The company

For 150 years, the Dobbies name has stood for quality horticulture. During this time Dobbies have been proud to provide the very best products and expert advice to gardeners throughout the UK. Today Dobbies is the UK's largest Garden Centre retailer with stores across Scotland, England and Northern Ireland. Naturally, Dobbies have one of the biggest and best ranges of quality plants and gardening equipment around. Dobbies currently have 74 stores across the UK, 69 of which are the well-known garden centre format encompassing our plants and gardening, home and food ranges, restaurants, and in some locations, soft play areas. Dobbies also have a number of concessions partner stores in most locations that complement the brand. Dobbies other five stores are little dobbies, which is a concept launched in 2019 with the opening of a smaller format store in Stockbridge, Edinburgh with others following in Bristol and London. This format store offers a miniature garden centre and gifting range in city centre locations.

Gardening remains one of the most resilient and fastest growing segments within the broader UK Retail sector. As a private equity backed business, Dobbies have doubled their garden centre estate in the last three years and have plans to sustain this going forward through both organic growth and further acquisitions. With over 3,900 employees, this is an exciting and vibrant place to work.

Dobbies are now seeking to recruit a Management Accountant. This is an excellent opportunity for a qualified accountant to support the Finance Team in financial accounting, monthly management accounts and ad hoc information.

The role

• Preparation of month end reporting for management and Board, including Databook process
• Monthly reconciliation of more complex balance sheet accounts
• Undertaking routine month end tasks, such as posting journals, reviewing store P&Ls for mis-postings and actioning journal corrections where required
• Preparation, monitoring and reporting of key business and financial controls within the business
• Responsible for the year-end stock accounting process
• Involvement in the preparation of annual budgets
• Coordinating audit requests during the audit process and acting as a contact for the auditors
• Supporting the professional development of the wider team through mentoring
• Partnering with the wider finance team to provide financial support and ensure commercial awareness and that accounting implications are considered
• Work closely with the FP&A team to ensure consistency in reporting

The Individual

• Qualified accountant (ACCA/ICAS/CIMA), happy to consider either Industry or Practice qualified. This would be an ideal role for a first mover into the commerce industry.
• Experience with mentoring/managing a team
• Excellent organisational skills with strong attention to detail
• Strong planning, prioritisation, presentation, and problem-solving skills. You'll need to be comfortable managing multiple tasks with tight deadlines
• Strong interpersonal skills – you will be building relationships with colleagues and stakeholders across the business
• Excellent written and communication skills
• Highly numerate
• Thirst for knowing a business and its drivers
• Articulate and driven to gain additional knowledge
• Interest in data and models

Remuneration

• Attractive package commensurate with background and experience required for the role.

What to do Next

• To find out more on remuneration, the role or to see a full Position Profile, please contact Dobbies retained advisors, Harry Young & Harry Thomson at Rutherford Cross by emailing [email protected] / [email protected]

Please note that any direct or third-party approaches will be sent to Rutherford Cross for review and assessment.