Finance Apprenticeship (School Leaver Scheme)

Job Introduction

***This is a hybrid role, working from home and with regular days in the office each week to collaborate with colleagues. So, you must live within a commutable distance of our Ashford, Kent hub*** 

Our people are everything to us. The way they deliver exceptional experiences every day for our customers, for their colleagues. The way they own what they do. Their 'Why's it like that?' curiosity. How they always think of others and work together to get things done. For us, for you, make do will never do. Good enough? Not even close. Come and do the best work of your life alongside lovely colleagues. Come to Saga. 

And right now, we’re excited to be welcoming applications from recent school leavers only for our Finance Apprenticeship Scheme on an initial 12 month Fixed Term Contract commencing August 2023, with a view to this being the start of a permanent and fulfilling finance career here at Saga. Initially, you’ll be specialising in one of our core Finance teams, but you will have the opportunity to experience all aspects of finance – from accounts receivable, accounts payable, financial record keeping, external finance reporting, planning, analysis and more! 

You will need strong academic results, with an interest in a career in Finance through studying to become a qualified accountant. You will be working across wide business areas and will need excellent communication, presentation, and numeric skills with an attention to detail and strong commercial awareness. 

You will have access to the following: 

• Access to an apprenticeship scheme offering study towards an accountancy qualification such as ACCA or CIMA including 20% of time available to study.  
• Stepped salary with exam progression. An expected fully qualified salary of £36k+ with opportunity to be remunerated well beyond this as your experience and career develops.
• Training in different areas to develop well-rounded accountants - systems/technical accounting knowledge and budgeting/forecasting/commercial awareness.
• Specific apprenticeship events and support network with guest speakers, career progression advice, training opportunities, and access to a mentoring scheme. 
• Support from our c.100 strong Finance colleague community, many of whom have trained at Saga and reaping the benefits in their own careers. 

So, if this is of interest to you, get in touch!

Role Responsibility

• Responsibility for the maintenance of accounting records and associated processes . 
• Month-end close including all aspects of general ledger accounting and reporting.  
• Key role in forecasting and budgeting process, heavily dependent upon building relationships with business stakeholders. 
• Monthly balance sheet account reconciliations, coordinating with colleagues.  
• External reporting including year-end/ interim audits and regulatory returns. 
• Development of the month-end close process, striving for process efficiencies.  

The Ideal Candidate

• Strong academics, both GCSEs and A-Levels or equivalents.
• Keen IT skills, particularly with Microsoft Excel. We’ll provide training on our accountancy applications – but Excel is an accountant’s best friend!  
• A desire to study towards ACCA or CIMA professional qualifications. 
• Excellent communication and people skills with a range of colleague levels. 
• Analytically strong with the ability to question and examine, facilitating the ability to find anomalies or inconsistencies and pursue these through to a resolution.  
• Ability to multi-task, be exceptionally well organised; strong level of accuracy; meet established deadlines and work under pressure with a proactive ethos.  
• Curious, and autonomous desire to understand the “why” behind processes to perform them better and find opportunities.  

Our Saga Values:

• Precision Pace - Always owning and making things happen. 
• Empathy – Always aware of others. 
• Curiosity – Always asking why.
• Collaboration – Always one team, the Saga team!

Package Description

The standard benefits when you join Saga include: 

• Remote working available where possible

• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays with the choice to buy a further 5 days annual leave per year 

• Free private medical insurance after 1 years' service 

• Workplace Pension 

• AXA Be Supported 

• A range of reductions and offers from leading retailers, travel groups and entertainment companies

About the Company

Over the past 70 years we have become the UK's specialist provider of products and services to people aged over 50 in the UK. The Saga brand has become one of the most recognised and trusted brands amongst UK consumers in this demographic, recognised for its high quality products and exceptional standards of service. These include cruises and holidays, insurance, personal finance and the Saga Magazine.

At Saga we are committed to treating all employees fairly and to offering equal opportunities in all aspects of employment and advancement. We value diversity not just because it is the right thing to do, but because diverse teams perform better.

Fair consideration is given to applications from all applicants, including those with disabilities and those over who are over 50 as we are champions of age inclusivity. We are an official Disability Confident employer and ensure that our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible and we will make reasonable adjustments as required. For more information on our DEI policies please visit our Saga Careers page.

​Saga does not accept agency CVs unless specifically engaged on the role by the Talent Acquisition Team. Please do not forward CVs to our recruiters, employees or any other company location. Saga will not be responsible for any fees related to CVs received in this unsolicited manner.

#L1-MB1

Saga Group