The HUB
Marketing, sales, finance, IT, legal, HR, procurement, customer services – it’s all going on at The REKOM UK HUB.
Based in Milton Keynes, The HUB is the support centre of the whole operation. An open-plan lively office.
Head of Finance Ollie Keeler tells us what life is like in the finance team (and it’s not all spreadsheets!)
The Finance Department is one of the largest and most diverse teams in the REKOM UK Hub. We’re a sociable bunch and there’s an upbeat and informal atmosphere in the office. We’re made up of two broad teams; Finance Business Partnering and Central Finance. The Finance Business Partners are the main point of contact between venue management and finance. They’re responsible for understanding, forecasting and steering the company’s financial performance and have some fantastic close working relationships with our operations teams. The Central team holds relationships with all our suppliers and guests as well as our bank.
There’s always an opportunity to learn something new and develop yourself. The department has a four-year graduate programme that offers accelerated support for new professionals to gain their ACCA or CIMA accounting qualification while giving them on-the-job training to make them the finance leaders of the future. Members of the team who are not on the graduate programme are also encouraged to study for their accounting qualifications and are supported by the company to do so.
Procurement Department
If procurement is more your thing, Senior Procurement Manager Nicola Romeo gives us a taste of what life is like in her department.
We are responsible for the procurement – ‘sourcing and purchasing’ – of goods and services for the group, from the drinks behind the bar to the electricity that powers the light rigs.
Whilst our key objectives are managing supplier spend and ensuring costs are kept to a minimum we also have involvement in promotions, menu development and product innovation – focusing on what our guests want and upcoming trends to engage them further.
We encourage all members of the team to attend professional seminars such as CIPS and trade shows / networking events to further knowledge and build relationships within the industry.
Every day is different with varied tasks/projects alongside standard processes to minimise waste and drive efficiencies. Product sampling/testing is essential in the role, it’s important to be sure of the quality we are providing our guests, therefore it is not uncommon to see us sampling Vodka or Tequila at 10am (responsibly, of course!).