Head of Accounting Policy and Advisory

About the role

The Head of Accounting Policy & Advisory is responsible for leading the development, implementation, and oversight of the Group’s accounting policies. This role ensures compliance with accounting standards, provides technical accounting guidance on complex transactions, and supports the finance team in financial reporting matters. The individual will act as the Group’s subject matter expert on accounting policies, advising senior management, external stakeholders, and entity controllers on technical accounting issues.

Key accountabilities include:

Accounting Policy & Governance

• Develop, maintain, and enhance the Group’s accounting policies in line with IFRS and regulatory requirements.
• Ensure consistency in accounting treatment across the Group.
• Monitor changes in accounting standards and assess their impact on the Group’s financial statements and reporting processes.
• Lead the adoption and implementation of new accounting standards, including impact assessments and policy updates.

Technical Accounting Advisory

• Provide expert accounting guidance on complex transactions such as mergers & acquisitions, revenue recognition, lease accounting, financial instruments, and share-based payment remuneration.
• Support the Group in structuring transactions to ensure compliance with accounting standards.
• Liaise with external auditors on accounting matters and financial reporting issues.

Financial Reporting & Compliance

• Ensure compliance with accounting standards and regulatory reporting requirements.
• Support the finance team in preparing financial statements and disclosures.
• Drive process improvements in financial reporting to enhance accuracy and efficiency.
• Oversee internal controls related to financial reporting and accounting policy compliance.

Stakeholder Engagement & Training

• Act as the primary point of contact for senior leadership on technical accounting matters.
• Provide training and guidance to finance teams and business units on accounting standards and best practices.
• Work closely with internal and external auditors, regulators, and other key stakeholders to address accounting and reporting concerns.

Participation in

• Finance Committee
• Finance risk committee
• GFC leadership team
• Other Committees and Working Groups as required

Achieving KPI’s/Targets including:

• Achieving required timeliness, completeness and accuracy measures
• Liaison with internal/external stakeholders
• Developing recommendations and decision making/escalation with respect to accounting, reporting and financial control risk matters
• Maintaining appropriate level of technical skills for self
• Delivering ad-hoc tasks/projects to defined plans and budgets when required.
• Take responsibility in everything you do to deliver good outcomes for our customers
• Positively demonstrate the Nucleus Smart, Heart and Courage values and behaviours
• Ensure compliance with Code of Conduct at all times

About you

You will have,

• Strong technical accounting and reporting qualifications gained in a professional services firm or in a series of relevant industry roles
• Demonstrable knowledge and experience in an enterprise finance organisation or finance team in the financial services sector
• Ability to communicate complex matters to a range of audiences including senior executives, board members and shareholders.
• Experience in analysing complex accounting issues and providing technical guidance
• Presentation skills and the ability to brief teams, guide and influence senior decision makers and wider stakeholders
• Relevant qualifications: Chartered Accountant or Certified Accountant with continuous professional development record demonstrating learning ability and commitment to professional standards.

You will be comfortable,

• Working flexibly with some time required at the office
• Leading and developing teams who work flexibly and in multiple locations
• Travelling when and where required to Nucleus business locations to fulfil your responsibilities.

A little about us

Our purpose at Nucleus is to help make retirement more rewarding, with a vision to build the best retirement-focused platform in the UK. It is this purpose that drives everything we do. Whether you are working in a role that is customer-facing or not, you’ll need to be service-obsessed to work here.  

It’s a fast paced and exciting environment, and one where we believe you will get the chance to fulfil your potential and do work that really matters, to you and our customers. We believe in you having your own chunk of responsibility and being trusted to make things happen.

Nucleus’ culture is something our people believe sets us apart from other places they’ve worked. We think big, know our stuff and move at pace, but always empowering others along the way and breaking new ground to find better ways of doing things. We know that sometimes the right choice is not the easy one, so empowering each other and celebrating others' successes, as well as our own, is part of what makes us Nucleus #WeAreNucleus

Inclusion and diversity at Nucleus

As with most things in life, who cares, wins. We really care about inclusion.

For us this is not a box-ticking thing, it’s a commercial imperative. It isn’t about being PC. It’s about being future-relevant and durable. Find out more on our inclusion page.

We offer a generous blend of benefits for the things that really matter to our people, including pension, bonus, enhanced parental leave, paid time off for emergencies, health and wellbeing initiatives and flexible working options.