Job Description

Job Category: Finance & Business Development
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Why join us
Joining Sainsbury's Finance team offers an exciting opportunity to gain valuable work experience while studying towards a professional accountancy qualification. As you rotate between our Commercial, Group, and Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) teams, you'll develop a well-rounded skillset and gain diverse experiences that will shape you into a successful finance professional. We value curiosity, self-motivation, and collaboration, and provide the necessary support and mentorship as you embark on a rewarding career with us.
What you'll do
During the three-year rotational programme, your role will involve supporting specific business areas and the wider Finance team by:

• Interpreting financial information to provide insight, analysis and commentary to stakeholders
• Work with the business to produce forecasts including monthly reforecasts and budgeting in line with FP&A processes
• Complete ad hoc / bespoke analysis and reporting for the business area as required to drive improvements
• Involvement in the annual financial cycle e.g. period-end processes, year-end results, financial planning and forecasting
• Support roadshows and meetings by preparing presentations and analysis for investors
• Build business partnering relationships with multiple stakeholders, support, challenge and influence where required
• Learn, understand and adhere to robust financial controls
• Work alongside relevant third parties to ensure processes are executed successfully
• Be able to effectively communicate complex financial or accounting processes to a non finance business stakeholder.
• Prepare and post accounting journals accurately and in a timely manner
• Work with external auditors to fulfil audit requests at key points of our external reporting cycle, e.g. Interims.

Who you are

• A natural curiosity and understanding of the macro-economic environment.
• You are a self-motivated individual who can plan and prioritise workloads, adhering to strict deadlines.
• You have the ability to work effectively within a team, whilst working without direct supervision.
• You are an effective communicator who can work collaboratively and build trusted relationships with stakeholders

Essential Criteria:

• We welcome applications from final year students and graduates who are working towards or have completed a degree in a relevant discipline (e.g. Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business or related field).
• A desire to study for an accountancy qualification and shows a growth mindset approach to learning new skills and behaviours
• Basic knowledge of Microsoft office 365 (word, excel, PowerPoint), advanced excel modelling skills an advantage.
• Strong presentation skills with an aptitude for turning data into analysis and insight through storytelling

Support we will provide:

• Access to technical guidance from Big Four consulting and audit teams where necessary
• Support through your professional accounting qualification studies, including paid study leave and the practical experience you'll need.
• Graduate mentor to support you throughout the programme

What else you need to know:

• The closing date for applications is Monday 29th September 2025.
• If shortlisted, you'll need to pass each stage, starting with a numerical and verbal reasoning test. The next stage you'll move on to a telephone interview with a member of our recruitment team. The final stage is our assessment centre, where you'll demonstrate your skills in various tasks.
• Assessment centres will be taking place in our London office in Farringdon on Wednesday 26th & Thursday 27th November 2025.
• The programme begins September 2026.

Responsibilities:
We'd all like amazing work to do, and real work-life balance. That's waiting for you at Sainsbury's. For a FTSE business, we move incredibly fast. When we're not handling projects, we're helping all corners of the wider group with what they're trying to achieve. And around here, you can see the results of your work as soon as you walk into a store, which gives you a real sense of purpose and responsibility. Better still, the team around you will listen to your ideas and opinions, and you'll have every chance to try something new. The sheer scale and complexity of our set-up means there's always something else around the corner, and we'll help and support you every step of the way. We're trusted to get on with it. So get ready to make things happen here.
Qualifications:
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 get 10% off at Sainsbury's, Argos, TU and Habitat after 4 weeks. This increases to 15% off at Sainsbury's every Friday and Saturday and 15% off at Argos every pay day. 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 10% of salary, depending on how we perform.
Your wellbeing is important to us too. You'll receive an annual holiday allowance, and you can buy additional holiday. We also offer other benefits that will help your money go further such as season ticket loans, cycle to work scheme, health cash plans, pay 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. 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).

Skills Required