CIMA Finance Programme

If you have a finance degree, finance experience, or you simply have a passion for developing a career in this field, you might want to consider our finance graduate programme. With lots of support and a previous graduate as a ‘buddy’, this programme will prepare you for the challenges you'll face as one of our future leaders, as well as giving you plenty of scope to prove yourself.

Induction

Your first week will be a thorough introduction to the Group. We'll share with you our plans and ambitions for the future, you'll meet managers from across the business, start building your network and discover more about The Co-operative Group.

Customer Placement

You can’t understand our business without understanding our customers. In this placement you will be asked to investigate a customer related issue as a cohort of graduates, making recommendations for improvement that will be presented to senior managers. During the course of your research you’ll spend time in our retail outlets and meet our customers face to face. The results of your work could have far-reaching implications across our stores.

Business Projects

The finance programme is split into four 9-month placements, where you’ll carry out a series of live projects, across our different businesses. You’ll not only gain a broad understanding of how we operate - you’ll also be exposed to some of our most critical change projects. As you progress through the programme, you’ll learn how to lead projects, manage stakeholders, engage in successful negotiation, and respond to the immense challenges of change. Your experience will be tailored to satisfy the CIMA requirements so you'll cover everything from management accounting to business strategy.

Learning & Development Reviews

After each project, we’ll review your performance and progress. We believe it’s important to take time out and reflect on what you’ve achieved, and how you’ve developed.

Management Development Programmes

Starting with feedback from your assessment centre, your development path will draw together every aspect of your learning, from technical skills training to leadership skills, managing and driving change. Essentially everything you'll need to take the business forward. You will have a wide range of support including a mentor, a personal development plan and all the support we can offer to enable you to drive your career.

Support and your Qualification

This is a CIMA-accredited programme, and as such, due to the examination requirements, will last for 3 years. Throughout that time we'll provide full support for you to achieve your professional qualification, including paid study leave for exams, textbook contribution and expenses. You'll also have a senior manager from the finance team acting as your personal mentor, who can offer you impartial advice and coaching outside of your reporting line. On top of that, you'll have a personal development plan and a ‘buddy’ to provide support through your induction and exams.

Business Role

By now, you will be ready for the challenges of a role within a finance function. We will work with you to ensure that this is the right opportunity.

“My first two projects were in Food Retail. One of them involved designing and implementing a product level leakage reporting system to help us examine where we’re losing stock. I’ve also led a project that looked at the energy consumption involved in store refits. I gathered and analysed data in order to project whether or not a store refit would lead to an increase in energy costs. These costs would then be used to help the business decide if a refit was financially and environmentally viable."
Jashan Daniel