Finance Business Transformation Assistant (Placement)

Finance Business Transformation Assistant (Student Placement)

Attractive Salary & Benefits

36.5 Hours per week

Newtownabbey

Who are we?

Henderson Group are proud to be Northern Ireland’s leading foodservice provider. Our group encompasses Henderson Wholesale, Henderson Retail, Henderson Foodservice and Henderson Group Property. We employ over 5,700 colleagues and have been placed 3rd in Ulster Business Top 100 Companies 2025.   We're proud to be an Investors in People accredited employer, and our culture is lived out through our four core values- Ambition, Customer First, Teamwork and Integrity.

Henderson Wholesale is a leading Wholesaler in Northern Ireland and supplies goods to over 450 stores across various brands such as SPAR, EUROSPAR and VIVO. We source from local farmers, growers and producers and are proud to contribute to our local economy and environment.

A look into the role

Our placement opportunities are designed to develop today’s talent for the future. Students who obtain a place with us will complete a 12-month intensive learning program, supported by senior leaders and business specialists, positioned within one of our key organisational departments. ­­It is designed for a student who has completed their second year Undergraduate study and is seeking to gain valuable experience working in Industry before returning to University to complete their final year in 2027/2028.

Our expert finance team play a vital role to ensure that our business runs in the most efficient and compliant way possible. Working within our Henderson Wholesale finance team, you will have an opportunity to collaborate with multiple stakeholders within a large, complex business unit for one of Northern Ireland’s largest employers.

During the placement year the successful applicant will focus on business transformation, assisting the Finance Transformation team with delivering business change and improvements which will increase operational efficiencies.  Working as part of a team, you will support system queries, improvement concepts and development requests. 

This is an ideal placement for a student who has a keen interest in systems & processes and with a basic understanding of finance.

 As Business Transformation Assistant you will:

• Support the transformation team to analyse, record and model current business processes and systems to establish where improvements can be made, and benefits achieved
• Support the development and delivery of projects that introduce new initiatives to enhance current business functions
• Support finance department with tasks such as documenting new processes for go live to help with training
• Develop a good understanding of business systems and assist with any relevant queries
• Develop skills using programmes such as Microsoft Power Platform & Power Automate
• Develop positive relations with internal teams involved with projects for smooth implementation of new processes.
   

Skills for Success

 Joining us as Business Transformation Assistant the minimum criteria you’ll need is: 

• Working towards Third level relevant qualification
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office solutions particularly Excel
• General understanding of finance functions within a business and the terminology
• Excellent standard of numeracy
• Ability to analyse and interpret data
   

The attributes you’ll need include:

• Strong communication and organisational skills
• Enthusiasm to learn a broad range of skills and technical capabilities
• Excellent attention to detail and communication skills
   

It is Desirable if you had: 

• A-Level (or equivalent) in an IT, Finance or Business-related subject
• General understanding of finance functions within a business and the terminology
• Experience using process mapping tools such as Visio/Bizagi
• Advanced excel functions such as “VLookUps”, “If” statements or Macros.
• Basic working knowledge of SharePoint, Power Automate, Power Platform.

Are we right for you?

 As part of this role, it will be important that you feel aligned with the values that we live and work by.

Ambition – We always strive to be better. We seek new challenges and look for ways to do things better.

Customer First – We provide exceptional service. We put customers at the heart of everything and support our communities.

Teamwork – We succeed together. We help colleagues to succeed, and we share our knowledge and skills.

Integrity – We are fair, honest and ethical. We treat everyone with dignity and respect. We are inclusive and champion diversity.

The Reward

The impact you can make with Henderson Group goes far beyond your day to day. You will be part of a business supporting defibrillator installations and school sports days. In the last year Henderson group staff and retail stores raised over £1 million for charity partners.

We will help you to feel proud of what you do and achieve.  And we will be here to celebrate your success.

Our business has been recognised externally for delivering excellence in employment.  We value employee development and heavily invest in our people.

Benefits include market competitive salary, employee assistance programme, social club, Perks Offers/Discount scheme throughout UK/Ireland, staff discount (grocery/fuel) at SPAR/EUROSPAR Henderson Group company-owned stores and many more.

This is a full-time position working 36.5 hours per week. Working hours will be 8:45am-4:45pm Monday to Thursday and 8:45am-3:45pm Friday. Hybrid and flexible working arrangement available.

If you'd like to speak with us before making your application, our Talent Acquisition Specialist - Joanne McClelland would be happy to have a confidential chat with you about the role on offer - email joanne.mcclelland@henderson-group.com to get in touch.

Completed applications must be submitted online by midnight on 6th February 2026.

We are an equal opportunities employer.