Head of Finance

Head of Finance

Location: Multi-site (within reasonable travel distance)Hours: Full-time, 40 hours per weekSalary: £60,000-£70,00Contract: Permanent

An established and growing organisation is seeking a hands-on, commercially minded Head of Finance to lead its finance function through an exciting period of operational and strategic development.

This role is ideal for a proactive finance professional who thrives in a fast-paced environment, balancing day-to-day delivery with strategic insight. You'll work closely with senior leadership and operational teams to strengthen financial controls, improve reporting, and support continued organisational growth.

The Opportunity

Reporting directly into the senior leadership team, you will take full ownership of the finance function. You will develop financial systems and controls, enhance reporting capabilities, and ensure robust financial governance across the organisation.

The organisation currently operates a cloud-based accounting system (Xero or similar), and there is significant scope to modernise processes, introduce automation, and utilise tools such as Power BI and AI-based insights.

Key Responsibilities

Financial Leadership & Operations

• Lead and manage day-to-day finance operations.
• Produce accurate monthly management accounts.
• Manage cashflow, bank reconciliations and financial controls.
• Strengthen compliance, governance and internal control frameworks.
• Lead year-end processes, liaising with external accountants/auditors.

Systems, Process & Improvement

• Own and optimise the organisation's cloud-based accounting system.
• Improve systems, processes and scalability across the finance function.
• Drive automation and efficiency, including exploring AI tools.
• Enhance reporting and implement improved data dashboards (e.g. Power BI).

Commercial & Operational Support

• Partner with operational teams to review costings, margins and efficiencies.
• Contribute financial insight to tenders, bids and funding applications.
• Provide analysis to support key decisions and organisational performance.
• Increase financial understanding among budget holders and team lead

About You

Essential:

• Fully qualified accountant (ACA/ACCA/CIMA or equivalent).
• Experience in a senior finance role (e.g. Financial Controller).
• Strong hands-on operational finance experience.
• Excellent financial reporting, budgeting and forecasting skills.
• Strong cashflow management and financial control knowledge.
• Experience with Xero or a similar cloud-based system.
• Commercially minded with strong stakeholder-management abilities.
• Confident analysing data and translating it into actionable insights.

Desirable:

• Experience within a growing organisation or multi-site environment.
• Experience building or developing a finance team.
• Familiarity with Power BI or other reporting tools.
• Interest in using AI tools within finance functions.

Personal Attributes:

• Hands-on, proactive and delivery-focused.
• Able to operate strategically while remaining operationally involved.
• Detail-driven with a continuous improvement mindset.
• Resilient, adaptable and collaborative.
• High integrity with strong ethical standards.

Benefits

• Training and development opportunities
• Employee support resources
• Bonus and incentive schemes
• Salary sacrifice schemes (e.g. cycle scheme, EV)
• Death in service benefit