Rutherford Cross is excited to be retained by William Grant & Sons to support succession planning, by appointing a recently qualified accountant for the Finance Pathways Programme.

Company Info

Established in 1887, William Grant & Sons is a 100% family owned premium spirits company with a portfolio of award-winning brands that are enjoyed worldwide.

William Grants & Sons employ over 2,800 people globally and sell products in nearly 200 countries. Their eight core brands are Glenfiddich, Grant's, The Balvenie, Tullamore D.E.W., Drambuie, Hendrick's, Sailor Jerry and Monkey Shoulder.

The business has a significant presence across the UK and Ireland, Head Quartered in Strathclyde Business Park, Bellshill with distilleries and bottling operations across Girvan, Dufftown, Tullamore, Bellshill and Cumbernauld and offices in Richmond and Hook. In addition, there is an ever-expanding global network, with operational sites in Edison NJ, Tuthilltown NY and Guadalajara and offices including New York, Mexico City, Bogota, Paris, Moscow, Singapore, Shanghai, Delhi, Sydney and Taipei amongst many others.

William Grant & Sons is an acquisitive, fast growing organisation offering future talent a long term, progressive and challenging career that is second to none in the Scottish marketplace. Given the relatively flat hierarchical structure, William Grant & Sons offers exceptional exposure to the Executive Team on a day to day basis, allowing the opportunity to build a strong internal profile to facilitate career progression.

The Finance Pathways Programme is a unique career opportunity for an ambitious, driven and talented qualified accountant who will be on the upward trajectory in their career, having recently qualified. The programme will provide exposure across Group, Operations and Commercial Finance functions in the form of three rotational placements over the course of three years.

For further information on William Grant & Sons, visit www.williamgrant.com

William Grant & Sons want to remain true to their heritage, whilst having ambitious growth plans and a stretching vision to become the most coveted branded spirits company in the world. William Grant & Sons know that this will only be achieved with the full contribution and commitment of all its employees.

William Grant & Sons’ values shape how the business collaborates, recognising that living these values is key to achieving the company vision. The values give all global employees a common framework and guide on how to act, do business and make decisions. William Grant & Sons is family owned and shares the same set of values as family shareholders, ensuring a strong connection with them and staying true to the important heritage.

Finance within William Grant & Sons is the engine that drives the business and is about more than just the numbers. They advise and guide; partnering with the business; facilitating and making decisions; while informing and educating.

It’s about:

• providing a trusted, expert service that enables business partners to make valuable decisions
• building a dynamic culture that places Finance at the heart of decision making
• removing barriers and making it happen.

Finance within William Grant & Sons protects the business and helps it grow.

The Role

Job Title:              Finance Specialist (Finance Pathways Programme)

Primary Locations:          Head Office, Strathclyde Business Park, Bellshill

Richmond or Hook

Scope for placements across a number of sites

The Finance Pathways Programme is a unique career opportunity for an ambitious, driven and talented qualified accountant who will be on the upward trajectory in their career, having recently qualified. The programme will provide exposure across Group, Operations and Commercial Finance. The experience gained through the programme will provide the selected individual rounded development, offering an exceptional platform to step into a leadership role.

The programme is centred around three, one-year placements, with each taking place in a different financial function and, in some cases, location to provide the employee valuable and broad exposure. During each year, pre-defined roles will be assigned that provide the individual with the opportunity to work as part of a team as well as, where appropriate, lead small projects of their own. The degree of complexity and responsibility will increase each year.

The intention of the development programme is to provide newly qualified finance candidates with the requisite skills to move into a leadership or financial specialist role by the end of year three.

While each annual placement will require the appointment of a line manager, the employee will also be appointed a mentor for the duration of the programme. This individual will be independent of their role and out-with their immediate reporting line. The aim of which is to further support and encourage the employee.

A current member of the Finance Pathways Programme is currently working in Operations Finance, and is on secondment to the company’s site in Edison, New Jersey. It’s very rare that such an exciting opportunity arises for newly qualified accountants to join a business that will invest so much in their future development.

Main duties and responsibilities will involve:

• Supporting Finance colleagues in the delivery of key activities or projects and to lead and deliver discrete activities.
• Supporting and leading initiatives that deliver optimisation of Finance processes and reporting, both within the Finance teams and through close working with operational teams.
• Contributing appropriately to team meetings and support the implementation of the team’s strategy, plans and continuous improvement projects.
• Supporting the requirements of the Supervisory Board and the Executive through providing appropriate business analysis and financial support, ad hoc analysis and meeting project requirements across the Group as required.
• Presenting recommendations to management, applying previous experiences to develop improvements around the effectiveness and efficiency of existing processes.
• Adapting to working with different teams across the business, showing an aptitude to quickly get up to speed with different activities, areas of focus and ways of working.
• Taking part in training initiatives and demonstrating progress against development plans across the programme.
• Driving own personal development in order to build technical competence, leadership capability and personal development.
• Developing and building skills, knowledge and experience in Group, Commercial and Operational Finance.

The Individual

It is imperative that the Finance Specialist is a high calibre, ambitious individual with significant long-term potential to succeed members of the senior finance team. The appointed candidate will demonstrate success in their short career to date, will possess a strong academic record and the drive to immerse themselves in the business, in order to play a leading future role. The individual will have the interpersonal skills to build relationships across different areas of the group and exhibit the credibility to be recognised as a future leader.

Given the level of exposure to senior management, it is critical that the Finance Specialist will work with stakeholders at all levels. Undoubtedly, this is a key appointment for William Grant’s and the successful individual will play a pivotal role in shaping the organisation over time.

Some of the key candidate requirements are as follows:

• Qualified accountant (ICAS, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent).
• Experience of understanding and breaking down complex processes to support their evolution and improvement.
• Exposure to financial reporting, control and business analysis processes.
• Ability to adhere to deadlines and adopt a challenging approach to deliver robust, accurate financial data and information to meet business needs.
• Exposure to presenting financial analysis in a structured format to senior level stakeholders.
• Ability to work co-operatively alongside others, or independently as required, taking responsibility for discrete projects.
• Experience of making balanced assessments of available information to reach objective and commercially relevant conclusions, and to recommend appropriate, pragmatic solutions.
• Proven systems experience preferred, using Enterprise Resource Planning, Business Intuitiveness and PC applications.
• Exposure to leading and managing finance related projects, preferably within a global FMCG or Manufacturing company.

Remuneration

Salary:                          Competitive

Bonus:                          Up to 10% (On target is 7%)

Pension:                        4/8% or 5/10% employee/company contribution

Holidays:                       34 days per year inclusive of statutory days

Medical Care:                 Private medical cover (individual)

Life Assurance:               4X Cover

Professional Fees:           Yes

Additional Benefits:         Generous product allowance, subsidised staff restaurant, onsite parking