Senior Management Accountant

Senior Management Accountant

Location:

Swindon
Salary:
£65,000

Contract:

Full-time, Permanent
About Happy Days
Happy Days is growing, and we're opening a second support hub in Swindon. This new location will help us support our nurseries and early years teams as we continue to expand.
We're looking for a   Senior Management Accountant   who can do more than produce reports. We need someone who can spot trends, explain what the numbers mean, and work with leaders across the business to improve performance and support growth.

The Role
This is a new role within our finance team and an exciting opportunity to make a real impact.
You'll help us understand and manage financial performance across our nursery portfolio. You'll prepare management accounts, analyse income and costs, and provide clear financial information to support decision-making.
This role combines strong accounting skills with a good understanding of how a business works. You'll work closely with nursery and operational teams, helping them understand their financial results and identify opportunities to improve performance.
This role is ideal for someone who enjoys working with numbers, solving problems, building relationships, and turning financial data into practical business advice.
What You'll Be Doing
Preparing monthly management accounts for nursery sites and departments.
Producing monthly reports and management information for senior leaders.
Analysing income and costs to identify trends, risks and opportunities.
Comparing results against budgets and previous years and explaining any differences.
Supporting the annual budgeting and forecasting process.
Coordinating month-end activities and making sure financial information is accurate and complete.
Preparing balance sheet reconciliations and supporting the annual audit process.
Working with the People Team to ensure payroll costs are reported correctly.
Maintaining accurate financial records and cost centre structures.
Finding ways to improve processes, automate reporting and provide better financial information.
Visiting nursery sites to build relationships and help managers understand their financial performance.
Supporting the integration of newly acquired nursery settings into our reporting processes.
Leading and Supporting Others
You will also manage and support a Management Accountant.
You will:
Set high standards for quality, accuracy and meeting deadlines.
Coach and support team members to help them develop.
Build strong working relationships with managers across the business.
Explain financial information clearly to colleagues who are not finance specialists.
Support managers in understanding and managing their budgets.
What We're Looking For
We're looking for someone who combines strong accounting knowledge with commercial awareness and a desire to improve the way we work.
You will:
Enjoy working with data and using it to tell a clear story.
Be confident communicating with people at all levels.
Have strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
Be organised and able to manage multiple deadlines.
Look for ways to improve processes and reporting.
Understand how staffing, occupancy, costs and income affect business performance.
Be confident helping managers make informed business decisions.
Essential Skills and Experience
Fully qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent).
Experience preparing monthly management accounts and financial reports.
Experience analysing financial performance and explaining results to different stakeholders.
Strong Excel skills and experience working with financial data.

Experience with budgeting, forecasting and variance analysis.
Experience managing, mentoring or supporting team members.
Excellent attention to detail and a commitment to accuracy.

Desirable Experience
Experience working in a multi-site organisation.
Experience in childcare, education, hospitality, retail, or another operational business.
Experience supporting business acquisitions or integrations.
Experience improving reporting processes or developing dashboards.
Knowledge of profitability analysis, pricing and performance reporting.

What We Offer
We're proud to offer a supportive and collaborative working environment…