Finance Graduate Development Programme 2021

At WSP, there’s nothing we love more than pushing boundaries. Harnessing innovation and sharing insights across our diverse, international team to create a tomorrow’s world that's cleaner, greener and safer. Join us and you’ll be part of an organisation that takes pride in its people and purpose: creating long-lasting solutions to meet the needs of generations to come.

Our Finance team is an integral part of the business, achieving best-in-class performance and control through a breadth of specialty Finance Functions. With a finance lens, we help develop, track and communicate progress on an agenda that maximises long-term shareholder value creation.

We are looking for graduates to join our Finance team in our Leeds office.

Our Graduate development programme is a 2-year programme designed to provide you with both professional skills and specialist technical development opportunity. The programme is supported by our senior leadership team and tailored to give you support, guidance and development opportunities you need to help you work towards Professional Qualification. This includes but not limited to training in;

• Report writing
• Project management (introduction and advanced)
• Influential communication
• Commercial concepts
• Teambuilding challenge
• Continuous improvement

As a Finance Graduate you will benefit from dedicated tuition days with an external training partner as you study towards the highly regarded Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) qualification. Beyond the 2 year Graduate Development Programme you will be supported on a finance specific development programme for a further year to complete your ACCA qualification.

What you'll need

• You’ll be graduating in 2021 or have recently graduated with at least a 2:1 in a Master’s or Bachelor’s degree. We are able to accept candidates from a broad range of degree backgrounds for this role however you will need to demonstrate an aptitude for working with numbers and a keen interest in a career in accountancy and finance
• You'll have a minimum of a grade 6 in GCSE Maths and English (or equivalent grade/ qualification)
• You'll be looking to start work in September 2021
• You’ll ideally have less than two years relevant experience
• You’ll be passionate with the curiosity and creativity to solve problems
• You’ll want to stretch and inspire us, speaking up about any new ideas you have
• You’ll want to throw yourself in from day one and put your studies into practice
• You’ll have excellent communication skills
• You’ll enjoy working in a team environment, sharing ideas and collaborating with colleagues 
• You’ll have confidence to work under pressure with the ability to prioritise and plan effectively

Please note game based assessment results for graduate roles at WSP are valid for a period of 12 months. If you have completed an assessment in the past 12 months and were unsuccessful we are unable to consider your application for this role.

What if we can?

Our graduate development programme is a 2 year programme designed to provide you with both professional skills and specialist technical development opportunities. The programme is supported by our senior leadership team and is tailored give you the support, guidance and the development opportunities you need to help you work towards chartered status or equivalent professional qualifications. The structured programme includes but is not limited to training in:

• Technical report writing
• Team specific technical skills
• Project management (introduction and advanced)
• Influential communications
• Commercial concepts
• Teambuild challenge
• Continuous Improvement

Our Culture

Across our offices in the UK, we strive to have a friendly and inclusive culture which respects and maximizes the contribution individuals can bring to WSP. We recognise the benefits that people with varying backgrounds and experiences can bring. VIBE (our LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group) and our Gender Balance Group work with the business to ensure we continue to promote the right environment to enable all employees to reach their full potential and to ensure we continue to promote an inclusive and diverse workplace for everyone.

Our employees also come together through our social events some of these events have included office Olympics, go karting, BBQs and of course the annual Christmas events! More recently there have been online networking and quiz events.

We also offer our Professional Growth Network (PGN) which is a networking group run by early career professionals for early career professionals. It helps to grow your network of contacts across the UK business as well as providing you with opportunities for extra experience to support you in achieving chartered status or other professional accreditations.

You’ll also be joining a team of people who donate thousands of hours of time volunteering in support of local initiatives and raise thousands for good causes, often backed by charity donations from the WSP Foundation. Our long-standing support for local communities has been recognised by the government-backed National Equality Standard.

Benefits

Finally, we have a comprehensive wider benefits package which includes:

• Professional Development Bonus to recognise attainment of professional statuses
• 2 paid days a year to be used for volunteering activities 
• Cheaper gym memberships and Tastecards
• Discounts and offers with a variety of high street retailers through our Treats programme
• A standard 25 day annual leave allowance plus Bank Holidays and the flexibility to buy and sell annual leave
• The Cycle to Work Scheme (which entitles you to a tax free bike)
• The option to purchase additional benefits such as dental care, personal accident cover, holiday or life insurance at reduced rates
• Reduced rates on gadget insurance
• Employee Assistance Programme – EAP offers you free access to specialist advice in areas such as legal, financial, personal and family matters including bereavement and counselling services. 

How long does the process take?

You'll receive an email acknowledging receipt of your application within 48 hours of submission. We work hard to match you to the most suitable roles in our business and the recruitment process can vary depending on the role and team you are matched to. Most applications are progressed to assessment centre within 2-3 months but it’s good to know that the whole process can last up to 6 months in total. We will aim to keep you informed throughout the time that your application is being considered however, due to the volume of applications received, we are not able to respond to individual requests for status updates.