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About the Role

Drive financial planning, forecasting, and performance analysis across Gross Margin and Digital & Technology functions. Partner with senior stakeholders to provide financial insight, challenge assumptions, and support strategic decision-making. Improve operational and financial performance and ensure strong financial control, governance, and continuous improvement in reporting and planning processes. This is a full-time, 12-month fixed-term contract.

Responsibilities

Own the budgeting and forecasting processes for Gross Margin and Digital & Technology expenditure.
Develop forecasts for Gross Margin cost of goods sold, including print, paper and binding, royalties, warehousing and distribution costs.
Manage forecasting of Digital operating expenditure, capital expenditure and central Group recharges.
Partner with stakeholders across the business to challenge assumptions, validate inputs and improve forecast accuracy.
Develop financial models, scenario analysis and business cases to support strategic planning and decision-making.
Maintain planning and forecasting data within Anaplan.
Present budgets, forecasts, risks, opportunities and performance trends to senior management and key stakeholders.
Act as the primary Finance Business Partner to Supply Chain stakeholders.
Provide financial insight to support operational decision-making and performance improvement.
Review inventory-related risks, including quarterly assessments of stock obsolescence provisions.
Collaborate with regional Supply Chain Managers to assess operational changes and their impact on Gross Margin performance.
Deliver monthly Gross Margin reporting to Regional Finance Directors.
Analyse financial and operational performance to support informed decision-making.
Investigate material variances and provide meaningful commentary on business performance and emerging risks.
Act as Finance Business Partner to Digital Heads of Department and Programme Leads.
Support budget holders in the effective management of operating and capital expenditure.
Provide guidance on the appropriate classification of expenditure between operating costs and capital investment.
Deliver financial analysis and insights to support project prioritisation, investment decisions and resource allocation.
Produce monthly management reporting for Digital & Technology stakeholders, including analysis of actual performance against budget and forecast.
Prepare and review monthly accruals for Digital cost centres and Gross Margin-related expenditure.
Manage royalty accounting activities, including royalty accruals and provisions for unearned advances.
Partner with the Royalty Accounting team to ensure accurate and timely financial reporting.
Support month-end, forecast and year-end reporting processes in line with Group accounting policies and controls.
Work with the Asset Accounting team to capitalise internally generated software and transfer assets from construction to completion.
Support internal and external audit activities by responding to audit queries, providing supporting documentation and explanations, and coordinating with stakeholders to ensure requests are completed accurately and within agreed timelines.
Act as SAP S/4HANA Super User for Procure-to-Pay processes and intercompany transactions.
Leverage SAP and Anaplan to support business planning, reporting and performance analysis.
Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance financial processes, reporting capabilities and data quality.

Requirements

Qualified accountant (ACA/ACMA/ACCA/CIMA or equivalent) with strong track record of achievement.
Strong financial modelling and analytical skills, with experience in investment appraisal, commercial evaluation, P&L analysis, business partnering, and supporting commercial teams.
Strong organisational skills with a proactive, problem-solving approach and the ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines across diverse teams.
Background working with financial planning tools (e.g., Anaplan, SAP S4) and interest in systems development, with the confidence to work with large datasets and financial systems (e.g., SAP S4, Anaplan).
High level of accuracy, attention to detail and process discipline.
Able to explain financial concepts clearly to non-finance stakeholders.
Able to operate effectively in a fast-paced, global environment.
Experience preparing financial presentations for senior management.
Experience in publishing, media, or content-driven industries is desirable.

Skills

Financial Planning
Forecasting
Performance Analysis
Financial Insight
Strategic Decision-Making
Financial Control
Governance
Reporting
Budgeting
Gross Margin Analysis
Digital & Technology Expenditure Management
Cost of Goods Sold Forecasting
Operating Expenditure Forecasting
Capital Expenditure Forecasting
Financial Modelling
Scenario Analysis
Business Case Development
Anaplan
SAP S/4HANA
Procure-to-Pay Processes
Intercompany Transactions
Data Analytics
Quantitative Skills
Accruals Management
Royalty Accounting
Month-end Reporting
Forecast Reporting
Year-end Reporting
Asset Accounting
Audit Support
Continuous Improvement
Investment Appraisal
Commercial Evaluation
P&L Analysis
Business Partnering
Stakeholder Management
Communication
Problem-Solving
Organisational Skills
Attention to Detail
Process Discipline

Location

London

Work Type

Hybrid
Full-time
Fixed-term contract

Experience Level

Qualified accountant
Experience in publishing, media, or content-driven industries is desirable

Education Level

Qualified accountant (ACA/ACMA/ACCA/CIMA or equivalent)

About the Company

Springer Nature is one of the leading publishers of research in the world, publishing the largest number of journals and books and pioneering open research.
Through leading brands, trusted for over 180 years, they provide technology-enabled products, platforms and services to researchers, health professionals, and educators.
Their mission is to be part of progress, working together with communities to share knowledge and bring greater understanding to the world.
Macmillan Education provides world-class content in relevant, engaging, and flexible formats to support students, teachers, and institutions in lifelong learning.

Equal Opportunity

At Springer Nature, our mission is to be part of progress – and that begins with inclusion: of people, perspectives, and ideas.
We believe that diverse perspectives drive progress, and we are committed to creating an environment where people and ideas can flourish.
If you have any access needs related to disability, neurodivergence or a chronic condition, please contact us so we can make all necessary accommodation.
Find out more about our DEI work here https://group.springernature.com/gp/group/taking-responsibility/diversity-equity-inclusion