Based: Dartford Head Office
Laing O'Rourke is seeking an experienced and commercially minded Overheads Lead to join the Europe Finance FP&A team. This senior role is responsible for the end to end oversight of budgeting, forecasting and reporting of overheads across the European business. You will ensure clarity, accuracy and control over overhead spend, enabling informed decision making and supporting the delivery of financial efficiency targets. The role also oversees the operational performance of the Overheads Finance team, ensuring high‑quality financial controls, strong balance sheet integrity and delivery of statutory and regulatory reporting obligations.
Key Responsibilities
Lead the monthly overheads reporting cycle including variance analysis, commentary and performance insights, and own the annual budget and periodic forecast processes with accurate cost allocation across functions.
Provide challenge, insight and recommendations to senior functional leads and Directors, presenting overhead performance, risks and opportunities at functional and quarterly reviews.
Act as the main business partner for all overhead‑related enquiries, building strong relationships with senior stakeholders across HR, IT, Legal, Finance, Procurement and other support functions.
Oversee balance sheet reconciliations, executive payroll accounting, global recharges, intercompany reconciliations and project support for recovering levies, ensuring accuracy and compliance.
Support audit requirements and manage data returns including HMRC, CITB, grants and RDEC submissions, ensuring transparency, completeness and timely delivery.
Drive process optimisation by simplifying and redesigning overheads processes, improving data quality and leveraging digital tools in partnership with Finance Systems and IT teams.
Lead and develop team members, building capability and fostering a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, collaboration and strong financial governance.
Skills, Experience & Attributes
Experience influencing senior stakeholders, managing teams or leading cross‑functional deliverables, with the ability to drive change and embed new ways of working.
Strong technical and analytical capability, including advanced Excel and financial modelling skills, the ability to interpret and simplify large datasets and a strong understanding of budgeting, forecasting and core accounting principles.
Solid understanding of balance sheet controls and the ability to identify and resolve data quality issues, working effectively with IT and Finance Systems to support enhancements.
Strong commercial acumen with the ability to link overhead trends to operational and strategic drivers, with experience in COINS, Tagetik and SAP preferable.
Confident communicator able to challenge and influence senior leaders, with an analytical, collaborative and solutions‑focused approach, high attention to detail and a commitment to accuracy and continuous improvement.
Proactive, commercially minded and able to manage multiple priorities in a fast‑paced environment, with a commitment to coaching, developing and building capability within the team.
About Us
Laing O'Rourke are an international engineering and construction company delivering state-of-the-art infrastructure and buildings projects for clients in the UK, Middle East and Australia.
Certainty, reliability, quality – this is what our clients want. And at Laing O'Rourke, we have more than 150 years of experience delivering it. Laing O'Rourke's story is one of energy, passion, ambition, people and teamwork. We harness the power of our experience, stretching back over a century and a half to deliver certainty for our clients.
As part of the Disability Confident scheme, we would like to enable access to candidates with long term conditions and disabilities through the 'Offer an interview scheme'. This supports applicants that meet the essential criteria by offering an interview for the advertised position. Please let us know if you would like to opt in to this scheme and let us know if you require any adjustments for the interview process.
We want to ensure our recruitment process is accessible to all. If you need the application form in an alternative format or you would like to know more about our recruitment process, please email