Who are we?
We're the people who manage the electricity network that powers everyday life for more than 8 million people across 3.9 million homes and businesses in the Northeast, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire.
Put simply, we make sure the electricity you buy from your chosen energy supplier gets to you safely, whenever you need it. Delivering safe, reliable electricity is at the heart of what we do and we're proud to play an essential role in powering everyday life for the customers, homes, businesses and economies we serve.
The Role
As Finance Services Operations Manager you will lead a team responsible for delivering high‑quality Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable services, including Billing, Cashiering, and Debt Collection. The role ensures our financial processes are efficient, well‑controlled, customer‑focused, and continuously improving, optimising processes and systems to enhance accuracy, timeliness, compliance, and service experience for internal and external stakeholders. This position will be based out of our Sunderland or Shiremoor office.
Along with a competitive salary of between
£55,000 - £70,000
we also offer great benefits such as;
* 15% Performance Bonus
* Enrolment into our pension scheme
* 25 days holiday (rising with service) plus bank holidays
* Excellent opportunities for career growth
Key Responsibilities
Operational Leadership & Service Delivery
* Oversee day to day operations across Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable, ensuring service levels, accuracy, and timeliness targets are consistently achieved.
* Lead on the delivery of supplier/customer payment runs and monthly invoicing to schedule and quality.
* Monitor performance metrics, workflow volumes, and resource allocation to ensure optimal productivity and service quality.
People Leadership & Team Development
* Lead, motivate, and develop a team of ~40 colleagues, including team leaders and specialists.
* Foster a high performance culture built on accountability, continuous learning, and shared success.
* Support workforce planning, recruitment, onboarding, and succession planning to maintain a resilient and capable team.
* Provide coaching, feedback, and development opportunities to enhance capability and engagement.
* Routinely assess staff productivity and capability and the extent to which goals have been achieved through the continuous tracking of results, performance and personal development plans.
Process, Systems & Continuous Improvement
* Drive process optimisation and automation initiatives to improve efficiency, accuracy, and control.
* Lead root cause analysis and corrective actions to reduce errors, delays, and rework.
Stakeholder Management & Collaboration
* Build strong relationships with internal departments (e.g., Procurement, Commercial, Customer Service, Treasury, Financial Control teams) to ensure seamless end to end processes.
* Effectively manage external stakeholder relationships, contributing to industry change working groups that will/could affect any Finance Services processes.
Governance, Reporting & Risk Management
* Ensure robust controls are embedded across all debtor and creditor processes, with clear documentation and audit readiness, including debt management, bad debt provisions, Credit Reports, monitoring of external factors such as electricity Supplier liquidations, audits (internal and external), balance sheet control accounts and bank reconciliations.
* Ensure all Code Governance obligations are met to time and quality, and all policies, codes of practice and standard operating procedures are adhered to and kept up to date. In addition, meet all external legislative requirements including licence condition regulatory reporting whilst remaining compliant with regulatory obligations and other standards such as ISO27001 and GDPR.
Knowledge, Skills and Experience Required
Technical Knowledge & Experience
* Significant experience managing large scale Finance Operations teams, ideally across both AP and AR.
* Proven track record of improving processes, implementing automation, and leveraging finance systems (e.g. ERP platforms, workflow tools, RPA).
Leadership & Management Skills
* Demonstrated ability to lead large teams through change, growth, and continuous improvement.
* Experience working in a controls driven environment with exposure to audit, compliance, and risk management.
Analytical & Problem Solving Skills
* Comfortable interpreting data, identifying trends, and using insight to drive decisions.
* Skilled in root cause analysis and structured problem solving.
Communication & Stakeholder Skills
* Clear, confident communicator able to influence at all levels.
* Skilled at managing expectations, resolving conflict, and building collaborative relationships.
Post date: 20 February 2026
Closing date for applications: 6 March 2026
Applicants are considered on the basis of their suitability for the post irrespective of sex, marital status, sexual orientation, gender re-assignment, race, age or disability, in accordance with the Equality Act 2010.