so there is some scope for progression but there are also opportunities to move within Finance either permanently, or on a seconded or short-term basis.
Commercial Finance is a team of around 50 Partners working across Waitrose, John Lewis, Supply Chain, Partnership, Property, Technology and Change. The team have a range of roles from Finance Analysts to Head of Commercial Finance, all of which span across the breadth of the Partnership.
What will I do in Commercial Finance?
The Commercial Finance team are responsible for driving the business to deliver the key financial outcomes set in the JLP Partnership Plan. The team are focussed on:Driving actions required to grow Partnership profits and rebuild the sustainability of our finances.
The team and roles have considerable breadth and you could be working on a number of areas including our physical stores or our Online business. Commercial teams may be looking at sales & margin, property decisions, supply chain costs, the effectiveness of Marketing spend and new proposition trials. The fast paced and varied work is one thing that attracts many people to this team.
With exciting yet challenging focus areas, we drive a pan-Partnership approach in everything we do to support the implementation of integrated objectives across our Brands and Head Office. We support the Partnership’s executive Leadership team within the brand strategies to highlight choices and risks, drawing out options rather than landing the finished article.We also support with capital and resource decisions, devise frameworks for the tracking and realisation of benefits, and support our stakeholders to deliver projects successfully, on time and on budget across the business.
We build strong relationships and drive economic value by being tenacious, being bold and commercially savvy, with a search for continuous improvement in everything we do. You will bring an independent, critical and challenging mindset to drive better decisions.
Career progression in Commercial Finance
The Analyst roles within the team (Senior Finance Analysts, Finance Analysts) allow for progression into the Commercial Finance Manager roles and Commercial Finance Leads. We would also expect Partners to move within the other Financial team to broaden their skills base this may be in a Planning or Investment role or in the Centre for Accounting.Within the team Partners tend to move areas of focus depending on the Business need, their skills and their development plan. Which enables fresh thinking and for Partners to constantly learn about new areas of the Business.
FP&A is a team of around 20 Partners with some based in Bracknell and others in London. Roles range from Finance Analyst to Lead.
What will I do in FP&A?
The FP&A team will play a critical role in converting a Partnership Plan, financial strategy and resource profile into a tangible financial plan and ultimately a set of financial budgets. The team also includes the Partnership level Reporting team and the Finance Management information systems team. This reflects the end-to-end accountability of the activity of Planning (from data to performance).
The team has a range of roles from Finance Analyst, Senior Finance Analyst and Planning Finance Managers. Who work with their other finance colleagues to to build Robust Short, Medium and Longer term Financial planning. Ensuring that the Partnership Plans deliver our Purpose and Financial Objectives. Roles in the team could be building models and insight on performance, running planning scenarios, agreeing assumptions to drive targets.
The Finance management information systems (FMIS) roles oversee Finance data within the Partnership ensuring its accuracy and driving forward our capability. We design, develop and continuously improve processes and controls that support the integrity and value of the data and information we use. We are currently focussed on developing new reporting and visualisation capability for Finance and its stakeholders using cloud based tools suite.
This team works collaboratively with others and also independently to build robust Plans for the Partnership. Given a focus on the performance of the whole Partnership, we have to interpret and communicate diverse and complex financial and operational information quickly.
Career progression can be within the team from Senior Finance Analyst to Manager. However we would expect our Partners to move between this team and many of the adjacent teams they work with to broaden their skills.
Portfolio & Investment is a team of around 10 Partners with some based in Bracknell and others in London. Roles range from Senior Finance Analyst to Lead.
What will I do in Portfolio & Investment?
The Portfolio & Investment team combines business case and portfolio management activities to ensure that the Partnerships strategic investments are in support of its strategy. They also ensure all business cases are robustly analysed and understood, so that Partnership resources can be optimised in support of the Partnership Plan.
The Portfolio & Investment team
work closely with the Commercial Finance team so that a united and single Finance voice is heard by business stakeholders.These roles will draw on a breadth of experience as you could be looking at a Business Case for any Business areas or that are complex in nature. You ned to show broad strategic thinking and challenge to ensure that the investments deliver the Partnership Strategy and the returns required.
Insurance is a team of 4 partners, based in London but with an agile and location-agnostic work ethic.
What will I do in Insurance?
Group Insurance seeks to protect the Partnership from the financial consequences of unplanned events caused by insurable perils. We construct the best value risk financing programme aligned to the Partnership’s insurable risks appetite. We also actively manage our claims costs through an efficient claims handling service.
Self-motivation and the ability to work independently or collaboratively are key and relevant experience and qualifications are helpful. This could be insurance, risk management, legal qualifications, or relevant experience working in similar in-house insurance functions.
Group Insurance is a small team with some scope for progression but there could also be opportunities to move within Finance either permanently, or on a seconded or short-term basis. We will look to support all team members in their development, be that technical or personal.
Treasury is a team of eight Partners based in London and Bracknell. Roles range from Senior Finance Analyst to Head of level.
What will I do in Treasury?
The Treasury team manages the Partnership’s liquidity and identifies, assesses and manages the financial risks of the Partnership to support the business’s objectives as well as creating new opportunities that could materially benefit the Partnership. It is a fast paced and dynamic team which is broken down into two areas; Operations and Strategy.
You should expect to work closely with all areas of finance, you will build your technical knowledge in complex and challenging areas, from pension deficits to investment strategies. You will be able to get involved in high profile projects ranging from debt issuances, foreign exchange strategies and dividend policies.
Within Treasury you will have the opportunity to develop and stretch personally and professionally to achieve your full potential. You will have exposure to senior management, helping to direct the Partnership to reach its financial goals and gain significant banking experience. You will also have the opportunity to broaden your Treasury knowledge through professional qualifications.
Corporate Finance is a team of 2 Partners with some based in Bracknell and others in London. Roles are Senior Finance Analyst and Finance Lead.
What will I do in Corporate Finance?
The Corporate Finance team supports the Director of Financial Strategy in continuing to evolve our financial purpose, strategy and targets in the face of an ever-changing societal and economic landscape. We also provide valuation and structuring advice on potential Mergers & Acquisitions and complex business partnerships such as joint ventures, working closely with the Strategy function and professional advisers.
These roles would suit someone who has a flexible approach as you will need to carry out a wide range of tasks to support the delivery of projects. You will be able to work creatively to develop novel solutions to complex problems and opportunities.
Specific experience in Corporate Finance is not necessary for the more junior role but you should have the ability to interpret a broad range of financial information and explain your analysis to senior stakeholders in a concise and articulate manner.
These roles represent an opportunity to gain exposure to the highest level of Partnership strategic thinking and an involvement in new and growing areas of our business. We would expect Partners to move on to other Finance teams involved in strategic decision-making.
Internal Audit and Risk is a team of around 15 Partners based in London. Roles range from Senior Internal Auditor to Internal Audit Lead (Senior Manager) and Risk Management Lead.
Internal Audit
What will I do in Internal Audit?
You will be part of a team providing independent and objective assurance to the Audit & Risk Committee on the effectiveness of the Partnership’s systems of risk management and internal control. You will work across the Partnership to help protect value, influence value creation and culture in relation to areas of strategic, operational, financial, regulatory, digital, programme and change risk.
You will be responsible for developing and delivering a risk based work-plan that challenges the extent to which management are effectively and efficiently managing risks, issues and change opportunities to the Partnership’s success. Ensuring we land the change needed in a fast–paced retail environment.
You should expect to work across all of these areas. You’ll build technical knowledge of risk and control, a strong understanding of the business and develop a range of soft skills that enables you to have influence and impact at all levels.
Career progression in Internal Audit
As you progress through the team from Senior Internal Auditor, to Manager or Internal Audit Lead (Senior Manager) role, you’ll continue to build your skillset. This includes taking on increased responsibility for delivery and team leadership and development, starting to specialise and providing greater insight to our stakeholders.By joining the Partnership’s award-winning Internal Audit team (IIA Awards 2018 – Overall Winner – Outstanding Team – Private Sector), you’ll join a team that is challenging, supportive and highly collaborative
Risk
What will I do in Risk?
You will provide insight, challenge and support to the Executive Team, Management Boards and senior leadership. The role of this team is to challenge and support leadership in making risk informed decisions in the pursuit of the Partnership Plan and supporting Brand and Functional strategies.
You’ll be responsible for developing and embedding a consistent risk management framework across the Partnership to provide a systematic approach to identify, assess, manage and monitor risks. You provide insight and reporting to leadership teams, Management Boards, the Executive Team, Audit & Risk Committee and Partnership Board.
By joining this team, you’ll work across all areas of the business and work directly with senior leadership teams. You’ll build commercial knowledge of risk and mitigating activity and develop a range of soft skills that enable you to influence and have impact at all levels.
Career progression in Risk Management
As you progress through the team, from Risk Manager to Risk Management Lead (Senior Manager), you will continue to build your skillset. This includes taking on increased responsibility for delivery and team leadership and development. In addition to the personal and professional development opportunities highlighted above, you can expect to join a vibrant, welcoming and challenging environment.
Here at the John Lewis Partnership, we’re transforming to create a Finance function that is truly world-class. This is another step in our evolution, designed to ensure we’re creating great roles and careers for our Partners, whilst at the same time providing the business with the insight, challenge and control in order to deliver the Partnership’s strategy.
Our new organisation design allows us to be more agile and flexible, so we can continue to respond as our industry, and our world, changes.
It’s a fantastic time to join the Partnership. We have two very strong brands – John Lewis & Partners and Waitrose & Partners. As the retail world is changing around us, we’re continually evolving our strategy and our proposition, to lead the way in meeting the needs of our customers and to stay ahead of our competitors.
Because of this, we’re able to offer industry leading benefits. These include a share in the profits, pension scheme, subsidised learning, access to exclusive Partner Hotels, a Partnership discount card and free access to many UK Heritage sites. Discover our full range of benefits.
Being a co-owner in our business means sharing the responsibilities as well as the rewards – profit, knowledge and power. Find out more about The Partnership Difference.
You’ll find a wide range of full and part-time, temporary and permanent Finance vacancies available at our Head Office.
See our latest Finance opportunities below. Apply now to join us.
