Head of Finance

• Provide strategic and operational leadership of the finance function, ensuring a high-quality, efficient, compliant and responsive service.
• Contribute as a senior management leader, bringing financial expertise, commercial awareness and constructive challenge to organisational decision-making.
• Lead, manage and develop the finance team, ensuring clear accountability, effective performance management, wellbeing and continuous improvement.
• Lead budgeting, forecasting, cashflow management and long-term financial planning, ensuring robust oversight of financial sustainability, risk and resource allocation.
• Provide clear, timely and insightful financial reporting and analysis to budget holders, senior leaders, the Senior Management Team, Trustee Board and relevant Sub Committees.
• Oversee accurate monthly management accounts, statutory reporting, year-end accounts and preparation for external audit.
• Maintain and strengthen financial controls, governance frameworks, policies and procedures across the organisation and trading company.
• Ensure compliance with relevant statutory, regulatory, charity accounting, payroll, tax and reporting requirements.
• Oversee payroll delivery, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, appropriate controls, reconciliations and alignment with People processes.
• Lead finance process improvement, maximising the benefits of systems, data and automation to improve efficiency, reporting quality, controls and user experience.
• Embed and develop effective workflows, data quality and reporting from the new finance system to support better decision-making across the organisation.
• Lead and strengthen procurement and contract management processes, ensuring value for money, clear accountability, appropriate controls and effective supplier relationships.
• Lead the annual insurance renewal process, coordinating input from key stakeholders and ensuring appropriate cover, effective governance and clear oversight of organisational risks.
• Support effective risk management across the organisation, ensuring financial, operational and compliance risks are identified, monitored and reported clearly.

Essential

• Essential Criteria
• Fully qualified accountant, or qualified by significant relevant experience, with strong technical finance knowledge.
• Strong senior management experience, including leading a finance function, influencing organisational decision-making and working with senior leaders, Boards or Committees.
• A strong systems thinker, able to see the bigger picture, generate pioneering and courageous change or improvements to the organisation
• Significant experience of budgeting, forecasting, management accounts, payroll, audit, statutory reporting and financial controls.
• Proven ability to lead, motivate and develop a finance team, creating a compassionate culture of accountability, collaboration and continuous improvement.
• Ability to analyse and clearly communicate financial information to non-financial stakeholders.
• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage deadlines and competing priorities.
• Confident user of finance systems, AI and Excel, with experience of automating and improving processes, reporting and controls through better use of systems and data.
• Knowledge of SORP and charity finance.
• Experience of risk management

Desirable

• Desirable Criteria
• Charity or not-for-profit experience.
• Experience in completing annual consolidated accounts, using SORP.
• Experience in completing tax returns.
• Project management experience and using software to support projects
• Salary exchange and HMRC legislation
• Knowledge of pension legislation